TASTE TEST: Pan-Asian at Republic

I've never really dabbled in Pan-Asian food before. I try to play it safe whenever it comes to exotic Asian cuisine. Sushi isn't my thing. The sauces are often alarmingly gross. And I've only recently begun to appreciate properly prepared fried dumplings. But my friend Megan came into town from Phillie for a birthday dinner, and she was hellbent on going to Union Square's Republic.

Everything on the menu seemed like a gamble, and I didn't want to spend too much on a meal I probably wouldn't eat. So I thought I'd play it safe and order chicken and rice. Easy enough, right? Not when it comes to my juvenile palate. The rice grains were so tiny, it was like eating pebbles or debris, and the chicken...okay, I'll admit I tried two brown pieces and they may have been mushrooms, but it was chewy and gummy and I felt like I was trying to dissolve rubber. I barely ate anything. Thank god there was great conversation.

37 Union Square West, New York, NY