an incredible dinner.

Since an amazing meal at a cool restaurant is an indulgence for me, I thought I'd devote a post to a recent experience.

My sister Laura's 33rd birthday a few weeks ago was yet another reason to indulge in a super special dinner. This time, our culinary destination of choice was Girl & the Goat, an amazing new restaurant in the West Loop with a funny little name. We were joined by Amy, fellow foodie and an old childhood friend of ours who fits in perfectly with our sister dynamic.

It was a chilly autumn evening and as I was walking up to the restaurant, running a tad late as usual for our 8:45 reservation, I noticed how rustic the place seemed from the outside. But as I stepped inside, I was enveloped by the smoky smell of the grill and overwhelmed by the enormity of the space. For 8:45, it was PACKED and the energy was contagious. Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time and I soon learned why!

My sisters and Amy saw me as soon as I walked in and they waved me over, but not before the hostess welcomed me and asked me if I was with the Laura party and officially showed me the way to our table. We had menus and I started salivating right away...I couldn't wait to get ordering!

The menu is divided into 3 categories- veg, fish and meat. Simple. Our waiter and his "associate" came over and introduced themselves and explained the concept of the restaurant and the flow of things. We took our sweet time ordering- we thought we'd order 3 dishes from each columm and decide if we wanted more from there. It worked out well- 2 of us were laissez-faire about what to order and 2 of us had specific ideas in mind regarding what we wanted to try (I was part of the latter group, go figure.). Laura placed our order, we ordered up some booze and so began the wait for the meal I'd been dreaming about for weeks!

Meanwhile, the service was spectacular. Our servers really took their time with us and stopped by more than a couple times through the course of our meal to chit-chat and make sure we were enjoying ourselves. The service had that perfect balance of attentiveness and nonchalance which completely impressed me. And our water glasses never went more than halfway empty. I felt like we were the most important people in the room, although in reality, that was far from the case!

First up- the bread. Amazing. Served with garlic oil and white anchovy butter, we couldn't get enough. Then our first course arrived- Chickpea Fritters surrounded by fried chickpeas, raw chickpeas in a romesco sauce. It was delicious. My expectations were set high now- if everything was as awesome as the first 2 dishes, we were in for quite a meal!

Next up- one of my top 3 tastes of the evening. Hiramasa Crudo, dotted with crispy pork belly, caperberry slices and crouton wafers and drizzled with an aioli sauce. I delicately cut the raw whitefish into 4 portions and then savored one of the most perfect bites ever. Wow.

Then we each selected 2 slices of the Smoked Goat Pizza. This was a different taste for me, but the meat was so succulent- goat meat has definitely been a hit for me this year! The roasted cauliflower came out next and this was another top 3 dish for me. The cauliflower florets were cooked wonderfully and accompanied by spicy pepper rings and mint leaves. Another perfect bite- I couldn't get enough and probably had more than my fair share of that course.

Roasted Beet Salad. I usually love beets but this dish was a bit different. It did present some great textures which I appreciated, but the anchovies were a tad strong for me. The scallops with fried brussels sprouts made an apperance next and they were beautiful- plump and perfectly cooked with a hint of some kind of nut flavor which really made the dish for me.

Goat, Pork and Beef Sugo over Papperdelle rounded out my top 3 dishes of the evening. My mouth waters just remembering the flavor of the meat sauce accompanied by little bursts of sweetness from the goose berries that accompanied it. Just incredible.

Then out came Calamari stuffed with Lamb Sausage. A very rich dish, but this was our chance to try sweetbreads...how very Top Chef of us. The sweetbreads looked amazing and were cooked well, but I am just not a fan of any kind of edible gland or organ. I wanted to enjoy them, but I couldn't get past the taste and texture. And the lamb sausage was very gamey. This was my least favorite dish of the evening, though the work that went into the preparation was impressive.

Face or Tongue? For our last course, we chose Pig Face. Prior to staring down Pig Face on a plate, I thought I loved all things pork. Yeah. All things pork except the face. I think it's one of those delicacies you don't have an affinity for right away...you have to grow to love the taste. I love pork fat, but the fat on the face was a bit much for me. I made my way to the meat side of things and liked that, but the rest of the dish was a no-go. Bummer.

Our desserts were interesting- to say the least. Not my typical idea of a dessert...and now I think that dessert doesn't always equal something super sweet. We had a sticky date cake with quince paste and housemade marshmallow. And a bittersweet chocolate cake with cocoa nib ice cream (with a candle for Laura's birthday!). For sure, an appropriate end to our meal.

The 9 courses didn't seem enough at first, but by the end of our evening, we were stuffed. There is something to say about spacing out a meal and eating slowly- I definitely felt more satisfied. We missed an opportunity to meet Stephanie Izard- Top Chef Chicago winner and the Goat's chef- there's always next time. And there will FOR SURE be a next time.