Girl & The Goat.

Guess what? Go ahead guess...


J is here! He landed yesterday fresh off 3 days of camping at Tomorrowland in Belgium. (So in reality, not so fresh at all.)

He got here in the afternoon so we grabbed a sandwich and went home to my apartment where we both worked for the next 4 hours. Romantic, right?

We did get to take a break to head to Girl & The Goat for dinner. My friend had told me about the place but also told me that it was damn near impossible to get reservations. Girl & The Goat was created by Stephanie Izard, the winner of Top Chef season 4, and has over 1500 reviews on yelp so she knew what she was talking about.

Go ahead, check it out, you have to wait months in advance to get a dinner reservation at any time after 5pm. There are a few 4 and 4:30 reservations available within the next 2 months in case you would like to ask your grandma to join you at her dinner time.

Luckily I ran into a couple last week after an event downtown that said they were in town and headed to Girl & The Goat. Stunned that they were able to get a reservation, I inquired as to what their trick was. They informed me that there is a huge bar area that is first come, first serve, and that it was generally pretty easy to grab a seat there. Problem solved!

As avid fans of Top Chefs (we used to bet on the winner), we expected great things and Stephanie delivered.

We arrived around 9pm on Tuesday and were able to grab two seats at the bar within 10 minutes. The restaurant follows a small plate concept and recommends 4-5 plates per couple. Service was alright. Our waitress was pleasant but not overly friendly. When we asked for her recommendations she suggested the entire menu. No help. But here is what we ended up eating and drinking...

Drinks:
- J had ordered the "Best of Three" cocktail made of Russian Standard Vodka, Pimm's #1, cucumber and lime. It was very refreshing and went down smooth.
- I had the Girl and The Goatee saison, a specialty brew on top. It was okay, nothing to write home about.

Small Plates:
- Quinoa Ravioli: Made with grape tomato, black currant, summer squash, and olive crunch. So good and a great way to start off the dinner. It was light but packed with a mild spicy flavor.

- Raw Oysters (above): Really small but sweet, buttery, and went down smooth. Nothing to fishy.

- Corny Goat Bread (above): Warm bread served with goat cheese butter and a corn relish. Amazing and at only $4 it's the best buy on the menu.

- Wood Roasted Pig Face (above): A little more substance to this plate, you may want to start with something else and end with this. The title sounds really weird but it just like eating hash made with thick bacon, eggs, crispy string hash browns, and a sweet, but not too sweet, sauce. The instructions are to cut up everything and mix it together. Instructions followed = deliciousness. 

Dessert:
- Black Dog Gelato: A local Chicago company that makes crazy sounding but amazing gelato. The flavor that evening had goat cheese, a butter cream, and a crunchy nut in it. I don't remember the exact combo, but it was the perfect ending to the right amount of fantastic food.

Overall, it was addicting. I want to go back every night and try something new. Next up: the scallops and the pork shank. Quick tip for vegetarians - there are a TON of great plates without meat.