Worth The Wait

Mad props, Stephanie Izard and the crew from the Boka restaurant group. Girl and the Goat was absolutely worth the wait, the hoaxes and the menu changes you threw our way before actually opening.

The first thing I will say is that the staff is friendly and totally accommodating. Every single person we interacted with had a great attitude, even though the place is packed to the gills and has been featured in every publication, blog and foodie website known to man in the past week since its opening. The staff is just plain pleasant -- and it seems truly genuine. So refreshing. Score 1, Izard. Who, by the way, was present and in front of the open kitchen, checking every single dish that went out. Score 2, Izard.

We waited about a half an hour past our 7:00 p.m. reservation time, which is to be expected when you hit up a new restaurant within the first week of opening. So we meandered over to the bar and had some drinks. I'm a sucker for Albarino, so I had to order a glass of that. It was perfect for a hot summer night. My uber-foodie friend Meg started out with a Smoking Jacket, a cocktail comprised of Bourbon, house-made grenadine and lime. We were sold on the house-made grenadine, but since the head mixologist of the Boka restaurant group is in charge of cocktails at Girl and the Goat, we were pretty sure they'd all be fantastic. The Smoking Jacket was delicious: not overly sweet, with a good balance between the bourbon, the acidity of the lime juice and just a hint of sweetness from the grenadine.

We sat down at our table and were a little disappointed to learn that the acclaimed fat bread we'd all read about was not on the menu that night. Our disappointment faded fast when the two appetizers we ordered instead arrived. We got the corny goat, aka bread made with goat cheese, served warm with whipped goat cheese and corn relish. It was AMAZING. The smokey back fat, a pig's back fat whipped and served over a mixture of bourbon and caramelized onions, was paired with biscuits and was sold in to us as tasting "like the best bacon cheeseburger you've ever had." This is an apt description. The dish was so light and so airy, but absolutely had the flavor of an amazing bacon cheeseburger. So cool. Back fat has never been so appealing.

From that point on, the parade of small plates began. And it was glorious. Izard recommends ordering 2-3 small plates per person. You don't have to tell us twice. We went to town immediately.

The first dish that came out was green beans with fish sauce and cashews. It sounds weird, but it was definitely one of the highlights of the meal. The green beans were so fresh (clearly from one of the farmers' markets cited at the base of the menu) and the pairing with the fish sauce and cashews was a home run from both a flavor and texture standpoint. Green beans never had it so good. The second dish that arrived was the crispy pig face. Yes, that's right. It's not for the faint of heart. The dish is comprised of all edible parts of a pig's face, which are then combined, rolled up in a pig's tongue, sliced and fried to crispy perfection. The crispy patties are placed atop a perfectly executed chimichurri sauce and then topped with a fresh arugula salad. Holy God, a pig's face contains some tender meat. It was so good -- and expertly paired with the sauce and the arugula. All three of us were totally blown away.

Next, they rolled out the seasonal specialty that is soft shell crab, sitting on top of the veritable throne of a beautifully done mixture of farmers' market favorites: bicolor corn (fresh off the cob) and tiny potatoes. As a final touch, the crab was lightly drizzled with a chipotle aioli. It was such an incredible blend of flavors: perfect soft shell crab with fresh summer vegetables and a hint of spicy creaminess. Seasonally conscious and fabulous.

Before we knew it, we were looking at the smoked goat pizza, which is a flatbread topped with smoked goat, ricotta cheese, grilled onions and raw kale. I am sorry to say it since this plate features one of the restaurant's namesakes, but this was the most disappointing dish we had tonight. The kale was overpowering. The smoked goat was done to perfection and the ricotta and grilled onion paired well with it. But everything on the flatbread took a backseat to the kale. I am not going to tell the Top Chef what to do, but I would try spinach or arugula as alternatives if I were recreating the dish myself.

At this point, it was time to try some more drinks. I tried the Girl and The Goat Viognier, which Izard blended herself out in Walla Walla, Washington. I mean, if a restaurant has blended its own wine, you can bet I'm going to try it. The wine was a little sharp at the start, probably due to the fact that it's most likely a pretty young one, but was great once it had a little air up in it. I swear, it was like a different wine after a little swirling and a little time. Really tasty. Meg took this opportunity to order an Old-Fashioned, which impressed her very much. (Laura stuck to the fab Albarino, which is a steal for $9 a glass.)

And, it seems, Girl and The Goat had saved the best part of the meal for last. The final two dishes we ordered were a recommendation from our server, since there were still tons of plates we wanted to try but we were quickly running out of room in our stomachs.

Enter the clams and the ham frites. The clams were served in a bath of awesome: a fennel broth, shards of fresh fennel and out of this world house-made fennel-infused sausage. The clams were phenomenal. The perfect bite includes clam, sausage and some fresh fennel. And the ham frites were the ideal accompaniment. Ham frites, in case you're curious, are french fries rolled in ham salt. (Ham salt is created by dehydrating ham, pulverizing it and then tossing it with a bunch of salt.) These little frites are served up with two dipping sauces: a smoky tomato aioli and some sort of delicious smoked Swiss cheese-based sauce. If you're creeps like us, you can refuse to part with your whipped goat cheese, which you'll also use as a dipping sauce for your ham frites. But as it turns out, the best dipping sauce of all for the frites is actually the broth from the clams! A-freaking-mazing on every single count.

Although we thought we were about to explode, we ordered two desserts. Again, our rock star server Lindsey came through in the clutch and recommended the potato "doughnuts," served with fresh figs, honey and some kind of crazy yogurt. We also ordered the fudgsicle, which featured olive oil gelato along with some sort of fudgy chocolate gooey business and a crunchy, salty chocolate crisp. To top it all off tableside, the server pours in the "dragon's milk," which is actually a rich dark stout. This has crazy complexity for a dessert, both in terms of its flavor profile and from a texture standpoint. Don't be afraid. Embrace olive oil gelato. As soon as possible.

In the end, the food is fresh and innovative (read: fantastic); the staff is friendly, knowledgeable and attentive; and the space is awesome. I like the chef and I absolutely love her restaurant. This girl will be returning to the Goat ASAP.