Girls and a Goat

One last very overdue post about our trip to Chicago back in October! When trying to decide where to eat other than Alinea, I took a look at suggestions from my workplace’s Food & Wine mailing list. Moto was an option, but they weren’t open on Sunday nights. Another restaurant that got a lot of recommendations, if you could get a reservation, was Girl and the Goat. I saw that they had Opentable reservations (a big plus in my book!) so I did a search for Sunday night and saw one spot available at 9pm. So I took it. You know how perceived scarcity increases perceived value? Well, when I saw that there were no other weekend reservations available for many weeks out, I wanted to eat at the restaurant even more.

 

Really, I didn’t know that much about the restaurant beforehand other than the good reviews. Sandy did, though. Girl and the Goat is the restaurant of Stephanie Izard, the winner of the fourth season of Top Chef. I don’t have television service and I’ve never watched Top Chef, but Sandy watched that season and the chef impressed her enough to give her quite a bit of interest in the restaurant.

Sandy in the Take Action Dress and Bouquet of Roses Heels

The ambiance at the restaurant was decidedly different from Alinea. Things seemed more dark, earthy, and casual, reflected both in the décor and the food. But there were plenty of people who were dressed up as well. Sandy was channeling Anthro spirit with her Take Action Dress and gorgeous, hard-won Bouquet of Roses Heels.

 
left: chickpeas fritters . eggplant-tomatillo caponata . crave brother's mozzarella
right: steamed mussels . goat sausage croutons . cilantro . caesar

The best way to experience the menu at Girl at the Goat is to share as many of the small plates of food as you can fit in your stomach. We tried seven and were completely full at the end. One of the first dishes to arrive was the chickpea fritters. It definitely didn’t match what I had pictured as a chickpea fritter, but the dish was delicious, one we all agreed was probably the best of the night. The mussels themselves were just okay (I’m spoiled with Washington mussels), but their accompaniments were good.

 
left: sauteed green beans . fish sauce vinaigrette . cashews
right: roasted cauliflower . pickled peppers . pine nuts . mint

Both the green beans and the cauliflower came highly recommended by online reviews and our waitress. We loved the cauliflower, but the green beans weren’t as tasty as the typical garlic preparation we were used to from Chinese restaurants. I did like the cashews and the acidity of the vinaigrette as a nice change from the typical, but I’d still go with the garlic preparation if I had to choose.

 
left: confit goat belly . bourbon butter . lobster n' crab . fennel
right: grilled pork ribs . tomatillo-mushroom slaw . grilled scallion vinaigrette

They say to come to Girl and the Goat with an open mind. Makes sense. After all, the restaurant has “goat” in the name, pictures of a cartoon goat all over the restaurant, and a good half dozen dishes that contain goat, a meat that isn’t that standard in American cuisine. We took a “goat lite” approach, getting little tastes of it through the goat sausage with the mussels and a small portion of goat belly. It won’t say the experience elevated my love of the meat to duck and pork level, but it was still good to eat. The pork ribs smelled delicious and came easily off the bone.

wood oven roasted pig face . sunny side egg . tamarind . cilantro . potato stix

Remember the open mind thing? All over reviews on Yelp, people universally exclaimed, “Get the pig face!” Of course, we had to get the pig face. We aren’t extremely squeamish eaters, but once you hear “pig face,” it’s hard to get the image of a pig’s head staring at you out of your head. Of course, that’s not what the dish actually is. It’s just a piece of meat from the face (hidden under the egg in the picture) – a rich, sweet cut of meat. The idea behind the dish is “breakfast for dinner,” and I definitely agree that it’s a must try dish at Girl and the Goat.

 

Great dining experience, very reasonable total bill, and the good thing about the late reservation was that we got free parking! They really ARE very full. Make weekend reservations months in advance or walk in and eat at the bar. Stephanie Izard wasn’t there when we went (she actually made a stop in Seattle not long after I got back), but you can probably see her in the open kitchen if you pick a day she’s there.

~N

Horsin’ Around in Chicago

While I do wish that more of my friends from college lived near me, one of the fun things about having friends spread out around the country is that we can travel to see each other! Time becomes more of a scarce resource as we get older, but the three of us have tried to meet up at least once a year. Sandy has made the trek over to the West Coast many times, so this time Jenni and I flew back to Chicago for a weekend of gourmet feasting.

 
(Wildberry and tiramisu pancakes from Wildberry Café)

We’re splitting up the posts about this trip, and if you’re into food, you should eagerly anticipate some of the upcoming posts. The weekend was a mesh of gourmet eats and cheap college favorites. Jenni and I got in close to midnight, so our first meal was a 24-hour Steak and Shake. Frisco melt! The next morning, we went to the nearby Wildberry Café, where we had some very yummy pancakes and French toast.

 
(left: banana bread French toast, right: horses at Chain O’ Lakes State Park)

Afterwards, we made our way to Chain O’ Lakes State Park to do some trail riding. It was a little chilly as we waited for horses to become available, but it warmed up and ended up being a nice day. Jenni was probably missing her warm California weather, but the blue skies were a welcome change from the continuous September-to-June Seattle rain. It was very peaceful to ride through big, stereotypically Midwest cornfields, and the park felt like a pretty retreat from the suburban area we were staying in.

 
(cornfields and grass fields in Chain O’ Lakes State Park)

Much to my dismay, there was a sign saying that all trail rides were at a walking pace only. However, this and my 20+ year old horse did not stop me from trying to trot. The horse really wasn’t interested in exerting himself (I can relate), but I did figure out that when he was very willing to trot when going uphill, probably to get it over with quicker. Of course, as soon as my horse trotted, the horses behind mind followed suit. I’m guessing the ride leader wasn’t very amused. Next time we’ll have to find a place that gives us a little more slack. We’ve ridden near Seattle and near Chicago, so that leaves San Francisco… They were strict with their horses, too. Some of them had buckets over their mouths to keep them from eating!

 
(riding in a line)

We had an early dinner that day, so after riding, we had a really small lunch. White Castle! :D It’s funny what we end up missing when we move to other areas of the country, isn’t it?

~N (pictures are from all three of our cameras)

Asian Travels

While Sandy and Jenni and everyone in the blogosphere are happily getting great deals with the Anthro sales, I am Anthro-less in Asia right now.

I was previously in Beijing, home to…

the Forbidden City…

the Summer Palace…

the Great Wall (well, it’s close enough to Beijing to count)…

Peking duck and other great food!

I am now in Taiwan, home to…

Sun Moon Lake…

lots of flowers (and currently hosting the Floral Expo)…

huge malls and awesome night markets…

lots of great food (like zhongzi)…

…and much more!

~N

Streets of Provence

When I first started traveling, I was really set on seeing Big Things. I still feel that way about some of the travel destinations on my list, like Rajasthan in India or Beijing in China. But I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve seen a lot of stuff, and now I’m finding that a lot of my time on trips is now spent on enjoying the Small Things of a different places, like the food or the way the buildings are styled.

Provence would be pretty different in the summer, I’m sure. In late November, things were pretty quiet and cold. We got some nice scenic views, but for the most part, we focused on the charm of the cities and towns. I love the little streets in the “Old Town” neighborhood that each city seems to have. There’s no way Americans could squeeze their SUVs through those tiny roads, but the French seem to manage okay. These guys don’t feel the need to redo something that’s okay the way it is. They’re all fine with the faded pastel blue window shutters, no need to tear it down for an ultra-modern townhouse.

Here are some street shots of places I visited last year. Hope you enjoy!

Arles

Traveling Anthro Addicts

Sandy joined my family for a Christmas Caribbean cruise (more on that later), and our flights left the day after the cruise ended. That left us with almost one full day in Miami. What to do? Check out the Anthro tag sale that we’d been deprived of while on the boat. A quick and easy $2 bus ride got us to Village of Merrick Park, an upscale shopping mall only a few miles away from the Miami airport and the closest Anthro store we could find.

The sale items had been pretty picked over by the time we got there, but I did manage to find a few things to buy. I was definitely less picky about what I chose to try on, so there were some things that REALLY didn’t work out.

Posh Peasant Tee – $29.96 (original: $58)
Got this in purple XS. Not a highly rated item, and I’m still debating over whether or not I’ll keep it. It’s a really comfy fit, and I like the top, but the looseness and the weirdness with the varied length might make it a little too unflattering. The neckline is really pretty, though. I normally do NOT wear an XS, so this tee is not an option for anyone who wears smaller sizes.

Stripey Scarves

At least 4 years ago, I found myself in need of a winter scarf. I have some major itchy issues with wool, and I can’t wear anything with even a little bit of wool content in it, so it really narrowed down my choices for warm scarves. At Target, I ended up picking a blue, olive, white, and black striped scarf that was the least offensive reasonably priced scarf in the womens section. I’ve been wearing it ever since: in Europe the winter of 2006, on cold hikes, skiing, etc. This time when I went to Europe, I was expecting cold weather, so it made sense to pack my stripey scarf.

(stripey scarf in Belgium ~ stripey scarf on a hike)

I get to London and walk around for a day or two. Mike vocalizes what I’ve been thinking: everyone has my scarf. So many stripey scarves. Many even have the same color combination. I am unintentionally fashionable! Except… it’s all men wearing the scarf. Oops.

(men wearing stripey scarves, images courtesy of the Internet)

Mike was on a scarf hunt after that, searching for his own perfect stripey scarf. He finally found one (of the orange color variety) in Paris.

Anyway, just goes to show that fashions cycle. Sometimes across genders. (See also: plaid flannel shirts that women are wearing now)