Goat Studios NYC

"We know you are curious, so let's address this now. Goat Town is apparently where the word "Gotham" comes from. There are no live goats here, and if you ask us, that's kind of a bummer. We were hoping to see one chained up Jurassic Park style behind the restaurant, ready to become our dinner. Honestly, we didn't see much at Goat Town that we haven't seen (many times) before. This new buzzy restaurant from some General Greene and Cookshop alumni is heavy on that "old New York" aesthetic - which is so played out now that "old New York" means Brooklyn in 2009. It's a beautiful room, designed to compliment the farm-to-table philosophy by looking rustic. But we've seen the copper bar and tin roof thing before, and we know where this is going: butchering, pickling, and herb growing is all happening on premises, and suspenders are often present. No matter. Original doesn't always mean good, and awesome food trumps atmosphere all day long. Unfortunately, awesome food was not to be found on our visits to Goat Town. The oysters are solid, and the Waldorf salad with kale was incredible, but everything else fell a little flat. The burger looks great but needs a bit more love, and most of the entrees were pleasant enough but not entirely satisfying. It's early days though, and we suspect that this place will get better over time. We also hear that they do a good brunch, which we'll be back for. In the meantime, save Goat Town for a night of eating oysters, drinking beers, and listening to classic records spin on the turntable at the bar. That's a nice touch. Radishes Each time we hit Goat Town, the waiter pushed these radishes on us. They and the menu both swear that these radishes are great to eat with oysters. Well, we bit, and we don't get it. A plate of sliced wheat bread, butter, and radish quarters showed up, and we weren't exactly sure what to do. Bread and vegetables is cool and all, but this doesn't make my oysters taste any better than they already do.Rillettes A nice rillette of white pheasant served with toast and dijon mustard. This dish seems to change frequently between some kind of rillette and other meat spread options.Kale Waldorf Salad Goat Town's play on the Waldorf salad with kale and golden raisins. This was the best thing we ate here, hands down. A must order.Burger Pretty, but disappointing. Like January Jones in real life. This burger didn't taste of much other than ground beef and bun. Where's all that stuff you've been pickling? Open me up a jar of whatever, and I'll put it on top of this bad boy.Pan Roasted Baby Chicken This is a pretty good sized plate of chicken, especially considering it's a baby. We liked this better than most of the other main courses, but it still wasn't mind blowing.Tri-Tip Steak This tri-tip is basically a giant slab of steak atop wilted greens in bernaise, wearing a hat of onion rings. We wrestled with the steak and its sinew a bit, and couldn't help but feel that everything else on the plate was screaming for a skirt steak. Food Rundown Oysters Drinks and oysters are the way to go at Goat Town. They have a nice selection from both coasts, though the amount of different varieties available seems to fluctuate. We're never mad at a dozen fresh oysters." - Chris Stang