The Lazy Goat - Heaven in Greenville

    I know I haven't ever posted on just one restaurant, but when I see perfection it just has to be rewarded.  Earlier this week my wife and I went on a short anniversary trip up to Greenville, SC and this time Janie planned the whole thing. I think that maybe I'll have her plan from here on out because she found a serious winner with The Lazy Goat.

    This place was described to me as a tapas restaurant, and as I have a serious love affair with tapas I was stoked. Thing is though, it's not a tapas joint, it's a restaurant that makes you eat until you explode. Their menu is pretty unique, and half of it is tapas based. The beginning of the menu has various meats and cheeses and you can pick as many or as few as you'd like, which is great for me because I love cheese plates but it irritates me that I never get any choice in the matter. For all you cheeseheads out there they don't mess around, it was seriously some of the best cheese I've ever enjoyed. Once you get done delving into cheese and handmade salami perfection you then get to the "Graze and Nibble" portion of the night. The problem is that you neither graze nor nibble, instead you dive in and never come up for air. Now, usually on menus I like there are a some things that look good, not here...On this menu there were maybe one or two out of over 15 dishes that I wasn't too interested in, and that's just because I'm not a big olive fan. It actually irritated me that the menu looked so good because Greenville is over 2 hours away. I can only review what we specifically ordered, but if that's any indication of the all around quality you can just close your eyes and point to something and then wait for bliss. We had the Moroccan "bisteeya" which is like the puff pastry pastilla, but smaller and more empanada-like. It was roasted chicken, vegetables, spices and goodness in a glorious puff pastry. We also shared the fried goat cheese, which may sound normal, but here they decided to fry them in bite size balls and then drizzle them with honey and crushed pistachios. Apparently people come in a demand these cheese balls before they order drinks or even say hi to the waitress. However, as good as the cheese was, the star of the night was the braised moroccan lamb shank. The chef must have learned how to braise from God himself because it was perfect. The braising liquid was well-spiced and the meat pull apart tender. To top it off they put a wonderful cucumber yogurt and some plantain chip on top. Just to die for. 

     Now we continued on our journey and actually ordered more food. I know, absurd, but the entrees looked fantastic and how else would I be able to review it...trust me, it was just for you guys, no selfish gluttony here. Anyways I ordered the housemade tagliatelle pasta with braised pork cheek, and it was beautiful. The noodles were perfectly thin, eggy and succulent, and the pork was like Mom's pot roast, if mom is Julia Child. Perfect. My wife got the flatbread pizza with roasted veggies and fresh herbs. It sounds a little "vegetarian" to a meat eater like me, but it was fantastic. Instead of a traditional sauce they spread homemade basil pesto on the crust. It was a great entree, or ideal as an appetizer. 

    And did we stop there? Well I pretty much almost fell asleep, but as Janie was good and ate less of each dish, so she pushed on and got the Harvest Tartan. The best way to describe it is as the menu does: spiced pears & apples, caramel, buttery pastry, sage sugar cranberries, and caramel ice cream. It was actually good enough to make me come back to life and share it. It tasted like fall and every ingredient was perfect. 

    So (deep breath), that's it. This is just the prefect restaurant because you can go for a light lunch, gorge yourself at dinner, go with a bunch of friends for apps and dessert, or go solo for some great cheese and pasta/pizza. I've thought about why I love this place so much and I think it's 1.) the food gives a new definition to the word fantastic, and 2.) The chef(s) treat each ingredient and dish with such love and respect that you can't help but thoroughly enjoy each part of each dish you taste. So, that's the lesson for today for all you cooks out there. Respect your ingredients and do your best to bring out what makes each aspect of a dish taste good. If part of the dish doesn't taste good then the dish will lose its luster. Try fresh, try made from scratch, try these and although you may fail at first, you will be rewarded when you get it right. Now, I know I usually leave you with a recipe, but instead I have homework this week: Take one of your favorite dishes/recipes and replace some of the store bought things in the recipe with stuff you prepare from scratch. If you love pasta, try making a marinara sauce, if you love well spiced burgers or meat try making your own spice rub. If you need ideas or have questions about what I or any of my readers like just leave a comment/question and we'll all share what food makes us happy. And because I'm learning French - Bon appetit et bonne nuit!