We had wanted to dine at Girl & the Goat on our last visit to Chicago, but we couldn't get a reservation. It's been a tough reservation to secure ever since former Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard opened her Randolph Street restaurant in the summer of 2010. On this Friday evening, the earliest reservation we could get was at 9:15, but when we arrived the joint was hopping and it continued to hop.
We walked into a beehive of activity, all at an elevated decibel level. The restaurant was an expansive burnt cedar wood box with exposed beams, which served to escalate the ambient sounds, including the blaring contemporary music. The energetic host showed us to a wide oak table near the front of the restaurant. We were given a "small plates" menu, divided into vegetable, fish and meat columns. We were also given bread and "goat" menus, plus the wine list. Gary usually serves as our sommelier; he chose a red wine from the Languedoc region – a wonderful grenache/syrah blend.
Our effervescent waiter suggested we order between eight and ten small plates, to be shared. We ordered nine – three from the vegetable column, three from the fish column, two from the meat column, and one from the goat menu. He also recommended we select an offering from the bread menu.
Corny goat with goat cheese butter and corn relish The bread was neither corny nor cheesy, unless accompanied by one of the sides; it was fresh white bread, but nothing special. But this was to be our only disappointing dish. The meal was perfectly paced; the various "column" items were intermixed, we never were served more that two dishes at a time (usually one), and we were allowed to finish dishes before others arrived. This was all orchestrated by our wonderful waiter, Brennan Flanigan, from Rolla, Missouri.
The first dish to arrive was the lamb tartare. Only a "top chef" would have paired lamb with tuna aioli. It worked; it was tangy and tasty.
Pinn oaks lamb tartare with sweet corn tapenade and tuna aioli Next came the Kona Kampachi crudo, a brand name of Almaco jack farmed near Hawaii as a domesticated alternative to wild tuna. The subtle flavor of the fish was nicely complimented by the spicy chili aioli.
Kona Kampachi crudo with crisp pork belly, chili aioli and caperberries The roasted beets was a wonderful dish, and there were lots of them. The bread crumb coating made for an interesting tactile sensation on our palates.
Roasted beets with green beans, white anchovy, avocado crème frâiche, and bread crumbs Then came Walter's chicken. Our waiter told us how a distraught Walter was encouraged to raise chickens after his wife died – or something like that. Walter raised very special chickens and now he provides Girl & the Goat with his perfect poultry. We were also told that Stephanie Izard is having Walter teach other poultry farmers to raise perfect poultry and she's going to open a chain of fast-food chicken restaurants, turning Walter into a millionaire. In any event, Walter's chicken was fabulous; it was tender and sweet.
Wood fired Walter's chicken with tomato, rhubarb glaze and green goddess dressing The seared nairagi, or striped marlin, was tender and nicely complimented by the sweet unagi sauce and spicy jalapeno.
Grill seared nairagi with heirloom tomato salad, watermelon, "unagi sauce" and jalapeno The pan fried shishito peppers were wonderful; they were sweet, spicy and plentiful.
Pan fried shishito peppers with parmesan, sesame and miso The grilled octopus was one of our favorite dishes. The octopus was tender and paired nicely with the guanciale.
Grilled baby octopus with guanciale, favas, radish pods, pistachios and lemon vinaigrette Marlene makes a nice roasted cauliflower dish at home, but she'll have to consider adding some of the flavors found in Stephanie Izard's cauliflower creation.
Roasted cauliflower with pickled peppers, pine nuts and mint And finally, we were presented with the goat. There were five items on the goat menu – mousse, belly, carpaccio, empanadas, and loin. We ordered the loin; it was prepared medium rare. No, it was not stringy and it did not taste like tin-cans. It was tender and delicious.
Goat loin with blackberry jus, snow peas and cabbage We finished the goat and our plates were cleared; we were all pleasantly stuffed. But we couldn't pass up dessert. Bring on Mathew. Mathew Rice had been the original pastry chef at Niche in St. Louis and his creations were unsurpassed. He now brought his abundant culinary talent to Girl & the Goat. While Mathew was away on this Friday evening, his skills were certainly on display. We shared the milk chocolate and galangal napoleon and the miso-butterscotch budino. Both desserts were vintage Mathew Rice and both were yummy. We accompanied our desserts with glasses of Cascinetta Vietti Moscato d'Asti.
Milk chocolate and galangal napoleon with blackberries and passion fruit
Miso-butterscotch budino with bacon toffee, glazed peaches and candied almonds Eating is much easier than talking at Girl & the Goat, particularly as one's auditory acuity wanes. But the eating is indeed special. We recommend eating with at least "four for the table" in order to sample as many of Stephanie Izard's delicious creations as possible. Even with four, there were many we missed; we will return.
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