Entries Tagged as 'revolution brewing'

Girl & the Goat

February 1st, 2012 · 4 Comments

Dallas and I have been wanting to check out Girl and the Goat pretty much since it opened in the summer of 2010. If you haven’t heard of the restaurant, maybe you’ve heard of the chef/owner, Stephanie Izard, who is famous for winning the fourth season of Top Chef. From what we’d heard, Girl and the Goat is just slammed, like every single night, and is hard to get a reservation there. Every time we tried to go on Open Table and pick a date, it was never available. So, finally I just went on Open Table and figured out how far out you could reserve (three months). I picked a random Tuesday night and when three months passed we went.


Cute goat!


The goat appears all over the place. So cute.

This cute goat is all over their napkins, menus, cutting boards. I love it.


Dining room.

The dining room is really big. Like at least double what I was expecting. It’s moving and lively and LOUD. At some points Dallas and I were literally yelling at each other across the table. Other than that, I really liked it.


Rainier oysters special

The menu is divided into into sections for vegetables, seafood and meat. We tried to order off each of these sections, although you’ll see that our vegetable selection was actually a mushroom! Our server told us that the food comes out in smallish plates for sharing and she recommended that we order about two plates per person, not including the bread and oyster appetizer. We couldn’t settle on four so we did five. We started off with an oyster special. I don’t know what was in these, because it was the special of the day and I can’t look it up now, but they were SO delicious! And huge!


Bread with housemade butter and beer cheese.

Someone had told us ahead of time “don’t fill up on bread!,” which seemed like “duh!” but Girl and the Goat has 3 different breads every day that you can order. We got the one with the beer cheese spread. We liked it, but did comment that it’s not Rev‘s beer cheese (which we are so in love with we’d bathe in it).


pan fried duck tongues . shiitake mushroom . pickled watermelon rind . chili oil . coriander

To try something really different, we ordered the duck tongues. When they came out, it was more like salad-ish. Very light, with pieces of fried strips, which were the tongues. To me, they didn’t really taste like much, they tasted like “fried,” but Dallas couldn’t really get over the fact that they were little duck tongues. The day after we went to Girl and the Goat I said something about my stomach being upset and he said it was duck tongue karma!


grilled baby octopus . guanciale . wax beans . romano beans . radish . pistachio-lemon vinaigrette

Grilled octopus. Good. Light. It reminded me of the octopus we had at El Ideas except I remember the octopus at El being even more tender.


Hen of the woods mushroom ragout. sweet potato agnolotti . shroom creme fraiche . capers

The mushroom ragout is something that really stood out to me when we ordered. I don’t know why, but it was calling my name! Mushrooms, potatoes, creme fraiche, capers! What’s not to love? Well, this was the only dish of the night that I really did not like. There was some sauce that was really sweet and just overpowered everything. Dallas ate most of this dish.


smoked goat rilette empanadas . tuna aioli . celery . tomato salad

The empanada was good, but to be honest, we’re so spoiled by living next to El Nandu. We love their empanadas. If anyone is an empanada expert, let me ask this: Is there such thing as an Argentinean-style empanada? We love El Nandu’s style of making empanadas and are wondering if it’s the restaurant’s way of doing things or if that’s Argentinean style. They’re so light there. Not heavy or oily at all.


Everyone told us to get the pig face.


wood oven roasted pig face . sunny side egg . tamarind . cilantro . potato stix


Stir it up!

Everyone told us ahead of time to get the pig face. I actually remember when the restaurant opened and I looked at the menu online. Pig face. No thanks!!! I was imagining an actual face on a plate. What you really get is some patties made from pig… cheeks? jowl? Not sure. I think there’s just some novelty in actually saying and ordering “pig face.” Or server told us to stir it all up on the serving plate then dig in, so we did. I thought it was good. The patties are crisp on the outside and contrast well with the egg.


Dessert menu


Blue cheese from Westby, WI


chocolate-thai chili gelato . chocolate cake. peanut fluff . pomegranate . left hand milk stout


butternut malasadas . bourbon gelato . brown butter apples . hook’s cheddar

I was getting pretty full at this point, but the desserts looked so good, we had to give them a try. Dallas saw blue cheese on the dessert menu and had to get that first. It was pretty great. Then, in a complete roll reversal, Dallas went for the chocolate dessert and I got the fruity malasada. As Dallas took his first bite of gelato and dessert, his favorite Tears for Fears song came on and I think his eyes rolled back in his head a little. The dessert was that good. Or maybe it was the music! No really, this chocolate dessert was so delicious. The peanut fluff was more like peanut butter crispies and the pomegranate gave a nice freshness to the dish. The chocolate cake was so moist! As for my dessert, it was delicious as well. Probably the best malasadas I’ve had in Chicago. They were a bit more dense than those we get in Hawaii, but this might also be because they had cheddar cheese in the centers! Hats off to the pastry chef. The desserts were one of our favorite parts of our entire meal.

The Girl and the Goat was nominated for a James Beard award in 2011 for best new restaurant. Chef Stephanie Izard is in the Chicago news constantly, it seems. I thought the food was good. We definitely enjoyed our dinner and were glad we went. I just think it’s one of those things where there’s so much hype and build up (and a 3 month wait) that you’re expecting to be going to the moon and back! I would definitely go back and recommend it to others, but try to tune out all this hype!

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Danny & Caroline’s Baby Shower

January 8th, 2012 · No Comments


The clothesline before everyone added their onesies.


Danny & Caroline


Caroline


“There is a Revolution Brewing in my diaper.” We got this onesie for the baby.


Wine for Caroline from Cousin. He also got Danny some beer! They’ll probably need it!


The clothesline after everyone added their onesies.

This past weekend Trent and Loden hosted a baby shower for Danny and Caroline. This was my second shower I went to for these guys. There was one around Christmas with Danny and Dallas’s family and was girls only, but this shower was more like a party with a bunch of friends that just happened to have some baby things. Loden had the cutest onesie decorations. She ironed on letters to spell out “B-A-B-Y H-A-R-A” and strung them up along the banister along with a bunch of blue balloons. Trent had a ton of beer and Loden set up a make-your-own-margarita stand and a a taco bar for dinner. Kristin brought guac and I brought cupcakes (more on that later). Everything was so delicious!


Doesn’t quite fit Cousin.

For a fun activity, Loden got a bunch of onesies and some fabric pens and paint and everyone at the party decorated a onesie for the baby. After a couple drinks these turned out pretty great. Mine is kind of an inside joke. At Caroline’s family baby shower I got her a bunch of Green Bay Packers baby things, much to Danny’s dismay. Caroline said that these things went missing and later on realized they were in the garage, where Danny said he “accidentally” “dropped” them. Um. Yeh.


Sugar Bear


Much excitement with two dogs, a turtle and a two-year old kid!

Halle was the only kid at the party and it was fun to hang out with her. Lately she is very shy when she first arrives, clinging onto Jill’s legs, but within about a half hour, she’s lively and talkative and not shy at all. Tent and Loden have two dogs, Charlie and Winston, and a turtle Sugar Bear. Halle has a big dog at home, Vegas, so she was really into the turtle. Like really into it. When Loden took him out of the tank and let him run around for a while, Halle just about lost her mind. It was so cute!!!

It was fun to spend time with everyone and see Trent & Loden’s new(ish) place. We also watched some football. Lions lost. HAHA, Ed. Nice to see Danny and Caroline again. They’re just about exactly one month out from becoming parents. Can you believe it?!? Caroline looks tiny! Before we knew it, it was 1 a.m. and we were still hanging out and talking. Time to go! Hopefully we’ll get to see Danny and Caroline again soon, but maybe not before the baby? We’ll see…

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Haymarket Brewing

October 18th, 2011 · 3 Comments

Before the CHIRP event, Jess and I decided to get dinner and a drink in the neighborhood. We’d never been to Haymarket Pub and Brewing so we went to check it out. Haymarket brews their own beer and makes their own food. We decided to split two things: Grilled Salad and Mussels.

The grilled salad had chopped greens, red and yellow bell peppers, red onion, grilled asparagus, croutons and grilled shrimp (or chicken, if you prefer). On the side we got the spicy-peanut vinaigrette. I thought the salad was ok. Mostly raw vegetables, with not a ton of the grilled asparagus or shrimp.

The mussels were sauteed in Haymarket’s Belgian ale and mussel broth with onion, garlic, chili, celery, bay leaf and lemon. I liked the mussels better than the salad. My only complaint with them is that they didn’t give us a spoon to scoop them out or to get any of the broth out, so we just picked them out with our fingers.

For beer, Jess started out with the 7GA I.P.A (ABV: 6.8): This “wet hop” IPA is brewed with locally grown chinook and centennial hops from Oak Park! Grown by Gary, director of Seven Generations Ahead. Super fruity and aromatic, wet hopping, or using hops fresh off the vine that have not been dried, adds a unique aroma to the brew. I got the MoJo Belgian Style Abbey Dubbel (ABV: 7.5): This strong dark Belgian ale is fermented with Authentic Trappist yeast, dark candy syrup, raisins and molasses! Hints of chocolate, ripe fruit, plum and candy jump out of the glass! Jess and I both really liked these beers. Mine was dark, but not heavy. It reminded me of Eugene, a beer I have enjoyed many times at Revolution Brewing.

As for the feel of the place, it’s a lot different than I was expecting. Jess and I love and go to Revolution Brewing a lot, so it’s hard not to compare it to Haymarket. Haymarket is bigger. It has a front bar and dining area, then you walk past the brewing area and into a back dining area and a back bar. It’s a lot brighter in Haymarket. Revolution Brewing seems to have more design elements and more of an eye for detail. The bar is gorgeous, the lights are unique and innovative, the bar and seating are custom to the space.

Haymarket has a lot of TVs. A lot. And with those TVs come a lot of dudes. I counted 10 women in our back dining room and 40 men. If you’re a girl looking for a sporty guy, come here. Also, I’m not one of those people who hates every bar with a lot of TVs. I think they have their time and place. I like to watch sports and I like to have a place to do it. I just wasn’t expecting it at Haymarket. That said, this would be a great place to come to watch the game and drink actual good beer and not Crappy Beer Light.

The other thing about Revolution is that the food is fantastic. I can only think of one thing I’ve ever ordered there that I didn’t really enjoy and that is over the course of many, many visits. The food we tried at Haymarket was just ok. Mussels were better than the salad. Maybe just don’t order salads there. Who knows. I don’t think the restaurant should offer salads (or anything) if they’re not going to do them great.

For “dessert” we each tried the Clare’s Right Hook Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine (ABV: 12.5): This huge, hoppy and alcoholic brew was aged for 3 months in 8 year old Woodford Reserve Bourbon Barrels. Caramel, vanilla, coconut and lots of bourbon character. Lucky for us, we both ordered the smallest available. I think it was 8 ounces? I remember the beer was available in 3 sizes, something like 8 oz, 12 oz and 21 oz? Not sure, but I thought this was cool so you could get a sampling or a taste if you wanted. As for the Clare’s Right Hook? This was very tasty, but very boozy. I don’t think I could have finished more than the smallest size.

Jess and I used to work together at FeedBurner in the West Loop years ago. Back then you could go to some high-end restaurants like Blackbird and Avec (who can afford that on startup wages!?) or you could go to some really low-end places like White Hen and the Ogilvie Food Court. There wasn’t too much in the middle. Since that time, it seems like the West Loop has really exploded and there’s all kinds of stuff opening over there constantly. Since the FeedBurner ratio was at least 4:1 men to women, I’m sure we’d have been right at home here at Haymarket. Also, the guys we worked with weren’t the most sporty ever, but they did love their soccer and some football and baseball. I’m sure we would have put in a lot of time at Haymarket had it been there back in the day.

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Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival

August 1st, 2011 · 1 Comment

The first year we lived in Logan Square we missed the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival because we had conflicting plans. Last year I took my niece Jess through and it was alright, but not great. This year it has finally all come together. The fest seemed really improved and we were able to invite some friends over and make an evening of it. Here is what I liked:

Revolution Brewing sponsored the festival and all of the beer there was brewed by them. I drank only the Bottom Up Wit (Refreshing Belgian-style wheat beer spiced with coriander and orange peel. Made with organic malt and wheat.), but there was also the Rosa (Tart summer ale infused with 20 lbs of Hibiscus flowers and touch of orange peel. Elegantly refreshing and defiantly delicious.), Anti-Hero IPA (An American hop assault for all the ambivalent warriors who get the girl in the end. “Look, I ain’t in this for your revolution, and I’m not in it for you, Princess.”) and Coup d’ Etat (Dry, spicy French-style saison dry hopped with German Select hops.).

In addition, sangria was provided by Lula, the popular Logan Square restaurant and wine was provided by Telegraph, Logan Square’s brand new wine bar. I loved how all the drinks were sponsored by bars and restaurants that were only a block or two away. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this at a Chicago festival before. I mean, the beer was made right there. Now, maybe next year we can get the food to be more local.

Another thing I liked was that we were on the square, which means grass and shade. Many times you go to a Chicago festival and there’s nowhere to stand or sit except in the hot sun on the burning hot asphalt. At this festival we got our drinks and walked across the street to the shaded, grassy park. So much more comfortable.

Thirdly: Art. It was an art fest, afterall. Along Milwaukee Avenue there were curated art exhibits and pop-up galleries in empty storefronts and sponsoring establishments. There were also all kinds of different art activities that featured more than 200 artists in over 30 exhibits. The only exhibit I went to was located in the Logan Square Comfort Station, which was conveniently located directly behind the beer tent. The exhibit was Folding Time: Explorations of Surface Reality, a showing of mixed media paintings by Chicago artist Jason Brammer. Pretty interesting.

We spent all of our time at time nearby the main stage at Milwaukee and Kedzie and the music there was pretty good. We enjoyed a mostly all-girl band (only the drummer was a guy) called Hollows. There was also a stage at Milwaukee and Kimball and one closer to our condo, the Cole’s stage at Milwaukee & Belden.


I bought this hat for Dallas. Do you like it?
Jessica

Killian
Alden

Ed (and me!)
My friend, Bottom Up Wit

Finally, and probably the best part, our awesome friends who came to the fest with us. In addition to the people above, we also saw Andy and Katie, who just got engaged about a week ago. And Dallas and I also talked to Jack for a while. Jack cuts our hair and his salon, Mops, was a fest sponsor.

Alden and I were standing in line to get a taco when we saw Dallas purchase and drink a pina colada served in a pineapple. What the heck!? I have no idea what he was thinking since he is never one to order a fruity drink. Must have been the new hat I bought him!

We left shortly after and everyone came back to our house. We had been slow cooking pork all day while we were away. Dallas also made blue cheese coleslaw and I made a caprese couscous salad ahead of time, so we all feasted and sat out on our roof deck, where it was a perfect summer night.

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Tour de Fat

July 20th, 2011 · 2 Comments


Slow Ride


Slow Ride


Slow Ride


Bike Pit


Rules of the Bike Pit


Handsome Little Devils: This guy juggles a chainsaw, raw egg, and bowling ball at the same time.


Crazy kaleidoscope.


Beer socks! Playing urban horseshoes.


Art Bike


Rows and rows of bike racks!

After the Tour de Fat bike parade, Jess and I headed over to Palmer Square for the Tour de Fat festival. We watched the end of the Handsome Little Devils vaudville-like show. In the finale, a man juggled a chainsaw, a raw egg and a 12-pound bowling ball all at the same time! We also watched the slow ride competition. This is a bike race where the loser is the winner. The goal is to ride the slowest and cross the finish line last, which is harder than you think. It’s hard to balance a bike while riding slow, and if you tip over or touch the ground, you’re out.

By this time it was about 12:45 p.m. and Jess and I were getting hungry. We walked all around the festival grounds, but there were NO food tents, as there were previous years. Finally I spotted two food trucks on the north side of the park. Gaztro Wagon was selling naanwiches but they were running out fast. The other truck was 5411 Empanadas. Both trucks had most of their menu crossed out and had a very limited selection. We went to stand in the empanada line. We were about 30 deep. Gaztro Wagon sold out while we were in the empanada line. I was SO hoping the empanadas didn’t sell out because then we’d have to leave to find food. Luckily, we were able to get our empanadas. They were tasty, but we only got 1 each, so as not to hog the limited supply, and they were tiny. Like 3 bites big. The truck sold out just after we ate our tiny bites. That was it. The fest was out of food by 1 p.m. NUTS.

When we were in the line, we saw Dallas, Kristin and Adam, so they came over and hung out by us. They were all expecting to eat too, but did not. Adam left to get some grub shortly after that. Jess and I went in the bike coral to ride some bikes but she was a bit too small for most of them. When we came out Todd and Kelly had joined our group, but they’d come expecting to eat and there was no food, so everyone wanted to leave to go eat somewhere. Everyone gave their beer tokens away (no one could drink all that beer on an empty stomach). It was Alden’s lucky day because just then he walked up and he got some of our beer tokens. By the way, Alden said later on there were more trucks, but really poor planning. Food trucks are awesome in theory, but if they are not abundant and the ones that are there run out of food right away? No bueno. How do you have a fest with a ton of kids and people drinking and not have food? This was obviously my biggest issue with the fest this year.

Other than that the fest was fun. It was HOT and sweaty, but that was ok. The thing is, all the acts are all exactly the same every year, though. And this is the 3rd year. They need to get some different things, because as much as I like it, I can only watch the slow ride and the same acts so many times!

Anyway, we headed to Revolution Brewing and ate lunch there. Then Jess and Kristin and I went to Heavenly for gelato. Then Ed met us there and he and Kristin went off for the night. Jess and I hung around Heavenly for a bit longer, then went to the Logan Theatre to see Kung Fu Panda 2. Back home, played some Wii and went to bed.

- Tour de Fat 2010
- Tour de Fat 2009: Festival, Costumes, Crazy Bikes

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