Little Goat

Stephanie Izzard's first restaurant, Girl & The Goat, is probably one of the hottest tickets in town since it opened in 2010.  Reservations are still hard to come by and sometimes can't be snagged even months in advance.  I dined here some time ago and was very pleased with my meal here, though I feel like there are plenty of other restaurants in Chicago that are just as tasty, if not tastier, and a lot easier to eat at.  Anyways, Triple F and I needed a place to brunch at and even though Chicago had many other stellar offerings and Buff Bear only gave it a lukewarm recommendation, we were intrigued by Little Goat, mostly because of our good experiences at Girl & The Goat.

Little Goat is more like a diner, which means more typical American fare like burgers, sandwiches, eggs/bacon, pancakes, biscuits/gravy.  But, this is Stephanie Izzard here right?  Everything's got a twist.

Breakfast Spaghetti 'N Clams 'N Crabs eggs, parmesan, pork guanciale, bok choy
We were intrigued by the possibilities of this dish but SEVERELY let down.  Don't order this.  It's frankly BAD.  I guess they took spaghetti and fried or baked it with cheese to make this giant carb conglomerate sitting in a pool of clam broth? topped with all that stuff above.  It was difficult and messy to eat.  It tasted fishy.  I didn't understand what was going on here.  FAILURE.

Tempura Mashed Potatoes asian bbq sauce, ranch
This, on the other hand, was really really delicious.  It's exactly what you think it is, soft buttery mashed potatoes with a light crispy battered coating on top of what tasted like tonkatsu sauce and ranch.  The light slaw on top added some lightness and crunch.  Two thumbs up!

Bulls Eye French Toast eggs, crispy chicken, sweet onion brioche, bbq maple syrup
The waiter recommended this as a savory, sweet, all around winner.  Each slice of brioche had a running egg in the middle so this really was a rich dish.  I thought the crispy chicken tasted very pre-made and processed, like something you could pick up in the freezer section at any supermarket.  But I still found the dish to be good enough.

Biscuit
Ever since my wonderful biscuit and jam experience at Brenda's French Soul Food in SF, I find myself ordering biscuits more often.  I just love that flakey buttery soft slightly salty goodness balanced out by some sweet tart preserves.  Here it was good though the biscuit looked a little underdone in the center.  Oh well, I still ate it all.

Little Goat is a far cry from the awesomeness of Girl & The Goat.  I agree with Buff Bear's complaint that Stephanie Izzard is being far too ambitious here.  The menu is ginormous and so the food feels like it lacks clear direction.  I guess normally diners do have quite large menus, but one would expect more from such a talented experienced chef.  Granted, we didn't get to try everything on the menu, but from the small smattering that we did sample combined with Buff Bear's half hearted recommendation, I'm gonna have to pass on Little Goat in the future.  Maaaaaybe I'll stop by for a snack with those tempura mashed potatoes though...