Desserts include popcorn flavored ice cream and a sweet chili crunch sundae with strawberries and mango chunks. (photo by Jill Weinlein)

Executive chef Stephanie Izard’s life changed when she became the winner of Bravo’s Top Chef and was named a fan favorite in 2008. When her restaurant Girl & the Goat restaurant opened in Chicago, it received buzz for its global, bold flavors.

Angelenos were excited when she opened in the Downtown L.A. Arts District in 2021, offering a menu that harmonizes local produce and products with Eastern and Western influences into fun, innovative plates.

Since “Goat” is in the name of her restaurant, she offers it twice on the menu for guests to experience, including a goat liver mousse served with crumpets, biscuit crackers, blueberry mustard and pickled kumquats. They also serve goat curry, which we ordered along with a few items from the bread, veggie, salad, fish and meat section.

The brick building that houses Girl & the Goat has floor to ceiling glass windows and a long bar. We dined outside on the open terrace. It was filled with greenery in pots and party lights that added to a festive atmosphere.

One of my friends told us we had to start with the naan and dips. The naan was enormous on a plate the size of a large pizza. It was slightly puffy and airy with a lightly grilled top and generous topping of chopped green onions and crumble of roasted garlic. It was served with a small bowl filled with smooth carrot hummus that had a swirl of green pesto and chopped root vegetables.

We enjoyed this with a glass of Idlewild 2021 Flora & Fauna Rose wine from Geyserville. This aromatic organic pink wine offered subtle notes of grapefruit highlighted by honey, jasmine and orange blossoms. It also went well with the tahini tofu dip that was enhanced with an orange swirl and crunchy quinoa.

We also ordered a loaf of crunchy-on-the-outside, soft-and-warm-on-the-inside sourdough bread. It was served on a plank with harissa butter that had a drizzle of oil and sprinkling of spice, and another small container of giardiniera. It had shredded carrots, leeks, red peppers, onions, chopped mint, jalapenos thinly sliced, garlic and vinegar.

One of the prettiest dishes was the ruby red beet salad with nasturtium petals, golden beet giardiniera and sprinkling of nuts. The salad was dressed with an aromatic yuzu kosho vinaigrette – a fermented Japanese condiment made with yuzu juice and rind, Thai chiles and salt. Well, that did it! The spices got to me, and I had to drink two glasses of water to cool down.

Nothing quite offers the flavors of the end of summer like a colorful heirloom and stone fruit salad. Chef Stephanie and her team feature a rainbow of colors that include red, orange, green and yellow heirloom tomatoes. They chop plums and apricots, add a couple of green leaves and some more crispy quinoa. This one had all of the acid, sweetness and a slight heat of fiery chili.

The dips at Girl & The Goat are as good as the breads. (photo by Jill Weinlein)

I drank more water before biting into one of my favorite vegetable dishes – corn. At Girl & The Goat, the slightly sweet and flavorful corn cobettes were grilled, showcasing slightly charred kernels. Then, they were brushed with spiced coconut caramel, a sprinkling of cotija cheese, Tajin, plus a sprinkle of green onion. It was the best elote-style corn that I’ve ever tasted. The kernels were cooked perfectly and the balance of flavors were exquisite.

We also enjoyed the sautéed green beans decorated with swirls of creamy fish sauce vinaigrette and roasted cashews.

When the duck tartare arrived on a wood board, the crispy skin looked like a thin roof over the pan fried Brussels sprouts, and orange dots of red savory and sweet gochujang mixed with mayonnaise. Cape gooseberries and sesame completed this dish.

We selected another glass of rosé for the pan roasted redfish spiced in a bold tamarind-shrimp broth and served with a crispy rice salad. The 2021 Mariana rosé wine from Portugal was fresh and young, offering a pale pink color and nuances of red berries and minerals.

As the goat curry arrived, it looked more like a salad with green herbs, sliced pickled peppers and julienne radishes. The radishes were long, thin and white with red ends that looked just like matchsticks. Underneath all of this were tender pieces of goat meat and crunchy masa chips. Goat is popular in a lot of cultures, and the meat is slightly sweet. The earthy toppings offer a balance of heat and coolness shining through with each bite.

Since the desserts looked so enticing, we decided to try one called the “popcorn situation.” On the bottom of the bowl were pieces of a butter cake cubes on top of creamy popcorn flavored ice cream and a swirl of strawberry jam. A handful of carnival-style caramel popcorn completed this dish.

They also make a sweet chili crunch sundae that arrives in a bowl as a mound of vanilla bean ice cream with pieces of cinnamon and nutmeg spiced crispy wontons. Sliced strawberries and mango added a tropical essence, sesame brittle offers a crunch, chopped cilantro provides an earthiness and a splash of chili oil completes the experience.

The last dessert to arrive was a melting scoop of sesame and cream ice cream with a pour of sesame caramel on top and chocolate crunches. This helped cool me off after enjoying all of the bold flavors and ingredients that chef Izard and her team use to create some of the most unique dishes in Los Angeles. $$$ The restaurant opens daily at 5 p.m. On Sundays, it’s open for brunch from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. 555-3 Mateo St., (213)799-4628.