If you liked watching Stephanie Izard beat out the competition on season four of Top Chef, you're going to love watching her work her culinary magic live at her new West Loop Restaurant, Girl & the Goat.
The expansive open kitchen, buzzing with Top Chef-level intensity, sets a theatrical backdrop for the sleek space. Muted browns and grays and simple wooden butcher block tables let the food take center stage. On my recent visit, Izard had her sleeves rolled up and was orchestrating the whole performance with ease and confidence—checking on orders and glancing at dishes before they went out to customers.
The menu features Mediterranean-influenced small plates with the same kind of experimental quality you see on the hit Bravo show where Izard rose to culinary fame. Anchovies are whipped into butter; eggplant shows up on the dessert menu; and classic comfort foods are broken down and re-created as gourmet dishes. A lesser chef might turn the whole thing into a bizarre food laboratory, but there's a reason Izard won the competition in 2008: She knows how to combine unique and familiar flavors in unexpected ways, she knows where to push the envelope and she knows just when to stop.
Once you have a cocktail in hand, you'll want to begin your meal at Girl & the Goat with at least one of the homemade breads. My top pick is the "corny goat," a warm and crusty cheese bread served with whipped goat cheese and corn relish. It's like a deconstructed version of cornbread with butter, and I guarantee you won't be able to eat just one piece. The tortone is a close second. You slather slices of this doughy bread with a thick and creamy onion butter and then dip it in an addictive herb oil. Insert in mouth and repeat.
Now about those cocktails: Girl & the Goat has about two dozen beers, including several local brews; an extensive wine list with plenty of Spanish and Portuguese varietals to accompany the Mediterranean food; and a handful of specialty cocktails for $11 a pop. Try the "Smoking Jacket" while you're waiting at the bar for your table ( and, trust me, you will be waiting ) . This cocktail is made with applewood-smoked single barrel bourbon, grenadine and lime, and it's served ice-cold in a long-stemmed glass. It's basically cold, pink bourbon but, boy, does it go down easy!
Izard's menu is meant to be enjoyed tapas-style. You can order a few dishes, critique them like you are a judge on Top Chef and then order a few more. The sautéed green beans are a great companion for several of the meat and fish dishes. They are fresh, crisp and doused in a lemony fish sauce. The roasted beets are another standout from the "veg" section of the menu. The tender beets are drizzled with avocado crème fraiche, and instead of croutons this salad has crunchy clusters of breadcrumbs soaked in anchovies. The combination of flavors and textures works well, but I think this dish could use a bit more crème fraiche.
Izard has said that she particularly enjoys cooking seafood, so be sure to order a few of the fish plates. I highly recommend the soft-shell crab, which tastes kind of like crab bisque in solid form. It's served with sweet corn, lime and just enough chili aioli to make it truly memorable. Aside from maybe a quarter of a teaspoon too much salt, the seared scallops are close to perfect. They are expertly seared and served with little bits of braised veal ( a refreshing change from bacon ) and an out-of-this-world almond butter.
True to the restaurant's name, there is plenty of goat on the menu in every imaginable form—goat belly confit, escargot and goatballs and that fantastic whipped goat cheese, to name a few. I decided to get my goat in pizza form. The smoked-goat pizza is made with tart cherry soffritto, black kale and house-made ricotta. The crust is thin and crisp, but the ricotta is a little bland. Fortunately, the smoky goat meat and the fresh kale make up for the flavor the cheese is lacking.
Like the rest of her creations, Izard's dessert menu is full of unusual ingredients and unexpected flavor pairings. If you're looking for a cheesecake or a predictable flourless chocolate, you won't find it here. You may, however, find potato dumplings with lemon-poached eggplant. The dumplings are essentially homemade doughnuts, and the eggplant is sweet, succulent and, much to my surprise, workable as a dessert. And, don't miss the goat-cheese bavaroise, Izard's brilliantly-executed take on cheesecake. This little pot of heaven is filled with sweet, ripe blueberries, light and creamy goat cheese, and topped with a rich and buttery brown sugar cake.
Want a chance to judge the Top Chef for yourself? Get in line because I'm certain the reservation line at Girl & The Goat will be tied up for quite some time, as everyone within driving distance competes for one of the most coveted tables in Chicago.
Girl & the Goat is at 809 W. Randolph; call 312-492-6262 or visit www.girlandthegoat.com .
