During Season 4 of Top Chef, I’d never really rooted for Stephanie Izard since I was, like the rest of the world, such an avid Richard Blais fan. But when I heard of Stephanie’s new restaurant opening in Chicago, IL, I’d wanted to try the place. She did, after all, win Top Chef. We ended up in Chicago for Lollapalooza, so I wanted to take the opportunity to stop by Girl & the Goat. The place was fully booked for months out (soooo crazy), but we were told that we’d have a very good chance of scoring a table if we went at opening (4:30pm).
1. spence wheat bread . peanut butter butter . honeycomb: Bread was super warm. Spreads were good together.
2. pan fried shishito peppers . parmesan . sesame . miso: Good dish to munch on. Wasn’t anything super special though.
3. chickpeas fritters . eggplant-tomatillo caponata . crave brother’s mozzarella: I really liked this dish. Would definitely recommend. Very clean taste.
4. hiramasa crudo. crisp pork belly. aji chili. caperberries: I definitely could have done without this. I’ve had many dishes like this before, with the same kind of seasoning.
5. grilled baby octopus . guanciale . wax beans . radish . favas. pistachio-lemon vinaigrette: Verrrry solid dish. Recommend!
6. escargot ravioli . bacon . tamarind-miso sauce: This dish was one of the favorites of the evening. Just rich enough, but not at all overwhelming.
7. ham frittes. smoked tomato aioli . cheddar beer sauce: I guess we should have known that this would just be… fries… with dipping sauces, but we were all like “ooooh ‘ham frites’ wonder what that is…” The “ham” part totally threw us off. Fries could have been crispier. I thought the aioli and cheddar sauce was good, but some might think it’s too heavy.
8. goat chorizo flatbread . ajvar . peppers . green tomato . apricot . fresh ricotta: Again, a very solid dish. But nothing crazy.
9. wood oven roasted pig face . sunny side egg . tamarind . cilantro . potato stix: Lots of talk about this dish. It was very good, but I’m not sure if the egg really added anything to the dish. I couldn’t really taste it.
10. braised beef tongue . masa . beef vinaigrette . salsa verde: This was my least favorite meat dish (of the three).
11. confit goat belly . bourbon butter . lobster n’ crab . fennel: This was my favorite meat dish.
12. goat cheese bavarois . brown sugar cake . citrus blueberries . marcona caramel: Definitely not a “safe” dish – everyone at the table hated it. I was the only one who liked it. The goat cheese grows on you the more you try it. The cake was moist.
13. chocolate bouchon . foie fluff . salted toffee . milk chocolate sorbet . gooseberry compote: Definitely the obligatory chocolate dish on the menu
14. pork fat doughnuts . honey yogurt . carmelized figs . lemony eggplant . ham streusel: Good, but one bite was enough. Love figs.
In short, I admit that Girl & the Goat may have been hyped up in my mind a tad bit… but my experience was still very pleasant. One can expect a very solid dinner here with good food, the cool decor, and a friendly staff, as long as one has the right expectations.
Girl & the Goat
809 W Randolph St
Chicago IL, 60607
(312) 492-6262
www.girlandthegoat.com
