I have to admit that I have a culinary crush on Stephanie Izard. It all started when I was watching Top Chef Season 4. I liked that she was a local chef and the first female to win Top Chef. After she won I started following her career to see what she would do next. 2 years ago she opened up The Girl and The Goat and I've been dying to eat there ever since it opened. It's damn tough to get reservations and if you do try to book you have to do it a few months in advance.
My friend and I decided to pop by there the other day and see if we could get in. It was 4:30 on a Sunday, just as the restaurant was about to open. We walked in and asked if there were any available tables and by some miracle they were able to seat us. I was already in love with the staff and was pretty sure that the food was going to be fantastic as well. I had finally made it to The Girl and the Goat!!!!
The restaurant's decor is dark, warm and inviting. There is interesting artwork, a beautiful bar and an open kitchen. We were seated and immediately greeted by our awesome server who was super friendly and explained the menu to us. Throughout our meal she helped up make the tough decisions (pig face or goat confit? cheesecake or zucchini bread?)The concept is based around small plates so you usually order about 2 plates per person. I love this kind of food because you get to try a lot of different flavors, experiment with things you wouldn't normally order and get your fill of food.
I started with a cocktail, the best of three, which had vodka, pimms and cucumber. It was refreshing...I sipped it down at a brisk pace and then moved to the beer list which was focused on local craft brews. My first was Saison from the Haymarket brewery right up the street. This went really well with the bread we ordered to start. It was a warm, crusty loaf with corn baked into it. We had some amazing goat butter and corn relish to go with it. It really was the perfect loaf of bread. It had a soft spongy center and a nice crust on the outside. The butter was slightly sour and deep.
We ended up ordering four small plates for our meal (but honestly could have gotten away with 3). Our first plate was the escargot ravioli. The ravioli was so yummy and the tamarind-miso sauce really helped cut the richness of the escargot. After this we had the squash blossom rangoon and pan friend shishedo peppers. The rangoon was yummy, but not a show stopper. Now the peppers weren't my first choice, but damn if they weren't tasty. I've never considered peppers as a side dish like this. They were sweet, a little spicy and covered in Parmesan, sesame seeds and miso. Holy hell were they amazing. This is one of those things you must order when you go there.
At this point I ordered a black IPA and waited for the our pig face. That's right, our main meat dish was two patties of pig face (cheek and jowls) fried so they were crispy on the outside and fatty on the inside. These were served under some fried potato sticks and a fried egg. It was like breakfast for dinner and everything just worked together so well. This was everything right with the world today. Amazing work Chef Izard. I am now in love with pigs face.
By now my friend and I were ready to burst so I did the most rational thing possible and ordered the zucchini cake for dessert. I inhaled my portion and delighted in the fact that she used tomatoes (I think they were candied in some way) as a garnish. This was an amazing meal from start to finish. I'm going back for sure and have plans to bring everyone to eat here. The Girl and the Goat is a true Chicago gem and an all around success as a restaurant. If you want to see what kind of culinary talent this city has then you have to eat here.
zucchini bread, peppers, pigs face
No comments:
Post a Comment