'Top Chef' star Stephanie Izard will open a Silicon Valley restaurant
Celebrity chef Stephanie Izard — a "Top Chef" champion, James Beard Award winner and Michelin honoree — is bringing her acclaimed Girl & The Goat restaurant concept to Silicon Valley.
Her first NorCal place, Valley Goat, will make its debut in early 2025 in Sunnyvale as the star restaurant tenant of the first Treehouse Hotel in the United States , according to the announcement from the Boka Restaurant Group. That lodging project, in the works for two years, has taken over the former Sheraton site on North Mathilda Avenue.
Valley Goat will offer seating for 250 guests inside, on the patios and in the bar.
Izard got her big break on Bravo TV's "Top Chef" in the fourth season, becoming the first woman to capture the title. She won the James Beard Foundation award for "Best Chef: Great Lakes" in 2013 and has chalked up numerous other awards and raves.
Izard's restaurants present globally influenced, locally sourced, shareable dishes. At the original Girl & The Goat in Chicago and the Los Angeles one, Mediterranean, Asian and Middle Eastern flavors mingle on the menu.
In L.A., think appetizers of Naan & Dips and Olive Focaccia; entrees like Chile-Sichuan Basted Bass (with Honeycrisp apples and spiced almonds) and Beef Short Rib Noodles (with grilled pineapple and pickled veggies); and a dessert list that includes Plantain Leche Cake and Mango Sticky Rice.
The signature ingredient currently shows up in four dishes: Confit Goat Belly, Goat Curry, Goat Shank and Goat Liver Mousse. (The catchy Girl & The Goat theme came about because the name Izard is a type of mountain goat in the French Pyrenees.)
A seasonal cocktail menu is in the works, and the wine, beer and spirits lists will draw from California and beyond, the Boka announcement said.
Izard has already been meeting with Bay Area and Sunnyvale farmers and producers, and said she's excited about the bounty of produce.
A native of the Chicago suburbs who grew up in Connecticut, Izard launched her restaurant empire in Chicago but now lives in Los Angeles. Besides the Girl & The Goat, she also owns Cabra restaurants in L.A. and Chicago and Duck Duck Goat and Little Goat in Chicago. She has written two cookbooks: "Girl in the Kitchen" and "Gather & Graze."
Details: 1100 N. Mathilda Ave., Sunnyvale; www.treehousehotels.com/silicon-valley/eat-drink/valley-goat and
