Stephanie Izard could open an Arctic-themed bistro in a bathroom at O’Hare with nothing but a musk oxen prix fixe menu, and thousands would miss their flights to eat there. Little Goat is the opposite: a big, shiny all-day diner engineered to appease the masses with biscuits and gravy, patty melts, chocolate malts, and meringue tarts.

If this sounds unambitious, consider the attention to detail given to each dish on the more than 80-item menu, as in a scallion and pork belly pancake with homemade hoisin sauce and a bok choy salad with ginger maple dressing. Then there’s the separate kitchen dedicated to baking bread and the coffee shop with a roast that Izard handpicked on a trip to Colombia. Rarely has a greasy spoon been this polished.