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Where to eat goat before the Cubs head to the playoffs

Written by
Jessica Berson
Little Goat Diner
Photograph: Martha WilliamsLittle Goat Diner
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Not to jinx it, but things are looking pretty good for the Cubs as they head into the postseason. The team has been on an absolute tear in the second half, and they've got Cy Young Award, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year candidates on their hands. Plus, there's that whole Back to the Future II thing going in their favor. But none of that will matter when "The Curse of the Billy Goat" rears its ugly head and some sort of wacky, heartbreaking event occurs to ruin it all once again.

This is why, a few weeks ago, the guys from Taco in a Bag enlisted their professional eater friends to polish off an entire goat in the hopes of breaking the infamous curse. Their efforts have already done better than whoever slung a goat carcass over the Harry Caray statue the last time the Cubs made the playoffs, so maybe if the entire city chips in and chows down, we could make the dreams of a century's worth of baseball fans come true. Here's where to start in the quest for dominance over goat kind.

You can't really talk about goat dishes in Chicago without mentioning Stephanie Izard. Girl and the Goat has an entire section of the menu devoted to goat, and right now boasts dishes like goat liver mousse, goat empanadas and confit goat belly. If you can't wait until dinner, grab some goat chili cheese fries or a sloppy goat for lunch from Little Goat Diner down the road.

Outside the U.S., goat is popular in many cuisines. The Ecuadorian side of the menu at La Sierra has a couple of options: seco de chivo, which is slow-cooked goat stew, and bandera, the same goat stew mixed with tripe stew and served with avocado and salad. Birrieria Zaragoza has an entire menu based on birria, a traditional Mexican goat stew, which is made into quesadillas, tacos and other dishes. Bolat African Cuisine has a curried goat that might be extra lucky since it's so close to Wrigley Field. For the truly brave who want to absorb the power of the goat, Usmania serves a Pakistani delicacy, brain masala, goat brain cooked with spices and herbs. 

For the ultimate goat feast, give Frontier a call and place an order for the whole roasted goat, which normally serves 10-15 people. The restaurant roasts the goat over apple and cherrywood and serves it with a collection of sides like mac and cheese and cornbread. Normally, they request five days notice to get this epic goat meal ready, but perhaps if you call and explain that your order is for the good of the city, they will make an exception.

If the Cubs do make it to the next phase of the playoffs, Xoco has goat barbacoa for its Saturday sandwich special, so start tweeting Rick Bayless now to get that sucker on the permanent menu throughout the post season.

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