Restaurant review: Silly Goose offers seriously good food
Almost two years ago, Roderick Bailey opened The Silly Goose, a charming -- and tiny -- eatery in Eastland Avenue's Walden Center. Manned with a mere rice steamer, panini press and a pair of George Foreman grills, Bailey demonstrated the breadth of flavorful cuisine that could be conjured up in an economy of space, with an economy of tools.
Piquant couscous blends, stacked salads, savory sandwich constructions: Customers flocked, patiently awaiting a place at one of the 19 seats, or got orders packed to go.
This May, Bailey closed the petite cafe for needed expansion. Six weeks passed, and a spruced Silly Goose has debuted. Seating has grown to 46. Even better: Bailey's got a bonafide kitchen. With a six-burner commercial gas stove and convection oven at the Culinary Institute of America-trained chef's command, a world of cooking possibilities has opened up.
The Goose has spread its wings.
In so doing, it's taken on a fresh look. Industrial meets whimsical; urbane modernity meets down-home country. Spare concrete is dressed up with an ornate mirror, retro artwork, a quirky chandelier. Mason jars filled with fresh flowers adorn tables set with mismatched silverware rolled in bright red bandanas. Central is a long community table and benches, handcrafted from reclaimed wood. Another artisan piece forms the bar countertop, where diners can pull up a stool and get a close-up view of the kitchen at work while they eat.
Creative choices
A clipboard at each place setting holds the main menu. Longtime Silly Goose customers will find their favorites -- King Kong Couscous, Simple Salad, T-Bird Sandwich -- alongside expanded offerings.
That timbale of sesame-ginger spiced grains topped with curried shrimp, or local greens tossed with chili-grapefruit vinaigrette or rare roast beef and blue Gouda piled on sourdough are as tasty as ever. But other menu additions beckon, choices that can accommodate vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diets.
Waterfall is a lush salad, a large bowl of butter lettuces folded with myriad fruits: avocado, pineapple, mango, fig and dried cherries. Toasted coriander brings a little balancing heat to the passionfruit dressing.
Beet lovers will relish Dorothy Bailey, a deconstructed salad where slices of chilled roasted beets are strewn with crumbled blue Gouda. Served alongside are separate mounds of spinach, onion jam and flatbread crackers, united by a vibrant zigzag of sherry-garlic vinaigrette.
After 5 p.m., you'll find a smaller sheet on the menu clipboard, a concise list of new, dinner-only fare. Further, Bailey creates of-the-moment nightly specials.
The Silly Goose cheese tray is always a good start to the meal. It's an artful assembly of locally sourced cheeses. Selections of thomme, asiago, white cheddar and chevre from Kenny's Farmhouse and Noble Springs Dairy are plated with tart apples and marcona almonds, embellished with Jackson Pollock-like vigor: pours and scribbles of local honey, arugula pesto, balsamic syrup and Sriracha sauce.
But newcomer Flower Shop makes a nice starter, too. When served, a tall metal cylinder is removed to reveal a layered stack of artichoke hearts laced with black pepper mascarpone, shiitakes, creminis and oyster mushrooms sautéed in brown butter. Dual sauces crisscross and complement: walnut pesto topping and a delectable mustard-pinot noir emulsion. Wow. A bowl of toasted bread triangles is right for mopping up the plate.
New also is The Hustler, a chicken-lentil entree boasting bold Indian spicing. Skewers of chicken breast are yogurt-marinated and grilled, served over a bowl of cumin-scented red lentils. A striping of tamarind and smoky red chili sauces finishes the dish.
That same red chili paints meaty pork ribs, with different, but delicious, results. Called Bubba French (a meld of Southern good ol' boy and Continental-style tastes?), planks of dry-rubbed and slow-roasted loin ribs tower in the plate center, bracketed by cool sides: fennel slaw and sliced ripe melons.
Your server will describe night specials. Bailey does beautiful work with sea scallops, a crisp, almost black sear encasing plump, succulent interiors. One evening, he nestled four in a bowl of spicy red pepper-tomato broth mounded with fresh fried corn. Another evening, he placed them in a cooling yellow watermelon gazpacho dressed with cilantro oil.
You could slip next door to the new neighbor, Jeni's Splendid, for dessert. But Silly sweets have plenty to offer. Fresh peach cobblers and blueberry crisps arrive bubbly from the oven. Caramelized peaches napped in vanilla-thyme mascarpone are less sweet but no less richer.
And Silly Goose has always made terrific ice cream. The signature Honey Beet is an earthy-sweet shock of fuchsia. We've enjoyed other innovative flavors, too, as they've appeared at whim, in the daily rotation: lemon-saffron-goat cheese, orange-habanero-chocolate, and a dreamy orange-vanilla bean that reminded us, happily, of a Creamsicle.
Despite its growth, what hasn't been lost is The Silly Goose's cheerful vibe, an unpretentious, enthusiastic spirit. It's a place to enjoy serious good food, in a light-hearted way.
We also suspect, that, despite its growth, it still may not be quite big enough.
