PROJECT chicaGO: Little Goat
Classic with a funk
“Izard is the juggling trapeze artist who can throw a million things at you at once and you’ll still ask for more — even when you can’t handle it.” — Mike Sula, “Chicago Reader: Drunken bliss at the Little Goat (2013)”
Owned by one of the most favored chefs in town, Steaphanie Izard, Little Goat is Izard’s second store she opened after her huge success with the Girl & the Goat. Little Goat is a Diner + Bakery. Serving small bites, baked goods, breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus, the restaurant has a chill vibe that feels just about right for any day-to-day occasion.
Little Goat looked picturesque inside and out when I visited last week on a fine spring late morning. Let’s just hope winter won’t come back to surprise us again, ever.
Retro and beautiful interior — the restaurant feels open and wide, yet gives private spaces for you and your friends to enjoy some good conversations and longed for catch-ups.
Little Goat has a twist of funk in everything. Clearly this is visible from its detailed attention to decors. Look for the illustrations at the corners of your eyes. Imagine what kind of food these cute illustrated characters would want to eat if they were in real life. The menu will read like a comic book — “Cereal Killers,” “Sammiches,” and “Choco Taco Sundae” for example. You just can’t get bored at this place.
I ordered a Reuben. Sounds classic? But remember, it says “sammiches” instead of “sandwiches” here for a reason. My Reuben Sammiches hadsmoked corned beef, kimchi, kraut, havarti, and special sauce on a pretzel rye bread.
I got to say, as a Korean American girl who lived in Korea before, my standard for kimchi is relatively pretty high than usual. The kimchi inside the Reuben atLittle Goat was not bad at all. But, the Reuben was way too salty for my taste. Though, this wasn’t my first time tasting an overly salty Korean fusion food in Chicago. I notice that majority of restaurants that serve Korean fusion food tend to taste overtly flavorful and salty for a regular Korean and Korean American taste buds. My speculation is that the way the fusion food is cooked combines ban-chan (side-dishes that you eat together with plain rice) with another western flavor and sometimes add even more spices on top of that. Most Korean dishes are prepared with considering a bowl of plain rice (and soup if you are having a full meal) to be enjoyed together. There are certain meal that come in one bowl (ilpumyori, Korean style A la carte dish) like bi-bim-bap but those are rare meals and normally already have rice inside the bowl. So it is in some ways inevitable for Korean fusion food in Chicago and other places in USA to taste saltier than normal for people who are more used to eating authentic Korean food. But I did enjoy the imagined taste of a Korean-ized Reuben and I’d like to go back to Little Goat to try some other classic yet funky dishes.
Little Goat
820 W Randolf St
