La Cocina - Stewed Goat

I would like to (sort of briefly) address some of the controversy that got stirred up on the Let's Eat Lancaster facebook fan page (a facebook fanpage for a blog?... is there such a thing as "too much internet"? because I think we're cresting that chasm.. oh well). It seems that the idea of me going to an unfamiliar (to me) restaurant and ordering an unfamiliar (to some) dish was cause for concern. Why goat? One reader actually tried to curse my experience by hoping that the meal "sucked" and I would not be able to recommend "this awful place".
(Ironically enough, it was this same reader who's initial confusion of  La Cocina vs. Cocina Mexicana was what alerted me to a place serving goat in town in the first place... so... thanks for the tip, Laurie!)



A small but spirited debate was waged, and it didn't stop on facebook, I also got into virtually the same spirited debate with a close friend of mine and both seemed to have the same stance against my own. Some people have a serious issue with the idea of eating goat.
They felt that adding an animal to the list of already farmed animals is not only sad for animals, but also sad for the environment. I'm paraphrasing.
Look, I do feel that we have a problem with factory farms here, and I do think that its affecting the environment, and yes, I do feel that things need to be done to change that, however, on this little food blog, that Revolution Will Not Be "Internetized".

This blog is about places to eat in Lancaster, and also about some of the offbeat offerings that some of those places serve up. Its about shining a light on some places that you may never have even heard about, and about reminding everyone about some of the other places that you've known about for years.  I'm not going to not go to a place just because in their culture they have a dish that isn't typically offered here, and I'm also not  going to avoid trying that dish. The fact is, there are people here, from all over the world, representing their cultures as best they can, some of them are doing their best to run a successful business; some of them even eat goat.


We live in a place that is ripe with opportunity (well, usually) and choices.
For instance, you can choose to not eat something, and that's fine, whatever you gotta do to make a difference in this world. I, on the other hand, choose goat.
You can make my choices when you pry them from my cold dead hands. (or something.)

So, about this stewed goat...

I found out on a Saturday that its only available on Wednesdays and Fridays, this told me two things- 1) I will need to come back on Wednesday and 2)  that the process to make this dish is something a little more complicated than whats on the daily menu (which consists of a wide variety of things I've only begun to scratch the surface of). Everything is served cafeteria style, so you go to the counter and all is lined up before you, you make your choices, and you are served everything on a paper plate on an orange tray. I was asked if I wanted white or yellow rice, the yellow rice, cooked with saffron and pork. Big chunks of pork. I chose that option and I kept my dinner simple. Goat and rice.

Sitting down at the table I got a look around, hardwood floors, nice, open dining room, it was quite pleasant. I wasn't looking at million dollar renovations or anything, but clearly they were doing the best with what they had. Art on the walls, plenty of sunlight from the enormous front windows, bright and colorful. I found it very comforting and clean.

I looked at these chunks of meat, some still on bone, and rice, and I wondered how I would ever finish it all... I dug in, the first bite was awesome. The meat was so incredibly tender, (I imagine there is quite a long cooking time for goat) and so salty, almost briney, there were olives here too, which I suppose contributed to that. Each bite thereafter just got better and better. The meat fell apart completely, like pulled pork almost, and had a very earthy yet meaty taste, like a mild jerk seasoning kind of. I found myself comparing it to beef jerky, only much easier to chew.

Eventually the meat got a little more difficult to pull off the bones, so I had to "go in" as they say (who says that?). A word to the wise: Have your napkins ready. I wasn't sure how to attack each chunk of bone, it wasn't like a chicken leg which is very easy to get a grip on and you know, from birth, how to dismantle it... No, these goat bones were something else entirely, sharp, and hard to navigate. I got through it though. Some pieces a little closer to the bone were a bit chewier and had some fat, but overall, most of that fat had rendered out completely and left me with nothing but purely delicious, tender meat.
8.0

I switched off to the rice every once in a while to soak up some of that saltiness, the rice was just as delicious, much less complex, but it worked quite well against the goat. The pork fat had cooked nicely through the rice, and combined with the delicate flavor of the saffron, was just enough to give the rice a boost high enough to stand up next to the bold flavor of the goat. It was the pork by itself that I found least palatable. Perhaps it had been cooked too long in the rice, or was not intended to be eaten at all in the first place, but in comparison to the goat, it was dry, and utterly flavorless. The real treat here was the stew "sauce" that got lightly spooned over some of the rice, these bites combined all the flavors of the plate beautifully into tiny little pockets of mouth-watering heaven.
7.7

Suddenly my plate was clean (except for some bones) . It was all over too quickly, and though I was not over stuffed, I was satisfied.

This was on a Wednesday. Two days later, I went back for more.
 For a new dish such as this, to eat it just once might produce a false-positive. Maybe that day it just tasted "better" than it does on any other day.
The only variation this time was with the rice, this time a more traditional beans and rice, and I was not given a "rice option" personally I preferred Wednesday's rice. The goat was just as delicious, and maybe even a little more tender and easier to pull from the bone.
Still needed napkins though.
Still fantastic - 8.0
Rice - 6.5

On Friday I also picked up a beef empanada to go. It was fantastic. Kind of hard to screw up, but as another reader pointed out, they make their own dough there as opposed to having it brought in, this makes all the difference in the world, rich, buttery, and chewy, the flavor of the ground meat inside carried through the dough and everything was perfectly seasoned. It was simple, yes... simply delicious.  I should have ordered 5 of them. Next time...
8.8

La Cocina is located at 111 E. King St. in Downtown Lancaster.


One last thing re: "the controversy" - I'm here to eat.