Goodbye, 2011

Several things converged yesterday to make it a wonderful New Year's Eve indeed.  First, we went to the Robie House to finish our WrightPlus pass, 2011.

The Robie House in Hyde Park is Frank Lloyd Wright's ultimate expression of prairie-style architecture.  It looks small from the outside, which is the whole idea - to blend in with the flat prairie.  In fact, it is a three-story, 9,000 square feet house!


The long living and dining rooms were truly breathtaking.  (Sadly, no photos are allowed.)  They're still renovating a lot of the Robie House, but it is definitely worth a look.  It's amazing to think that they almost tore it down a few times.


Next, Dave and I went to Top Notch Burgers in Beverly to finish out my top five burger list, which is part of my 30 before 30 list.  Dave and I split a chocolate shake and each ordered a Mexican burger, which was amazing.  I honestly don't know whether I preferred this one or DMK Burger Bar.  I think if I had to re-write Mr. Dolinsky's list, I'd put DMK and Top Notch in the number one slot, then Kuma's, then Twisted Spoke, then David Burke's Primehouse.

After lunch, we visited with my parents for a few hours.  I helped my mom make a hat for a cancer patient and we watched some episodes of "The Office."


Then it was time to go to the main event:  the New Year's Eve party at the Girl and the Goat!


We met some really fun people and ate some tasty food, obviously.  Another few people shared our little standing table and we got to chatting about all kinds of things.  Here's a photo of me with one of them, Wanda, and Miss Stephanie Izzard herself!

Yes, I am wearing a Happy New year hat.  They were all over the tables, I was just getting into the spirit!


Out of the tasting menu, here's what we got to try:

• Roll with herbed butter
• Fried oysters with egg salad and crisp capers
• Scallop tartare with tomato soy, trout roe, finger limes, and crisp rice
• Smoked tofu with shiitake broth and pickled slaw
• Green tea pork belly with pork fat crumpet, lemongrass, kimchee, and sesame aoli
• Kitfo (steak tartare) with piri piri and preserved lemon
• Brown buttered squash soup with bourbon butter poached lobster and sherry gastrique
• Goat rangoon with fennel and rosemary vinaigrette
• Seared duck breast with rilette ravioli, avocado, and grapefruit
• Chocolate-thai chill gelato with chocolate cake, peanut fluff, pomegranate, and Left Hand Milk Stout

There was also some kind of salad thing, but I don't recognize it from the menu list. I knew that this party would push my taste buds into new territory, and I was really proud of myself for trying the fried oyster and tartare.  Actually, my favorite item was the steak tartare.  I also had a cabernet, a mimosa-style drink, and a few glasses of champagne (which were distinctly apple tasting and delicious).

I'm glad we went, but some aspects of the evening were kind of disappointing.  I didn't get a few of the items on the menu, most likely because the kitchen was flocked with guests that grabbed all the items before the servers could even bring them around.  Although we liked our table mates, many of the people there were distinctly douche-y.


So, I don't know if we'll go anywhere next year, but I'd probably be more willing to go somewhere in the future if we actually had a table for the whole evening, and servers were bringing things out to us rather than having to fight for each dish.  But you never know whether you will like something until you try it!


Happy new year, and welcome to 2012!