Goat Schnitzel at Tasting Kitchen

With the explosion in German beer themed restaurants, think Wirtshaus, Biergarten, Steingarten, Wurstkuche (both branches), there has been a corresponding rise in the availability of dishes like shnitzel.  Alligator schnitzel was even on the menu at Vinny & Jon of Animal's second restaurant, Son of A Gun, and downtown saw the launch of a kosher schnitzel truck.

Recently even The Tasting Kitchen in Venice got in on the act, with Chef Casey Lane adding a special of Goat Schnitzel with pickled onion and brown butter to the menu.

I had already eaten dinner elsewhere and had just stopped in to The Tasting Kitchen for a cocktail but the words goat schnitzel caught my eye and I couldn't help ordering the dish "to save for tomorrow."  Needless to say that this schnitzel was not saved until the next day; I don't think a single bite made it out of the restaurant.  The bartender told me that Lane had ordered an entire goat and had been experimenting with different dishes all week.  The goat schnitzel was crispy not greasy, and the breading was not too thick.  The meat had a slightly gamey taste as this was certainly goat and not veal.  An excellent dish in the goat pantheon.

Sunny Spot: Roy Choi Remakes Beechwood

Follow the sign to Sunny Spot, the latest partnership between Dave Reiss and Chef Roy Choi who previously collaborated at A-Frame and the Alibi Room.  Sunny Spot occupies the former home of Beachwood, where Abbot Kinney spills into Washington Blvd.  Choi has excised any ghosts of chefs past, including Jamie Lauren, with his new Caribbean menu.  Brian Butler created the cocktail list and has also curated the largest selection of rum on the Westside.  The restaurant website describes Sunny Spot as "that place where everyday is a holiday and food makes you smile."

If you begin your visit with a cocktail, and you should, the Chilcano Bay is an excellent way to start.  It is made with Pisco, lime juice, ginger, lemongrass and Fernet Branca.

The Yuca Fries ($4) are wonderfully crunchy and are served with a tangy spicy sauce "banana thai basil ketchup."  We began eating them before this photo was taken as we were hungry and they looked so appetizing.

Enjoyable but not as stellar as the yuca fries, the Sweet and Salty Fried Plantains are smaller than the yuca fries, crispy and a little sweet.  These are also only $4, so why choose, get both.  The pricing at Sunny Spot is very accessible and makes ordering many plates to share a reasonable strategy both from a variety and a budgetary perspective.

The "What a Jerk Wings" are double coated and double fried chicken wings.  They are a little too crunchy, for chicken wings.

Perhaps the best item on the menu may be the Whole Snapper ($35), which is known on the menu as "Yeah, I'm Staring Atchu Fish."  The fish is served whole with ginger oil, lime and chili vinegar.  The snapper was perfectly cooked and each bite had so much flavor our dining party fought over the choicest bits including the cheeks; the fish bones were picked clean when we were done.

I found the broiled Hamachi Collar ($14) to be a little spicy.  It was prepared with garlic thyme butter, lime, and a banana chili glaze.  While enjoyable it paled in comparison to the whole snapper which preceded it; I prefer the version found at traditional Japanese restaurants.

The Bijou with rum is one of my favorite cocktails I have had of late.  Typically made with gin, vermouth and chartreuse, Butler substituted rum for the gin and a great cocktail got even better.  The Bijou is boozy, has layers of flavor and is highly recommended.

Yellow Salty Rice doesn't sound very interesting yet we ordered seconds.  There is something addictive about this yellow rice that beckons for just one more spoonful.  If it makes you thirsty for another of Butler's cocktails, that is just an added bonus.

Slow Roasted Goat ($15) is described as the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) on the menu and while it may not quite deserve that moniker, it is well worth ordering.  The tasty goat is served with pickled mango and would be a good introduction to the meat for goat-virgins.

All of the interior and exterior spaces have been redone.  Below, the firepits that used to be outside have gone and the patio is now more of a comfortable and casual seating area.

In the main dining room, which is known as the Rum Den, a wall was removed, which really opens up the space.  This room contains a bar dedicated to sipping rums and a table in the corner referred to as the "Bird Cage".  My favorite of the three dining areas is the "Front Room", perhaps for its proximity to the bar as well as for the communal tables, which have a lot of room; perfect for sharing tons of small plates.

Only the Rum Den takes reservations so two thirds of Sunny Spot is for walk-ins, which makes it easy to stop by and have a drink or a whole meal, depending on your mood and not worry about waiting hours for a seat to open up.  I recommend trying several of the sipping rums as well.  The Rhum Barbancourt 15 year from Haiti is something special, but there are tons of gems on the menu.  So check it our for yourself and see if the experience "makes you smile."

Sunny Spot: 822 Washington Blvd @ Abbot Kinney.  Phone: 310.448.8884 | http://sunnyspotvenice.com/

Chicago Edition: Goat Torta at Xoco

Yes, I went to a Rick Bayless restaurant.  Despite the way I feel about Red O, I dediced not to hold that against the latest addition to the Bayless empire in Chicago, Xoco, a torta shop.  There was no "door host" blocking the entrance at Xoco, but rather a friendly hostess inquiring whether we wanted to eat in or take out and how many were in our party.  At Xoco, customers order and pay at the cash register and then the food is brought to their tables.  Seats are assigned by the hostess, so there are no scrambles for tables.

We lucked out and got two counter seats without having to wait.  The Saturday special torta of the day is goat barbacoa ($12) , which is what I ordered after seriously pondering the chicken soup which sounded wonderful on such a cold day.  The goat torta is made with goat barbacoa, Oaxacan pasilla-tomato salsa, avocado, onions and cilantro on a toasted roll.

The sandwich arrived reasonably quickly and the meat was tender and flavorful.  The crunchiness of the exterior of the roll and the softness of the bread inside and the fillings made for a satisfying textural bite.  The torta was filling and more than enough food for lunch, but churros had been ordered.

At Xoco the churros are made to order.  We were told to alert a server seven to ten minutes before we were ready for them and they would bring them out to us.  Coated in cinnamon and sugar these churros are in a whole different league than the versions found at carnivals and street fairs.  The real deal, the churros were light and airy and had enough flavor to be great on their own or to complement a chocolate dipping sauce.

Xoco is already very popular.  Arriving soon after eleven, when they begin serving lunch, we got the last two seats.  The hostess quoted a forty minute wait to the people behind us in line.  It is a worthy stop on a Chicago itinerary and reasonably priced.  Lunch was about $20 per person.  It is located on the same block as Chef Rick Bayless's other restaurants Frontera Grill and Topolobampo.  A thank you to Chef Walter Manzke, who suggested that I visit.

Xoco: 449 N Clark St @ Illinois St, Chicago.  Phone: (312) 334-3688.  Website: http://www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/xoco.html

Stone's Market

Continuing on my quest for goat, I visited Stone's Market, a small takeout operation attached to a Jamaican grocery in Inglewood near the intersection of Crenshaw and Florence. The market is pictured and the restaurant is in a shack to the left.

The menu consisted of 5 items: fish brown style, jerk chicken, oxtail, curry goat, and brown style chicken. Beef, chicken and veggie patties were also available.

I believe the food is prepared in large batches in the kitchen as my food was delivered in a to-go container within 5 minutes.

Portions were large so I got a small order of goat curry and some beef patties. The patties were good but not as flaky as those at Naturaliart, which continues to be my pinnacle for Jamaican cuisine in Los Angeles.

The goat was plentiful and was served with rice and beans, plantains, salad and a banana. Some of the goat curry was on the bone and some was off the bone. The curry gave the rice a savory flavor.

Overall recommended if in the area but as mentioned above, Naturaliart is the superior option overall both due to the quality of the food and the availability of tables to eat at. Centinela Park is located nearby and has picnic tables, so is a good spot to eat takeout from Stone's Market.