Stephanie Izard | Stephanie Izard

our whole goat crew from left to right: michelle, norbert, me! (stephanie), jen, caitlin, and david

last night was the annual green city market BBQ: an event to raise money to keep the best farmer’s market in the city going and growing every year.

what’s great about the GCM is that it brings farmers and chefs together along with the hundreds of shoppers that attend every wednesday and saturday morning. And last night was an extension of that great market community in the form of thousands of people with at least one thing in common: supporting local growers. (though it seems that a love of good food, lots of beer, and having a good time are also commonalities.)

the event started out for us in true goat form. three of us arrived with the goat legs just 15 minutes before the floodgates opened. cutting it close and being set up just in time seems to be how we roll. Then we realized that the teeny tiny tostada chops that we had pressed and fired in the morning were still hanging at the restaurant. of course they were. packing lists for events don’t work very well when you can hardly read your own handwriting.

alas the chips were passed over the fence a few minutes after opening, just as the people lined up at our table started to look extremely hungry. all was well. our little tostadas were topped with smoked and braised goat (i try to bring goat to as many events as possible… nice to stick to a theme), eggplant and tomatillo caponata, dill yogurt and a bit of ajvar (a serbian condiment made of roasted eggplant and peppers…tricky to pronounce by quite tasty). one big bite, lots of flavor. a bite just big enough to make it entertaining to watch people shove it in in one bite. that, along with getting people to sing/dance/tell a joke to get a free t-shirt provided lots of entertainment in our little tucked away corner.

i did not get a chance to try too many other dishes. but jared from old town social hooked me up with a little slab of lamb ribs which were finger licking good for sure.

aside from the 98 degree weather, the event was perfect. great set up made it feel like a mini villiage with food and drinks all over. having an awesome group of chefs meant tasty food for everyone, and plenty of beer made the heat seem more bearable.

i look forward to next year’s bbq which is sure to be bigger and better tan ever. until then, i hope to see you shopping at the market! and come see my cooking demo on august 3rd at 10:30am. no idea what i’m making, but i’ll try to kick it off with a tasty bourbon cocktail