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Stephanie Izard's New Duck, Duck Goat: 'We're Really Lucky'

By David Byrnes | February 27, 2015 9:33am | Updated on March 2, 2015 8:46am
 Chicago restaurateur Stephanie Izard.
Chicago restaurateur Stephanie Izard.
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DNAinfo/David Byrnes

SOUTH LOOP — An event designed for healthcare tech innovators on Thursday featured a couple pioneers from other fields as guest speakers: Chicago restaurateur Stephanie Izard and Adrianne Haslet-Davis, a professional ballroom dancer and survivor of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.

Held at the Redmoon Theater, 2120 S. Jefferson St., Klick MUSE Chicago was described as "a modern-day salon." It was half TED talk, half networking gala and, with a Dr. Seuss-like spinning wine umbrella contraption that dispensed drinks, all just a little trippy.

Izard, an award-winning head chef and founder of several restaurants throughout the city, premiered her new catering company at the event.

 An event designed for innovators in healthcare tech on Thursday featured a couple pioneers from other fields as guest speakers: Chicago restaurateur Stephanie Izzard and Adrianne Haslet-Davis, a professional ballroom dancer and survivor of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.
Klick MUSE Chicago
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“[My event coordinator] said to me, before I came up here, that the one word that describes how I’ve gotten here… is that I’m fearless,” she said. “I don’t think I’m fearless. I think I’m just crazy.”

Izard used the event to preview dishes from her newest restaurant, Duck Duck Goat, which is slated to open later this summer at 857 W. Fulton Market and will feature cuisine inspired by Izard’s recent trips to China.

Izard said her aim in Duck Duck Goat is do "true" Chinese food.

"So instead of taking a flavor here or a noodle there, we have food you might actually find in China," she said.

Her other establishments, The Girl and The Goat and The Little Goat, just a few blocks away, have won raves from critics and are a must-stop for many foodies.

“It’s not just about the food, it’s about every part of the restaurant,” Izard said, explaining how her  businesses are growing. “It’s about how you feel when you walk in, it’s about utilizing new things like social media… And, well, we’re really lucky.”

Running three restaurants and a catering company, the worst part of her day "is putting out the different fires that pop up."

"But we like putting out the fires sometimes, so, you know, you gotta be a little crazy to work in the restaurant business," she said.

Haslet-Davis lost most of her lower left leg in the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013. For a professional dancer, it should have been a career-ending injury. But after several months of physical therapy and the use of a custom prosthesis, she is back on the dance floor.

“I will never forget, a doctor… said [you] shouldn’t have hope [for dancing again],” she told the audience. “I hope he saw me dance again.”

Getting to dance again took a great deal of work and adaptation, however. She spoke at length about adjusting to her “new normal" — the new challenges which are now a part of her every day life.

“I’d be lying if I said I was always comfortable talking about [my injury],” she said. “Because I’m still not 100 percent. I’m still recovering.”

Besides the physical damage, Haslet-Davis also struggles with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, she said. Nevertheless, she is still dancing, despite what a pessimistic physician once told her. And for the healthcare innovators at MUSE, that in itself is an inspiration. 

“When someone tells you something can’t be done,” she told the crowd, “That is a reflection of their limitations. Not yours.”

The event included a prototype Oculus device which allows users to explore a digital blood vessel. Ken George, one of the device’s developers, believes it could open up new ways for patients, physicians and pharmacologists to visualize medical procedures.

“Right now it’s all about raising awareness; getting it out there,” he said. “But there is so much this technology could do.”

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