Girl & The Goat

We are just two blocks away from Girl & The Goat but it is far from being merely a neighborhood joint for us since neighborhoods joints are generally places that people can just do a walk-in and easily get a table for dinner. Girl & The Goat is different. It is a destination place. Opened in the summer of 2010 it shows no signs of slowing down. Getting reservations are difficult (but certainly not impossible) and some pre-planning is required since even if you tried to make a dinner reservation two weeks prior to the day, you would probably be left with the least wanted time slots e.g. 4:30pm for dinner. Diners could try and do a walk-in but they would be probably be looking at about an hour and a half wait for a table. Prior to our recent second visit to Girl & Goat, we made a dinner reservation two months early and managed to snag a 6:30pm table. We thought those two months would not pass soon enough but it did. Here's a tip (if you did not already know it): plan ahead and make advance reservations. It is worth it.

What is the fanfare about surrounding Girl & The Goat? Stephanie Izard is no stranger to the food community and dining industry in Chicago and in the country. As if coming away as the winner of Top Chef 2008 was not impressive enough, she earned the title Best New Chef for 2011 by Food & Wine. Shortly after Girl & the Goat opened, it was featured on the New York Times as being the "tasty reason" to visit Chicago.





Girl & The Goat is not just a random name Stephanie Izard decided to name the restaurant. Izard is said to be the French word for a type of mountain goat. Interestingly, Stephanie Izard had never cooked goat meat until she opened Girl & The Goat. Staying true the restaurant theme, the back of the menus are printed with the image of the signature goat. The rustic environment, excellent foods, and fun atmosphere combine to give this place appeal. We stepped into the restaurant at 6:30pm and it was already bustling with all tables filled. As we were led to our table, the aroma from the open kitchen made us hungry. Stephanie Izard is generally always standing at the front of the kitchen expediting the process so do not be surprised to see her there. It is difficult to apply a strict category of the type of cuisine served at Girl & The Goat. The menu is evenly divided between seafood, meat, and vegetable and it could be seemingly American but the constantly changing menu has items that use ingredients inspired by Asian or European cuisine.





The drinks list has quite a good variety of micro brew beers to choose from. Wines by the bottle also come in a good price range. Our affordable bottle of Gouguenheim Malbec was pleasing to the palate and the mild fruity flavor made it a very enjoyable drink with food.

Everyone who has been to Girl & The Goat talks about the sauteed green beans. Believe what they say about it. It may seem strange because green beans have generally been an underrated type of vegetable in restaurants but thanks to Girl & The Goat, there is a revival of green beans. Sauteed with fish sauce vinaigrette and cashews, the green beans were bursting with intense flavor. While the idea of fish sauce may put off some people, there is not a slightest hint of fishiness in the dish. Commonly used in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine, fish sauce is used to give dishes the umami flavor and it did just that in the resulting and amazing sauteed green beans.





The goat carpaccio was topped with very different tasting ingredients that resulted in a wonderful combination of flavors from those various bits of topping. The thinly sliced goat loin were fresh and pure in taste and the meat came dressed with tongue-olive vinaigrette and smoked roe. The figs and salsify crisps were a wonderful addition.

The smoked goat rilette empanadas were served on a piece of wooden board and the empanadas came with tuna aoili, celery, and tomato salad. The pastry crust of the empanadas were perfect and the goat rilette filling was still warm when we bit into the empanadas. Nothing beats eating stuffed pastry when still warm.

We really liked that the escargot ravioli stayed true to its name and form. Inside each ravioli pocket was a piece of whole escargot. Without any unnecessary added ingredients to the ravioli filling that could be a distraction to the escargot, the simplicity of each ravioli that was filled with just a whole escargot inside allowed us to taste and appreciate the escargot itself. Tiny bits of chopped bacon as well as a concocted tamarind-miso sauce complemented the ravioli well.

Easily one of our top favorite dishes is the skewered lamb's heart with spiced black mission figs and charred tomatoes. The texture of the heart meat was right on and the dish was prepared slightly under medium since heart meat has a tendency to become hard in texture when overcooked. We love how restaurants today are not afraid to embrace cooking with seemingly unconventional animal parts that may be part of the everyday food culture in other parts of the world.

If there is another part of our meal that I still think about it, it is the pork fat doughnuts we had for dessert. I asked our server about the preparation and was told that pork fat is added to the batter and then the doughnuts are fried. The resulting square-shaped pillow doughnuts were fluffy, light, and airy. I loved it so much I told T we had to return to Girl & The Goat soon even if it meant just grabbing a drink at the bar and getting an order of these doughnuts. The doughnuts sat on a layer of honey yoghurt and also in the dessert bowl were caramelized figs, lemony eggplant, and ham streusel. While the accompaniments do not sound very conventional (and that's what we love about Girl & The Goat), the marriage of flavors and textures of the entire dessert was very well executed.

Until our next meal at Girl & The Goat, here's getting down to some pre-planning and making an advance reservation perhaps for dinner two months down the road.

Word is out that Stephanie Izard has plans to open The Little Goat which will be an old school diner but with a contemporary twist. The diner will just be steps away from Girl & The Goat.



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Girl & The Goat
809 West Randolph Street
Chicago, IL


Accolades
2011 Food & Wine Best New Chef
2011 James Beard Nominee Best New Restaurant
2011 Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
2011 Time Out Chef of the Year
2008 Top Chef Winner

Maude's Liquor Bar

We constantly find ourselves transported to circa 1930s France at Maude's Liquor Bar.  Vintage blue metal chairs, wooden rustic tables, and dark brown retro couches make up the furniture. The wall on one side of the wall is made up of exposed bricks and the other side of the wall is plastered with white ceramic which enhances the vintage look. On the ceiling are mismatched lamps and chandeliers that function more as decorative items than a main source of lighting. Maude's is always such a dim place. It's sexy and mysterious. The facade is a black wall and black door with an inconspicuous lettering that says Maude's. Now that it's summer and with the days getting longer, the mysterious door is left open, allowing that burst of sun light to penetrate into the first half of the restaurant near the entrance until the sun goes down.

Brendan Sodikoff does it again with Maude's offering down to earth French food. Along with his other projects that turned into instant successes, Gilt Bar and Doughnut Vault, his entrepreneurial goal is to cater to foodies and scenesters. His ventures' presence are definitely felt in the Chicago dining scene. The kitchen at Maude's is helmed by Jeff Pikus as the executive chef, an alum of Alinea.

The beer list includes a good variety of local micro brews and unique import beers. The cocktail list is made up old time classics such as Sazerac. The wine list is equally good in variety and if nothing else floats your boat, you can't go wrong with the $4 table wine by the glass.

One of the items that make Maude's menu stand out is the seafood platter called Maude's Plateaux clearly stands out as memorable. Served in two tiers, it includes a dozen west coast oysters, a dozen east coast oysters, octopus ceviche, salmon crudo, and jumbo cocktail shrimps. They were very accommodating to my shrimp allergies and substituted the shrimps with an entire lobster. For those with an even bigger appetite for seafood, the Grande Plateaux is served in three tiers and comes with everything mentioned. Our favorite presentation among the seafood items in the Maude's Plateaux is the octopus ceviche which is served on a slab of stone salt.

The pomme frites served with garlic aoili is also a favorite. As with all fries, we dig into the tall cup of fries as soon as it's served since they're best when still warm. The crispy and warm fries dipped into the cold aioli are a wonderful combination of texture, temperature, and taste.

The chicken liver mousse, served in a canning glass jar, is very smooth and rich making it a perfect spread on the toast accompaniment. Along with the toast is also the shallot marmalade to go with the liver mousse.

Several of their items are reminiscent of Gilt Bar such as the tenderloin steak tartare, roasted bone marrow, and steak. An item worth noting on Maude's menu is the Lyonnaise salad with a twist. Instead of the traditional bacon served in Lyonnaise salads, it comes with grilled pork belly. Other classic French items include herb buttered escargots, foie gras, chicken cassoulet.

The famous classic creme brulee is must-have for every visit to Maude's. Inspired by Francois Massialot's original creme brulee recipe in French dating back to 1961, a round cast iron is first heated and then put on the surface of the creme brulee instead of using a blow torch to produce the crisp burnt sugar.

Our favorite way to end the night is the $3 whiskey shots. The whiskey used for the shots change constantly but the both times we had it they were rye whiskey. Sticking to the vintage and down to earth theme, the whiskey is served in the stainless steel device usually used to measure a shot.

Maude's is here to stay for a long time in the Chicago dining scene. Given the competition since it is smacked in between other popular restaurants along Randolph Row, the well known stretch of dining scene in the Fulton River District, there is nothing that Maude's need to worry about. With it's unique character that exudes the feel of 1930s France, this alone makes Maude's a stand out. Just make sure you score an advance reservation.




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Maude's Liquor Bar
840 West Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60607

Accolade
Best Restaurateur of the Year 2011 Nominee, Brendan Sodikoff