LA's Girl and the Goat gets great points for almost everything (12-26-23)

 About to head home from LA where we had our last family dinner of 2023 last night at GIRL and THE GOAT which is a huge space east of downtown in an old warehouse (that seems to be the ting these days) with high ceilings exposed pipes and sadly some of the most uncomfortable rattan woven chairs I have ever placed my butt in. Everyone here is very nice, and the service is excellent as is the food. Allison was very helpful, although we could have easily ordered less. The only other bad thing was the tendency to loud rap-ish music from time to time, which of course, Samuel did not mind. Our table was in a recessed back corner, so thankfully the din was lower there. When I told Allison we prefer novel wines she was thrilled with my first choice, an obscure Vermentino 2022 from Carneros in Napa called HERS by Rhyme Cellars. The nose was as fruity as could be, but on the palate the wine was creamy with a hint of minerals and tartness that we loved with the food which had a nice spiciness. 

Naan and dips came first with a huge piece of naan bread with spices and more on top that we pulled(or cut) apart and then used the two spreads for: Tahini tofu was awesome, and the Carrot "hummus" was also impressive. Chickpea Fritters are soft and creamy with parmesan cheese sitting on a bed of goat yogurt with herb chutney, crispy chickpeas, tamarind and sev, which is a crunchy noodle(think those chinese noodles) also made form chickpea on top. It's got everything going for it with so many different elements.

The Spicy Fried Shishitos come with zesty sesame dust, cotija cheese and goat yogurt and are delish, but I managed to get the one fire-branded super spicy one in the entire dish!

Will and I moved on to a glass of red with mine being the Saviah Cellars Tempranillo Blend 2020 from Walla Walla, Washington and Will going for the lighter Birichino "Scylla" 2022 Carignan Blend from Central Valley, CA. They were both yummy with our monstrous Sticky Glazed Pork Shank which came with pickled cucumbers, mung bean sprouts, hoisin mayo, hot mustard, naan and lettuce wraps. You made your own "sandwich" which was fun, if messy and boy, were we glad we decided to split this as we still could not finish it. The yummy Sauteed Green Beans with Fish Sauce Vinaigrette and Cashews were a superb side and Allison even brought one small dish with no fish sauce for Sam as many of the dishes can be made vegan or veggie here. Sam loved his Grilled Corn which was two whole cobs cut in half and seasoned with spiced coconut caramel, cotija and tajin. He said they were a tad sweet, but yummy. He also enjoyed his Sunrise Spritz made from Lychee, Galangal and Hibiscus Soda.

There was no way we could even ponder dessert, so we headed home and dropped Sam off and I said my goodbyes as I head home today(Will follows Sunday).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!