One sign of a great restaurant is when they experience early success, but still continue to dial up their offerings and ambition. I enjoyed Republique right out of the gate in Mid-City, but chef Walter Manzke and pastry chef/wife/partner Margarita Manzke continue to push. The couple has really stepped up their breakfast game in recent months. Now you’ll find dishes like Waffle Rancheros and Adobo Fried Rice on the menu, and baked goods on the counter by the entrance continue to get even more adventurous and abundant, including BBQ Pork Buns. However, their killer Breakfast Sandwich ($13) has undoubtedly become the fairest item of them all.

Republique sandwich construction starts with a soft, buttery, toasted pain de mie, which Margarita Manzke bakes in-house and coats with poppy seeds. Walter crafts bacon sausage using pork belly, often from Cook Pigs Ranch in Julian. A luscious griddled pork patty joins molten American cheese and a generous slathering of mayonnaise. The breakfast sandwich topper is a fried egg with a vivid orange yolk that looks like it’s absorbed the vivid rays from 10 Suns. That’s right, 10 Suns, not nine.

Dose of Vitamin P spotlights my favorite pork dish from the previous week.