Girl and the Goat with Amy, Andrew, and Ed

I've blogged the Rose Mary dinner, now for the other Top Chef meal.  Girl and the Goat, now a Chicago establishment, the flagship for Stephanie Izard since she became the first woman (and first Chicago chef) to win the show back in season 4.  I hadn't been in years although I had been to the LA outpost with Conrad and Van and had also been to Little Goat a couple of times when that was still open.  It would prove to be a welcome return.

I am a fan of Chef Izard.  During her season, she showed time and again that she was creative, technically skilled, managed her time well, and wasn't into drama.  Immensely likable on television, small wonder there was such buzz for Girl and the Goat when it opened - the fans wanted it.  And she delivered.  The first time we went there many years back, Conrad and I were joined by vegetarian friends.  For a restaurant that has goat as part of its name and identity, Girl and the Goat delivered on vegetables.  We had a wonderful meal.  Since the restaurant wasn't too far a walk from work, I went a few times after that for early bites with friends.  I don't think, however, that I had been back since we moved to SoCal.

Sunday dinner at conference was a nice little group affair, with Amy, Andrew, and Ed joining me and Conrad.  Three friends I absolutely treasure, and I know they all like good food, so I was excited about our meal.  The five of us rode the green line several stops, then walked on down to the restaurant.  We had a nice table tucked just inside the door, which gave us a view of the street or the busy restaurant interior.  We ordered cocktails - the Sun Kid for me

- and then food.  Ready? Here we go:

Green garlic brioche. 

Who doesn't love starting with some bread?  This was tasty!

Chickpea fritters. 

Oh, I loved these.  These were a surprise - no one was wowed about them on seeing them on the menu, but my gosh were they tender and good.

Goat empanadas. 

And I loved these as well.  A cocktail, two rounds of these, and a green vegetable, and we would have been happy with just that.

Roasted asparagus. 

Quite fine.

Pan-roasted halibut. 

Cooked nicely, and it was good, but it was also just halibut.  Happily, I rather like halibut.

Roasted pig face. 

Yum!  So good.  I love that they are getting that meat and using it.

I didn't get photos of the other four savoury dishes, but we had kohlrabi salad, grilled kalbi short ribs, wood fired chicken, and crispy pork belly.  The pork belly was good - I often find that pork belly is crispy outside and then a ton of fat, and this wasn't nearly so fatty.  The ribs were my least favourite course.  Not bad, just kind of chewy and alright.

For dessert, we got all of them.  All four. 

I wish that restaurants would post their dessert menus online more consistently.  I can't remember what all four were, but there was one that I think was an homage to ball parks with caramel and corn involved,  It was also the best of the four.  I liked the desserts, but they all struck me as more or less some sort of cake base with an ice cream, and some greater variety would have been terrific.  But I quibble, and we did finish off all of those desserts, after all. 

All in all, a terrific meal.  A couple of items that didn't shine as brightly, but nothing at all that I didn't like, and lots more that I would have been happy to try.  Aside from our friends being such good company, a group meant we could try and share a lot more from the menu than just two of us would.  We had such a nice night, then capped it off with drinks back at the hotel with some others.  And oh yes, I'd be very happy to go back to Girl and the Goat again some day. 

Girl and the Goat (LA)

Saturday night the three of us headed into LA for dinner somewhere other than Pasadena. 

Oh, we love our local favourites, have no fear, but we wanted to enjoy a meal a little farther from home, somewhere different.  So it was that we found ourselves at the Los Angeles outpost of that beloved Chicago mainstay, Girl and the Goat.

If you have watched Top Chef, you should know the name Stephanie Izard.  Winner of season 4, the Chicago season.  And a Chicagoan herself.  I loved watching her on that season.  She demonstrated terrific cooking skills, a fascinating sense of flavour, real leadership, and subtle humour.  Small wonder she also won the fan favourite voting.  After she opened Girl and the Goat in Chicago, I went a few times - it wasn't far from work, so happy hour meet-ups were feasible.  In more recent times, I've been to the Little Goat diner a few times, treating myself to tasty and filling brunches.  She opened a Los Angeles branch a couple of years ago, down in the Arts District.  None of us had been to that one, so there we were.

It's a fantastic space, what I saw of it.  It's also a loud one, and I was not unhappy that the three of us were seated on the patio area (we had reserved an outside table) at the very end.  A quiet corner, relatively speaking.  The weather was just fine for being outside, and so we had a nice evening with a terrific server.

We ordered cocktails, and then some wine.  For food, we went simple.  The cornbread to whet our appetites,

and then the goat shoulder. 

That was a substantial platter that included multiple sauces as well as lettuce leaves, naan, and tostadas for wrapping up the meat.  A meal that we could really dig into and enjoy.  We did.  We had some vegetable sides as well, I promise.  And then it was on to dessert.  We were torn between the sticky rice and something called the popcorn situation, and when we settled on one, the server decided to gift us with the other so we wouldn't miss out. 

That was awesome of her.

Dinner done, it was home to the little girl.  Our bellies were full, and although we thought we might want some television, we instead crashed pretty early.  A very good meal, though, and I would be happy to go back.

a few things

It's a mellow Friday night. Conrad got home about an hour and a half ago, we've had dinner (salmon), we're sipping wine and dealing with a few things related to finances and our upcoming Hawaiian vacation (YES!!!!). Some music playing. A good weekend ahead, according to our plans.

So let me get caught up.

I shan't worry about where I last left off and try to figure out everything I've done since. Instead, a few highlights:

A visit to TK.

And Michael, who doesn't care to be photographed. And Coney and Buster, my two favourite dogs in the world.

Go ahead, ask me how much dog hair I brought home on my clothes. Those dogs got some love from me! A quick weekend in Baltimore, but for a chance to see my best friend (and really, I can never say enough good things about Todd) and enjoy conversations while strolling around the lake? So worth it. Add in those banana desserts

at the Taste of the Town fundraiser event, and, well, we've got a memorable visit indeed.

Vancouver. An even shorter weekend there, but enough time to get in a good run around Stanley Park followed by breakfast and coffee at Safari Cafe.

Ah, Safari, we have missed you. Never close, Adam, please. Time spent with friends,

birthday cake,

and some new furniture.

Oh, and have I mentioned how freaking gorgeous that city is in the spring sunshine?

A return to Girl and the Goat. Eric was in town,

so we caught up over some small plates and (for me) drinks at the bar. I'm a fan, though I've only been there a few times. The shishito peppers once again were a star.

Breakfast with a library bigwig. Well, he might not think so, but Jeff lit up the library blogosphere last year. It was a real pleasure to sit down with him for a leisurely meal and discuss matters related to our profession and otherwise. And may I say that the man has some fine suits and shoes!

Small plates and cocktails at Erwin.

It's not that far south of Yoshi's, and yet it's mostly off our radar, sad to say. Conrad was out of town, but Michael

happily came along while I used up a Groupon. French fries, properly salty.

Yum!

So that's the world of Peter lately, and much food involved, of course. I will need to do some trimming down for a conference in Anaheim next month, but for now, I am content. And oh so happy to have Conrad home!

restaurants I need to go to more often

If I maintained an actual list of places in Chicago I need to get back to or try dining at in the first place, well, I'd start feeling awfully discouraged. Not that it's a tough life dining at Yoshi's so often, but it is a nice thing to go elsewhere. And really, there are few other cities in North American that can boast the dining scene Chicago has. Once every so often, then, I make a small effort.

Ever watch Top Chef? The winner of season 4 was the immensely likable Stephanie Izard, and local chef. I didn't try her former restaurant over in Bucktown, Scylla. Apparently it was great for seafood. Her new place also features some good seafood items, but the key thing to eat there is goat. Of course. Girl and the Goat, a cute name for a restaurant that is hoppingly popular and housed in a terrific, industrialesque space. Conrad and I had been there once a couple of summers ago, celebrating CG, and we've not been back since. I have no idea why.

After Wednesday night, I'm even more mystified by our behaviour.

Conrad was working all week in California, so I got together with a few different friends during the week. Wednesday, sporting a brand new tie (and in need of a beard trim that I finally got around to today), I met up with MK right after work at the bar at Girl and the Goat. Easy to get seats right when it opened. I had a couple of YA novels to pass along to her, and since I got there first, I was enjoying a cocktail, 6th Borough, when she arrived. A beer for her (and, later, a second cocktail for me). On to food, including bread with cultured butter and beer and cheese spread, some green beans with cashews (compliments of the kitchen), crispy fried duck tongues, a sweet potato gratin. Best item, the thing I want to go back to enjoy again? Shisito peppers with sesame and parmesan. Seriously, I could go back happily every day this week ahead (if I weren't off to Vancouver) and sit at the bar, enjoying peppers and a 6th Borough.

It likely won't happen this week. It will happen one day. I'll get Conrad there (or another friend). And that will be one more place checked off the non-existent list, at least for the time being...