Got your goat?

By Jason de Paul on May 2, 2015

Since the dawn of Christianity, goats — those cute, prancing Capra aegagrus hircu we love to pet at the Puyallup Fair — have walked this earth as known associates of the Devil. In the Middle Ages, goats whispered lewd innuendos into the ears of innocent Saints. Thor stabled them to drive his Chariots. Fauns and Satyrs commandeered their bodies. And Satan stole their looks for his own illustrating their horns and beards in everything from the Black Mass to the pentagram.

Goats continued into modern times to show up despairingly in our lingo and idioms. If you allow people to walk over you, you’re a goat. Be silly — you’re acting the goat. Reside in Scotland and herd goats — well, where do you think the term “horny” comes from, huh?

Then something changed. In recent years, goat’s gained back, or maybe for the first time, received some respect. Although enjoyed for centuries in other places, diners in the United States enthusiastically embraced goat cheese. Sprinkled over arugula, baked in a tomato, mashed in potatoes — white, creamy goat cheese exploded on the restaurant scene, challenging all of us to maybe give the lowly goat its due. And now, are local diners ready to take the next step and separate the sheep from the goats? Or, in other words, eat the goats?

Might I suggest an easy dip into the genre?  The Green Coconut in Lakewood offers a goat curry that is both mild on the goat but flavorful in the sauce.  This Jamaican/Asian locale serves aromatic delicacies with an extensive Caribbean menu and some of the best beans and rice in the region.

The curried goat is drenched in a yellow curry with green onions and spices - moist and rich, just watch out for the tiny goat bones littered throughout.

So South Sound, embrace the goat.  Or in other words, it's time you got your own goat.

The Green Coconut is at 8813 Edgewater Dr. SW #102, Lakewood, WA 98499. 253-473-4444.  Click here.