A homemade version of the Girl and the Goat grilled broccoli from chef, Stephanie Izard’s restaurant in Chicago. One bite and you’ll never want to eat broccoli any other way.

Back in June, Julie, Rachel, Brandy and I hit the streets of Chicago for 3 days of what should really have been called the “2015 stuff our faces with everything delicious tour”.

It was 72 hours of pure eating bliss starting with a “light” meal at The Purple Pig before our “let’s spend more on dinner than our mortgage” night at Alinea followed by Frontera Grill, The Kitchen, Siena Tavern, Eataly, Girl and the Goat and Pequods (had to fit some deep dish in!) for the remainder of our time.

Yes, we ate at all of those places and yes, I’m pretty sure I came home 10 pounds heavier.

#worthit

In the end though, Girl and the Goat was definitely the most memorable of all the restaurants (which was an unexpected surprise given the hype of Alinea – a 3 star Michelin rated restaurant ranked #9 in the world in 2014).

From the vibe, to the food, to the excellent service.

The fact that a plate of broccoli has stood out in my mind for the last 4 months since is a testament to that.

We (well, more so Julie because she’s the most type A of the group) researched the heck out of our restaurant options before this trip, thanks to TripAdvisor.

Seeing their Traveler’s Choice Award on Girl and the Goat, made our decision to include it in the eating frenzy even easier.

Going into the night based on all the awesome reviews on TripAdvisor and from friends who had been, we knew we wanted to 1. try and get the goat (didn’t happen) and 2. order the broccoli and green beans if they were on the menu (it changes seasonally).

Maybe it was the universe telling us we needed some vegetables in our lives on our last night in town but the green beans and broccoli were both on the menu and both ended up being table favorites.

Stephanie Izard (the chef/owner) actually shares this broccoli recipe online which really helped in recreating the dish and all it’s amazing flavors at home.

I knew the blue cheese base, broccoli and crisps on top would be easy to replicate but the vinaigrette is where the magic is.

With spicy harissa (mmm, love that stuff – like in this harissa sweet potato hash) and sriracha, a bit of soy, lemon and vinegar, it’s a combination that is so unique and just works so well in contrast to the creamy blue cheese sauce.

And the smoky char of the grilled broccoli is such a nice undertone in flavor.

In fact, that smoky char is the best part about grilling vegetables. Especially unexpected ones like broccoli or grilled green beans.

If you’re too lazy to grill the broccoli, try air frying it! Air fried frozen broccoli is one of my all time favorite ways to prepare an easy side dish.

I made a few changes, twists to my homemade version using puffed millet instead of rice krispie cereal, yogurt in the blue cheese sauce instead of sour cream and a few tweaks to measurements.

All in all though, this homemade version tastes just like it did in the restaurant.

All that’s missing is someone serving it to me and the company of great friends.

Planning for the “2016 stuff our faces with everything delicious tour” will commence shortly and I know we’ll (Julie) be back on TripAdvisor reading reviews, looking at pictures and researching the heck out of the restaurants in our next location.

ps- Brandy recreated the Girl and Goat Magic Beans, check out her post!

MORE DELICIOUS SIDE DISHES TO TRY:

Roasted Romanesco with Turmeric Tahini Sauce

Simple Grilled Baby Bok Choy

Cauliflower Bacon Gratin

Brown Sugar Candied Carrots

Garlic Balsamic Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus

*This is a sponsored post on behalf of TripAdvisor. I was compensated for my time. All opinions and content are my own.