Saturday Night at Girl and the Goat

As part of our dining tour with Z's dad a couple of weekends ago, we spent Saturday night at Girl and the Goat. Our friends Alicia and Chris had made reservations months ago and were kind enough to invite us to share their table. Yes, that's still what it takes to get into GATG, unless you have a small table or want to wait for hours.

Even with a 9:15 p.m. reservation, we still had to wait a few minutes before we were seated. And like Nellcote, just down Randolph Street where we had eaten the night before, the dining room of GATG was loud. Very loud.

It's no secret that the food at GATG is excellent. Even then, a few dishes stood out during our experience. Because the menu changes so frequently and you may have a completely different selection to choose from, I'll mention our favorites very briefly.

The goat liver mousse was excellent, as were the roasted beets. Our server was doing us a favor when she recommended the sauteed green beans topped with cashews; they were crunchy and flavorful. The grilled baby octopus with a pistachio-lemon vinaigrette was perfectly cooked and lacked any of the chewiness that can come with octopus. The scallops that night came with short ribs. Yum!

The only thing I didn't care for was the dessert. It was some sort of cobbler with an overly-crunchy, flavorless topping.

Needless to say, we'll be back to GATG, whenever we can get in. 

Chic Cuisine in River North

We went to Paris Club once before, more than a year ago, before it was the small plates hot spot in River North. Now, about a year-and-a-half after the French-themed Lettuce Entertain You restaurant opened in the former Brasserie Jo space, this post isn't telling you anything you don't already know: If you can get past the tables full of 20s and 30s-somethings dressed to the nines for girls-night out and guys-night out, the food is really good. It may even be worth putting up with a club-like atmosphere while you eat your meal.

On our visit a few weeks ago, equipped with a generous gift certificate from a friend, we started at the bar while we waited for our table. Just a few minutes later we were brought to our table in the back of the restaurant.

The atmosphere is loud, just like you would find in a bumpin' club. Fortunately or unfortunately, we were near the servers' station, which offered a small reprieve from the noise, but a constant flow of traffic from servers entering orders.

We started out with the Chilled Seafood Platter and a Charcuterie Board, followed quickly by two escargot bourguignonnes, a cauliflower and arugula salad, braised brussels sprouts and green beans with hazelnuts.

Everything on the seafood platter was delicious, but the lobster was particularly divine. Z and I agreed that it was better lobster tail than the lobster tail we'd had at a VIP wedding at The Breakers in June. The escargot bourguigonne also surprised me. I would have ordered another if it hadn't been for my stuffed stomach.

The biggest disappointment came on the Charcuterie Board in the form of a sausage. It wasn't bad, probably good at many restaurants, but it was keeping elite company and came up short.

You can make a reservation at Paris Club on OpenTable.