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Resident Foodies say: OK, we decided to wait in line for 2 hours to get a table at Stephanie Izard’s Girl and the Goat in Chicago. The ambience is great, with a warm, inviting atmosphere and an open kitchen exposed to people at the bar and tables. On Yelp, the restaurant has a remarkable 4 1/2 stars with over 1,000 reviews. We, however, came away a little bit disappointed. The food, while creative, lacked flavor, and the dishes were not always executed well. All in all it was a fun atmosphere, but the food leaves something to be desired.

The Kalbi style beef ribs were chewy and downright flavorless, a sad imitation of the Korean dish.

The wood fired walter’s chicken was a little bit dry and overdone.

We did enjoy the two veggie dishes–chickpeas fritters and roaster cauliflower–which were the two best dishes we had that night.

Resident Foodies say: Bobby Flay scored a huge upset in tonight’s beef empanada throwdown, beating Chef Frank Maldonado of Sazon Restaurant. Maldonado is from Puerto Rico and he opened 6 restaurants in the U.S. in the past 2 years. His empanadas are a huge hit. But Bobby Flay pulled off what may be one of the biggest upsets on Throwdown. Chef Maldonado has been cooking empanadas for most of his life. Bobby learns to make them in a week and then beats Maldonado on his own turf. That’s so wrong, Bobby!

In any event, the judges said Bobby’s short ribs in the filling of the empanada put him over the top. They did look good on TV!

1. Recipe for Bobby Flay’s winning Beef and Goat Cheese Empanada

2. Recipe for Chef Frank Maldonado’s Beef Empanada

Video of Chef Frank Maldonado at work

Slanted Door’s chilled greenlip mussels steamed in wine and lemongrass with roasted chili aioli, $12. The plating is exquisite. Taste, just as good!