Our weather has been so weird. I never thought I’d be using a comforter to sleep at night in the middle of June! Its been between 48-52 degrees in the morning the last several mornings. Right now I have slippers and a sweater on while I am writing this!
Breakfast yesterday is what I like to call a breakfast crostini – a slice of my artisan bread topped with 1 scrambled egg, 1/4 cup egg whites, baby spinach and then put in the toaster oven with a slice of 50% reduced fat swiss cheese. It’s stinky cheese and I love it.
While I wanted to swim outside, even though the temps were just at about 70, um, turns out not even the kids were in the pool, so no lifeguards out there, so I ended up swimming 40 minutes in the indoor pool – after swimming outside the water felt like bath water!
I made a quick chicken orzo soup with the leftovers of the Parmesan orzo I made over the weekend. Just chopped up leftover chicken, the orzo, chicken broth, celery and carrots. It was good, but I made it over the weekend and somehow it got really salty when it sat in the fridge.
So my cousin Karen was in town for a conference for work. She heads back today but had an open night last night. Now, I work in South Barrington, and my Mom was going to meet at my sisters office in Oak Park and then we were all going to drive to Chicago for dinner.
The Little Goat is the second restaurant of Stephanie Izard – foodies will remember she’s the first Top Chef female winner. She opened The Girl and the Goat in 2010 in the West Loop area, which is a really hip area. It used to be known as the meat packing district. The Little Goat opened in 2012 serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, and actually you can get breakfast all day long. (And Louise, it has nothing to do with the Billy Goat Tavern).
I left my office at 4:15, got to my sisters office by 5:15 and we were at the restaurant by 6:00 – actually not too bad considering 290 traffic!
I texted these pictures to Tony, just to let him know what fun he was missing out on! Truth be told, he looked one look at the menu and really couldn’t find a thing he would want to order. What??!!
Karen and my sister:
Momma in the mirror:
Karen and Mom kissing – ha!
We started out with the hot crab dip with Ritz crackers. Tony disagreed with the cracker choice, I thought it was brilliant.
More cheese than crab, but I think I need to recreate this one! If you have a crab dip recipe, please share it.
My sister got a beer – look at the glass it came in! It looks big, but this was tiny – maybe an 8 ounce pour?
Looking on Yelp, everyone raved about their burgers, so I knew I was going to get one of those. But I wasn’t brave enough to get a goat meat burger!
I have to be honest though, this menu item nearly steered me in a different direction – next time!
REUBEN
smoked corned beef . kimchi . kraut . cheese . mustard . special sauce . pretzel rye
But I ended up with:
WING
wing sauce . blue cheese . celery . crispy onion . potato bun
You want to see it up close again, don’t you.
I ended up taking the top bun off and eating it open faced. I thought I would only eat half of it, but. . . nope! At the whole thing! We split a basket of fries, but they were the skinny ones that don’t stay hot very long, I only had a few.
Now I normally don’t go for desserts when I eat out. But guess what? I didn’t have any alcohol, so I had some wiggle room. It’s all about balance, right?
BLUEBERRY PIE
served with goat cheese gelato
YOLO!! Holy shizz you guys. Best dessert I think I’ve had in a very, very long time. The goat cheese gelato and just enough of a sour tang to balance with the super sweet blueberries and the crust was perfect – super flakey.
My blog friend Bonnie went there for breakfast not too long ago – and I am happy to report to her that the dinner menu was just as excellent!
After dinner we wanted to go see the rooftop deck, but sadly it was closed to a private party, so we just got a peak into it – this is the prep kitchen for the rooftop deck.
While it was chilly, it was a gorgeous night!
My cousin Karen and I took a series of ridiculous pictures, but I will save her and only publish the most “family friendly” one! I may have touched her boobs in the other ones.
So after dropping my Mom and sister back off at Oak Park, and then heading back to the “sticks” where I live, I was home by 9:30 – not too bad!
So how did I do stats wise? Well, my best guestimate was my dinner came in at 1078 calories, 38 fat, 119 carbs, 3.9 fiber and 38 protein. But let’s check out the day as a whole:
Stats for the Day:
- 40 minute swim at lunch
- 1903 calories, 64 fat, 215 carbs, 8.1 fiber, 86 protein
- 45% calories from carbs, 31% from fat and 24% from protein
The moral of the story? That was one meal. While I skipped a day of Insanity, life gets back on track today. The old me would have taken this as a sign to just eat like shit for days, weeks, months even!
It just show that you can still indulge while trying to have a healthy lifestyle. My friend Janetha is living proof. I hope she doesn’t mind me showing this, but she is proof that it’s not about being 100% perfect, because no one ever is. She’s so inspiring! She put this on Instagram yesterday. The photo on the left is from April – the one on the right is June. Um, she’s a bad ass cross-fitter if you can’t tell.
But what she wrote is what is inspiring:
The message I got out of it is that it’s okay to indulge and enjoy life. Life is too short not to have hot crab dip once in a while!
Alright, off to put my shit together – I hope you make it a great day!
It looks like you’re having a great time and great food. We all have to do that sometimes, because good company is the stuff of happiness and fulfillment!
This weather has been so odd! So glad you got to the little goat and I am currently wiping the drool off my computer screen from that burger – looks like you had a delicious and fun night!
oh my gosh! i am flattered. and surprised haha i read your posts daily in my reader and when i saw my butt in the feed i was a little shocked 😉 you are so kind for posting about me, thank you! and, uhh, that restaurant looks MF delicious!!!! the potato bun alone, just give me that and i’d be set. i love good breads/rolls/etc. all your photos are stellar. and, yep, totally agree–it’s always worth it to live a little and lose a little than to lose a lot and never live 😉 love you!
Well you are a rock star Janetha and I know you have a ton of followers, but just wanted to show that hard work and having a life can go hand in hand – you are the perfect example of that! Thanks for continuing to inspire me! 😀
omg, I think the best decision you made was to NOT skip that dessert. Holy cow, that looks good. Glad you ladies had such a nice time, and the restaurant looks like it did not disappoint. Now about our weather . . . what’s up with that? I wore a coat to dinner last night. ???
YOLO is right, you had to indulge a little esp at such a great place! And Janeetha is proof that you can have success while indulging a little-she looks awesome!
I LOVE the family shots!! You guys have so much fun!
This summer has been weird! I have still not even got in the pool. I plan on it this coming weekend because the temps will be higher. The nights keep making it chilly though. I hope I have at least one good month to use it!! Looks like you all had a fun night out. Your burger looks awesome, I haven’t ate yet either 😉 The message Janeetha posted is sooo true. I pretty much anything I want, I like my cocktails also. I do exercise but, not a lot. I just eat in moderation and have always stayed this size. Well, except when I had my son…lol!
A friend of mine just built a bar cabana by his pool and has yet to use the pool this year – so sad!
You and your cousin look a lot alike. Here is an amazing crab dip. It comes from coastal living magazine. http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/crab-dip-50400000126099/
OMG, thanks for the recipe link Randi!! That looks so good.
A awesome sense of humor must be a family trait! I loved the family pics. And that burger – omg I am dying. Plus that dessert! Yum!
MaryBe
I hear you on the weather, I’ve been sleeping with my down comforter for the past week! It’s been in the mid 40’s to 50’s at night! When is it going to be summer where I only sleep with a sheet?!
And the burger looks AMAZING. You’re right too, it’s only one meal! I know how well you keep track of these things so I’m sure you’ll be good and eating your great meals by today!
That burger looks amazing. I was drooling over your instagram last night!
You ladies all look gorgeous! What a fun evening, and what an amazing place to eat! Holy moly, the food looks fantastic!
Dinner sounds awesome!
I love what your friend said about slow and steady and the fact that it is ok to indulge occasionally!!!
BTW – you and your sister look a lot alike!!!
Kim we are twins – so that’s why! 😀 I was born with a best friend!
LOL at “not The Billy Goat Tavern…” I love me some good Billy Goat Tavern and try to hit it whenever I’m in ChiTown. Your dinner looks yummy and fun!
Wow. Perfect. Post. In every way. 😉 Thanks for The Little Goat review. And yes, life is about balance. Indulging once in a while makes all the hard work worth it. Also, indulging once in a while instead of all of the time, makes you appreciate it even more!
I couldn’t agree more Carrie! 😀
What a fun get together for the gals!
Janetha is totally amazing. LOVE that girl! What a DELICIOUS dinner out. That dessert? GAH! I can’t believe you wanted to go in the outdoor pool when it was 70 out- I’m such a baby with the thought of being cold in water haha. <3 <3
At first I was a little sad to hear the the Little Goat is not, in fact, a tiny animal. BUT, that burger looks SO good, especially all of those crispy onions! Little treasures scattered on a plate!
Janetha is SO right – healthy living is not a destination, it’s a journey. it’s every day and our decisions and mentalities – having a wonderful evening with your family is definitely better for your health than being a #stickinthemud!
I’d have to go to a petting zoo to have a little goat! And for the record, those onions are about the only ones Tony and I will actually eat! 😀
The Little Goat sounds great! The burger sounds perfect. I want to try it for breakfast soon.
Oh yes! Dinner is on the docket for us sometime soon! I’ve had goat before that my brother-in-law barbecued. It was delicious! I think I’d stick with the beef for my burger though. When you said you were going, I looked over the dinner menu and wondered what you’d choose. Wise decision!
Best,
Bonnie
I was almost tempted to try the goat Bonnie, but I thought it would taste gamey?! Maybe next time!