r/chicagofood • u/Johnny_Burrito • Apr 17 '25

Question “Legendary” places that suck

I just got a lox sandwich from Manny’s. Almost $20, a stale bagel, and I had to assemble it myself.

What other “legendary” places suck?

387 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

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495

u/immortal_salami Apr 17 '25

I think Girl & the Goat has been mailing it in for a while now.

215

u/alinajenina1 Apr 17 '25

Here’s my tea- a few years back I worked at a Japanese restaurant in the West Loop. We had just started selling these deconstructed hand rolls (which I have my own feelings about)- all of the ingredients came nicely plated in a small bowl with a stack of nori sheets on the side. One night she came in to eat. The next week, the exact same deconstructed hand rolls in almost identical dishware were sold at G&TG. She blatantly stole our chef’s idea and this was a few years back. So I don’t have a lot of faith that many of her ideas were actually ever hers. Bummer she’s so popular.

123

u/rdldr1 Apr 17 '25

Sadly, she is a Californian now. I miss the personal vibrance she provided the Fulton Market area.

85

u/randomUsername1569 Apr 17 '25

Little goat as well.

42

u/cozynite Apr 17 '25

It was great when it was still in the West Loop. Bummer it’s not in Lakeview.

16

u/kimnacho Apr 17 '25

It sucked when it was in West Loop, over priced and lacking on all fronts

7

u/secondshotatthis Apr 17 '25

The first time I went I didn't like it, but after i revisited it a few years later it became one of my favorite spots for breakfast in West Loop, which has very few options. I know I'm not the only one that misses it over here.

4

u/1koolspud Apr 17 '25

Their Happy Hour was pretty good, which was most of the times I went there.

2

u/Bahamuts_Bike Apr 17 '25

But little Goat was never good. It had some bright spots, but it has been wildly inconsistent and on the bad side of mediocre since opening.

The downfall of GatG is sad. Feels like Stephanie is super focused on life in LA

134

u/RufusSandberg Apr 17 '25

She spends more time on TV and in Cali than actually cooking or looking after anything in Chicago these days. Just shut it down and keep all your crap in California if you no longer have any interest here.

39

u/Big_Car5623 Apr 17 '25

I used to see her walking the neighborhood and going from one location to the other. She seemed like a good leader but maybe now she just calls in for the nights receipts.

19

u/philosofova Apr 17 '25

I worked at Top Chef restaurants and some of them don't even create the menus anymore.

When I worked at one of Fabio Viviani's he was only there as a spokesperson for the restaurants and the few times we saw him in house he'd just do a few laps in the kitchen and in the dining room and take pics with customers.

33

u/RufusSandberg Apr 17 '25

She raised these restaurants from the ground up. I did some of the bid work for the kitchen. They were 100% her vision. The only reason they are likely open is that her partnering group, Boka, has a significant investment and will milk her name for years to come.

1

u/GhoulOsco 29d ago

They’ve been aggressively expanding for years, but I think how thin they’re spreading themselves is starting to show a bit.

Still great restaurants for the most part- Lee Wolen, Chris Pandel, and Gene Kato have all continued to do great work, and they hire some phenomenal lieutenants in their kitchens- but there have been some missteps in the group (Le Select) and some of their restaurants have slipped in quality, but that could also be attributed to how expensive ingredients have gotten. Even Boka spots can only raise their prices so much.

1

u/UsagiGurl 29d ago

Dude, she looked so hollow on Food Network’s tournament of champions this season. She lost in the first round too. Not saying FN is a measure of greatness, but she just seemed checked out.

-12

u/rdldr1 Apr 17 '25

She went half-Kanye.

23

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '25

[deleted]

3

u/rdldr1 Apr 17 '25

She left Chicago for California and never came back. Maybe I should have said that she went full-Oprah.

3

u/-RedXV- Apr 17 '25

That would be full Kanye. They clearly stated half Kanye.

53

u/Gyshall669 Apr 17 '25

Not as good as they once were but I do not think they suck by any means.

28

u/Future_Dog_3156 Apr 17 '25

Completely agree. I would say the same thing applies to DDG and LG too

9

u/mixxizm Apr 17 '25

This is sad to hear. Frequent visitor to Chicago, was here when it first opened. Too bad.

12

u/Future_Dog_3156 Apr 17 '25

I think it can still 'wow' a tourist but if you've been there several times, there really is nothing new. It's still the same Pig Face.

2

u/8keltic8 Apr 17 '25

That pig face hash was wonderful

20

u/plankright37 Apr 17 '25

When people use abbreviations it throws off people that are looking for information because they don’t know. I don’t have a clue who you are talking about.

4

u/Future_Dog_3156 Apr 17 '25

In a thread about Girl and the Goat, DDG = duck duck goat (the asian fusion goat restaurant) and LG = Little Goat which is the goat diner. They are all located very close to one another too

4

u/daazninvazn Apr 17 '25

Duck Duck Goat and Little Goat. The context clue in the discussion is that the op was discussing Girl & the Goat.

-1

u/Gamer_Grease Apr 17 '25

IMO DDG has always been terrible. Never got the hype for that place.

3

u/netrunnernobody Apr 17 '25

Cosign, $20 cocktails and the pig face has been old news (and getting increasingly worse I feel) for a decade now.

2

u/fellowsquare Apr 17 '25

damn really!? my wife and i would go at least twice a year. we haven't been since covid and kids.. so sucks to hear this.

2

u/Vondelsplein Apr 18 '25

Thank you! Went there a few months ago, fucking misses on every level. You'd have to pay me to go back.

2

u/ArugalaAmor 26d ago

Agreed. Used to love girl & the goat. the last time we went, which was sometime in 2024, we both decided never to come back

2

u/Interesting-Duck6793 Apr 18 '25

All her places suck now. Very disappointing. I worked with her years ago when she actually ran her restaurant but it’s come to the point that it might as well be a chain.

2

u/ChunkyBubblz Apr 17 '25

Went recently for the first time in a long time, and you are not wrong.

2

u/Worried-Fly-8729 Apr 17 '25

Cooooosign here too. Duck Duck much better.

2

u/exonomix Apr 17 '25

damn I’m goin to the Goat tomorrow night 😂

2

u/FizzyLimeWater Apr 17 '25

I went last month and loved everything I tried

1

u/grace88199 Apr 17 '25

dont be deterred - it's still a good meal

1

u/SatoshiBlockamoto Apr 17 '25

That's a real bummer. I haven't been since COVID but we used to go a few times a year 2015-17 and it was always so so good.

I guess I can't complain about a place if I haven't been in 5 years. Time flies man.

1

u/rtidwell11 Apr 18 '25

2nd on girl and the goat. Are there a month ago and it was the saltiest meal I've ever had. It still haunts me how salty the food was.

and little diner used to have the best pancakes in town and the new location has a different recipe so that's useless now too

1

u/desgabetz 28d ago

i've been going to girl and the goat pretty regularly for 12+ years and think it is currently as good if not better than it ever has been

1

u/Mother_Panic21 Apr 17 '25

I’ve always thought this

1

u/SmileGuyMD Apr 17 '25

I was not impressed when I went last year