Two Thumbs Up...and One Full Belly

I should have written my review of Girl & The Goat a couple of days ago, but to be honest...I've still been recovering from the experience.  Yes.  It was THAT good.  And I left barely being able to walk because I was so full and happy.

Girl & The Goat is a fabulous restaurant here in Chicago that opened in 2010.  It is the baby of Stephanie Izard, winner of the 4th season of Top Chef.  They frequently change the menu, and are known for having some kind of crazy things on there.  Here is the not-great-quality Blackberry picture I took of it:

Upon being seated there and talking to others, I decided I would be brave and not pass on trying at least a small taste of everything.  It's not everyday one gets to eat at that place...especially considering that the earliest you can get reservations there is 2 months out.  That's insane!  So would you like to know exactly what I ate while there?  Alrighty...here goes:

* Some sort of cheesy bread
* Roasted Cauliflower
* Roasted Beets
* Grilled Baby Octopus
* Steamed Mussels
* Wood Oven Roasted Pig Face (yes, you read that right)
* Crisp Braised Pork Shank
* Goat Belly

Girl Scout's honor...I ate every one of those things.  And they were all delicious.  There's something I never thought I'd say about "pig face"...

Here are a couple of other shots I snuck throughout the meal:

Crisp braised pork shank...best dish we had!

Look at that mussel...I made sure my thumb was in the shot so the enormity of that sucker was visible.  Best mussels I've ever had, in my whole life.  I'm pretty sure they fed other mussels to these mussels to get them that big...

So yeah...the whole "vegetarian" thing has gone to the wayside a bit.  I guess a lot bit, if I'm gnawing on a giant pig bone...JK looks so jealous here, because his bone is so much smaller.

Desserts too?  That's what put me into uncomfortable territory.  But they were totally worth it.

 I'm thinking about calling G & TG right now to make a reservation...and I'll hope that this meal will hold me over until I can go back in 2 months.  Well, unless I can score another invite before then...