At the insistence, or should I say, full-on threats from my friend Suzanne, hubby and I hit up the Little Goat Diner on our way out of Chicago for breakfast. This is the more casual restaurant brought to you by Chef Stephanie Izard, who also owns the Girl and the Goat across the street. They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and you can order off any part of the menu at any time.
They do take a few reservations and we managed to score one right at the height of the breakfast hour. I appreciate that even though they were packed, and there was a lot of people waiting, they got us seated right at our reservation time. Suzanne and her husband love the Parathas burrito ($13) and recommended it to us. I was glad she did because it probably wasn’t something we would probably order on our own and it was delicious. There was crisp warm Indian flatbread on the bottom topped with sunny side up eggs and sheep’s milk cheddar cheese. All of that had a chili pepper sauce drizzled over it and a wonderful bright, acidic salad on top with greens, avocado and beans. What a great combination. The eggs were perfect and there was just the right amount of heat with the cooling salad. I understand now why Suzanne orders it every time, and it will likely be on our order in the future.
We also ordered a special-- crab Rangoon omelette ($13) and it was also really delicious. Normally I would not order an omelette because they are usually just too dense and too dried out for me. In this case though, our waiter described it as a “light, French style omelette” and I was sold. And it was exactly that. The eggs were very light—not dense or dry at all. Folded inside was a moderate portion of the creamy, crab Rangoon filling. Just enough to taste the crab and liquidy cream cheese flavor, but not dominate. Across the top of the omelette were crispy wontons and Little Goat’s version of a sweet and sour sauce, which I am happy to say, was balanced with both sour and sweet (not just sweet like so many). Honestly, I went back and forth about which one I liked better. Luckily this one was a special, and isn’t on the regular menu so there will be less of a chance I can order it again and will be forced to try something new.
We also had a side of the hash browns ($5)—also delicious. They were cut very, very thin—like from a spiral cutter and were super crisp, just how I like them. And get this, they’re filled with mild melted cheese. That’s just pure genius. You get the super crispy exterior and the soft gooey middle.
This place does a great job of taking your classic breakfast dishes (and other meals too I’m sure) and spinning them just enough to make them really unique. I highly recommend checking it out if you’re in Chicago—and a great way to try Chef Izard’s food a little more on the cheap.
Also, if you’ve been, let me know what you’ve had that you liked because I’m going to have a hard time choosing.
Little Goat Diner
820 Randolph Street
Chicago, IL
312/888-3455
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