This is part of a series of posts about Chicago Restaurant Week 2021, held March 19–April 4. To browse past Restaurant Week coverage between 2013 and 2020, click here.
Best Bite: This year, Girl & the Goat participated in Restaurant Week for the first time in its almost 11-year history. As I went through the revolving door and took in the restaurant’s trademark wood-burning scent, I felt a range of emotions as I considered what one of my very favorite restaurants, and so many others, had gone through in the past year.
But on to the food itself: of the 7 shared dishes, the most unique were the roasted oysters, with yuzu punch and gentle heat from the harissa; the wood-oven shrimp with quinoa crunch that elevated a well-balanced salad; and the dessert, a crumb cake served with caramel whipped cream, citrus marmalade, and cheesy ice cream in Stephanie Izard’s characteristically savory dessert style.
Other notes: The menu also involved some of the classics, like the green beans (still my favorite green beans anywhere) and the goat liver mousse (this time with brioche instead of crumpets). I’d had the crispy short ribs last summer as carryout, but they were even better this time around, fork-tender with bright bursts of grapefruit mingling with creamy avocado, herbs, and chiles.
The details: Girl & the Goat, 809 W. Randolph St., Chicago.