Restaurant Review: Goat

This weekend we spent two days on Put-In-Bay, also known as South Bass Island. Our party consisted of Andrew and I, his brother Jimmy, and his dad & stepmom (Vern and Ann). We had been to PIB a couple times before, but Andrew and I had never spent a night on the island. We had a fantastic time shopping, eating, and of course drinking! The boys rented bikes and rode all over the island, but Ann and I spent our time tooling around in a golf cart. Check out Put-In-Bay on their official website.

One of the highlights of the trip was Goat, a restaurant that advertises its "soup and whiskey". While we had neither during our meal, it was an excellent dinner and a definite must visit. Goat is in the location of Dailey's Tavern, a bar that was previously owned by Pat Dailey, an entertainer famous in the Great Lakes area for his Jimmy Buffett-esque music.


The evening was warm, but we opted to sit outside on the covered patio. Goat also boasts an indoor open air bar, dining room, and downstairs coffee house and ice cream parlor. We started our meal with a plate of nachos, a caprese salad, and a 1/2 lb of boiled shrimp. The nachos were loaded with house special green chicken chili and all manner of toppings. The caprese salad was made with fresh mozzarella and island-grown red and yellow tomatoes, that were perfectly ripe. Goat grows their own herbs, and the basil chiffonade decorating the plate was verdant and fresh. The shrimp were huge, fresh, and delicious – which foreshadowed good things to come, as both Jimmy and I had ordered entrees with shrimp.

We were all pleased when our entrees arrived – Vern had a fish basket of fried walleye and Andrew had a philly steak sandwich. Jimmy ordered the blackened shrimp alfredo - the seasoning on the shrimp infused the mild alfredo sauce, which is made to order, giving it a spicy kick that wasn't overpowering. I had a beautiful grilled shrimp Caesar salad, and Ann ordered the “beer plate”. This was the most original of the meals we ordered – it was listed on the appetizer menu, but was more than enough to feed one person for dinner. The plate consisted of salami, two different cheeses, a variety of olives and peppers, and club crackers and was meant to accompany beer drinkers as a snack. Also on the menu was a “wine plate” which included soft cheeses, hummus, pitas, grapes, and prosciutto.

We all agreed that Goat was somewhere we would head to on our next trip to Put-In-Bay, and we recommended it to everyone we ran into on the island. Their ingredients are local, every sauce and dressing is homemade, and the atmosphere is light and fun - very fitting of the island's lifestyle. If you have ever have the opportunity to visit PIB, make sure you head over to Goat.