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From: "Walgreens eBalance" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 12:32:05 -0700

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unfortunately, that's really where the preponderance of my criticism resides. Indeed, I ultimately found one of the main problems to be similar to that of Little Goat: the menu *reads* very well--if a bit too zeitgeist-inflected, or too unoriginally original, as it were--but execution doesn't meet conception, and the actual dishes don't fulfill their abstract potential. Since I'm going somewhat against the grain here, however, I'd like to really elaborate my grievances: Fried pickles: Very good, crisp cucumber chunks, as opposed to slices, which worked well for the fry--and with a side of skin retained, which was a nice touch. The batter & fry itself was very nicely done, as was the tasty but not-as-noteworthy-as-anticipated yuzu sauce; the harissa was nothing to text your sister about, but served its spicy purpose, I suppose. Goat carpaccio: This was the real travesty. I was exorbitantly eager to try this: I love elegant raw-meat preparations, and goat was a bold choice even in s
pite of the putative goaty promise of the place. But this plate was overburdened, mixed-up mess: not enough goat (small, chunky slivers as opposed to thin, wide slices), not dressed right (a sherry vinaigrette whose sweetness overwhelmed the soft gaminess of the goat, the note that should have predominated), and muddled by conflicting, strident flavors (fried caper-berries; green-olive matchsticks; crispy-fried wonton strings; fris??e; salmon roe). In the final tally, the goat falls pretty

remembering the name to), and baby octopus. All were delightful. We also had 3 rounds of adult beverages, that only made the food taste that much better. When the dessert menu came around, all I wanted to do was order, but my body said NO MORE. Sheepishly, I told the waitress I just couldn't stomach dessert, at which point she turned and smiled and said "for being such good sports all night, I'll have the kitchen whip you up a smaller portion, on me!" I stopped into Girl & the Goat for a quick bite and imbibe after a Bulls game, though we'd originally intended to grab a burger at Au Cheval after walking over from the United Center; the latter had a thirty-plus-minute wait for two, while the former could seat us immediately. Considering how hard it can be to secure a short-notice table at Girl & the Goat, I was pretty pleased. That's about the last bit of the experience that wasn't, at least in some fashion, disappointing. First, and generally, the various facets of ambience and at
mosphere seemed to me mismatched--relative to the ostensible goals--to an extent that seemed almost chimeric, but not really in a good way: it's haute but/and casual, intimate but/and open, formal but/and the servers are all wearing t-shirts with baby-goat caricatures. But whatever: that's a minor stylistic disjunction that would have been--aloof from any other confusions and disappointments--either obviated or unworthy of note. Second: the drinks, the problem of which really reduces to that old saw: the quality versus price matrix. Considering the specifics of the brewed fare, each was overpriced by a few dollars (I paid $7 for a bottle of Lagunitas' basic Pale Ale); meanwhile the wines appeared overpriced by a bit more than a few dollars. Most damningly, however, was pricing-scheme of the cocktails: Violet Hour prices (to the cent: $13 per drink), sans the Violet-Hour-level conception or execution, and much skimpier moreover. For example: my friend had the "Lift Ticket", which
I generously sampled, and, while it wasn't terrible, neither was it very well-balanced; it had an odd cocoanut expression that didn't really fit the apparent concept, and the rocks serving-size was shockingly scant. But whatever: I came here for the cuisine. And,