Complete surprise!! Â I love when I am wandering through towns and find a JEWEL like The Blue Goat! Â My partner and I weren't even really hungry for lunch but happened to stop at a market to pick up some water and saw this adorable cafe across the street and when I saw "local" in the food description on the cafe I thought we should check it out.
The cafe was tastefully decorated w/ cute old school chairs and the place had a warm and cozy feeling going on. Â The menu changes which is EXTREMELY important to me now. Â I am embracing eating to the seasons as people would have done prior to the mass food production era post 1940's. Â
The beer and wine choices were very impressive. Â I also don't like going to eateries where Budweiser and other commercial beers are your choices. Â Sadly, it was not a day for me to enjoy a glass of wine but next time I'll do so (lots of local vineyard options!). Â The waiter brought us water, our beer and iced tea and a lovely plate of homemade bread w/ (I swear it must have been) homemade butter! Â Both were sooo good!! Â The levain wheat bread was nice and hearty dense sweet and sour tasting! Â I could go on and on about that alone.
I ordered a lovely arugula salad w/ walnuts, homemade vinaigrette dressing and soft goat cheese. Â Extremely good!!! Â I also ordered an appetizer with marinated pulled pork croquette rolled in panko bread crumbs and lightly fried (hard to tell it was in panko breading it was so lightly apparent) and served over roasted kohlrabi w/ carrots and a nice light dressing w/ a drizzle of chipotle sauce. Â AMAZING!!!! Â A party in my mouth! Â This place is a GOLD MINE!
My partner ordered a sliced pork taco that was amazing. Â Lovely light soft homemade corn taco shell w/ greens/black beans and dollop of sour cream. Â I just took a bite but it was memorable! Â My partner enjoyed the two items but felt three would have been better. Â
The service was good, but thought another server would have been good for the number of diners in the place that day. Â We never felt neglected but thought the wait time for our food was a tad long. Â Next time I want to order one of their pizzas. Â The thin crust and nice brown bubbly crust and fresh veggies made my mouth water. Â A table over from us had ordered one. Â I think the prices were very fair given the complexities of the dishes and the amazing preparation and local sourcing.
We will be back!!! Â I wish every cafe operated with a seasonal local food menu. Â Amazing world of food out there and we just need more people to jump on the local/sustainable/organic food wagon.
My husband and I had lunch on 02-13-13 about 2pm. We shared the Mediterranean pizza and persimmon salad. It was honestly the best pizza I have ever had, The size was perfect for 2 to share. The salad really wasn't big enough for 2 but we shared it not wanting to get too full because we had many more things to do after eating. Paul was our waiter, very informative and attentive without being over hovering. Why didn't I give it 5 stars? It was our first trip there, plan many more in the future. We did love our first trip though.
Review Source:The food was ok. We had the cheese and bread plate and they were pretty chintzy with the bread. Ended up eating cheese solo. Wife had the pork. It had a burnt taste to it. Not wood fired... Burnt. I had the gnocci with smoked chicken. Mostly gnocci, very little chicken. Good flavor, but fairly generic. Service was non-existant. Waited almost 10 minutes just to place drink order. This was supposed to Valentines for my wife and I, and we were only offered sugar cookies for dessert because they were saving the other options for Valentines day! What a bad deal! We had to go somewhere else to finish our evening. We had heard good things and left disappointed. Good luck!
Review Source:I love finding great restaurants in out-of-the-way spots, where you don't necessarily expect to find them. Â This is a delightful restaurant; Â relaxed, warm, unassuming. Â The wait staff is friendly, helpful, prompt but not overbearing. Â We had a delicious melted ricotta cheese appetizer, served with the most nummy puffy tortilla chips -- really really different and good.
Main courses of  pork tacos and pesto chicken pizza were both extremely tasty - reasonably large portions, very well seasoned.
The interior is very charming as well. Â Just a great little restaurant - looking forward to going there again in a couple weeks when returning to this part of Oregon.
I think Blue Goat has potential, a lot of it, but they aren't quite there yet.
There is something so intriguing about a semi-fine dining establishment in the random-ass town of Amity. The decor inside is lovely. My husband and I amused ourselves with a children's book all about the different varieties of chickens in the world. And, they have a really good beer selection. They have Kiwanda Cream Ale from Pelican Brewery; that's the first time I've seen it on tap.
Unfortunately, that's where the positives end. :( The food was just not very good! I ordered the french onion soup, the BBQ pork pizza, and my husband ordered the empanadas. Everything was drastically underseasoned. I thought the textures and techniques were good, but everything needed salt. When you're in a restaurant like this, you shouldn't need salt and pepper at the table. Period. Plus the salt they do provide is regular table salt. I hate to sound like an elitist, but table salt tastes bad. I don't like it.
The cooks at Blue Goat need to learn to season aggressively as they cook to create layers of flavor. If they just did that; this place would be damn good. I have high hopes for it's future. I might like to try it again in a few months and see if things have improved. Hopefully the owners read these reviews.
Had heard so many great things about The Blue Goat and wanted to try it. We arrived at 7 PM and was impressed by the decor. It was busy as it was the Friday of Labor Day weekend. Sat at a nice table and waited and waited. Finally menu arrived and waitress informed us of what they were out of. (Meat) but she recommended the eggplant parmesan and my wife ordered a zucchini burger(?) It was awhile before the food arrived both our soft drinks were flat and lukewarm. When our food arrived the couple next to us who were there before us looked over wondering where their meal was. I have eaten eggplant parmesan  in over 50 restaurants and what arrived at the table well just looked strange. The overwhelming aroma of oregano and the eggplant was a fried hockey puck was zero taste. pasta was watery and nearly covered in sauce. Wife's meal came with french fries and that was the best part of the meal. Would have to say the price was the only good part of the meal. We will give it another try, but a repeat will find me sending back the food.
Review Source:I had an amazing meal with a coworker for lunch several months back. Rhubarb soup with sage butter and a fresh summer salad had my taste buds singing. It was a lovely combination of flavors and the perfect amount for me to return to work without feeling like a sloth. The prices are fantastic, especially considering how fresh the ingredients are. The menu changes frequently and I have been back several times since (I promise it has nothing to do with the cute chef on display in front of the wood oven). It's all about the food. I will continue to patronize this fantastic restaurant as long as they don't skimp on quality. Well worth the drive and always a good beer and wine selection.
Review Source:Bummer! I really wanted to like this place! The reviews were all so positive and the decor is so nice and the staff so friendly.
We find most new places using Yelp, but we became aware of The Blue Goat by personal recommendation. Â I don't think it's over-priced, unless you think every dining experience is a marathon. Â Smaller portions are fine, and I'd frankly be willing to pay more at many places if they'd show a little restraint. Â Quantity often comes at the cost of quality.
That said, I wanted to try the summer veggie soup, but opted for the veggie pepian. Everything was beautiful down to the little flower they put in the rice on my dish, but it was all chalky and undercooked. Â I left feeling like I'd just been chewing raw rice and potatoes for an hour. Â Even my partner's ravioli were undercooked and unpleasant to chew, which is a shame because they were clearly made in house. Â The roasted asparagus that came on his plate had a delicious, crunchy charr on them, though.
The sauces were good, and I really enjoyed the bread and beer, but I worry that they rush their food out before it's ready. Â You can't rush good food. Â
I'd love to come back and give them a second chance, but it's a little out of the way and I'm not sure we can justify it. :(
I'm not sure what this place is doing in Amity, but I'll happily, and willingly make the drive. Â I would LOVE for a place like this to be in Independence. Â The menu changes with the seasons, along with good beer and wine. Â Don't know what else to say, other than, if you haven't been, go!
Review Source:Salad was very good with many greens you don't often see. We where really looking forward to the pizza given the large wood burning oven that dominates the kitchen. So disappointed when what appeared was a long piece of flatbread with some bland tomato sauce and ordinary mozzarella. I mean, if you're going to have an oven like this, learn to make real pizza dough, spend a little time tasting the sauce and and invest in some better cheese.
Review Source:What a brilliant day of driving - got caught in Ducks pre-game traffic on the way down I-5; then we opted to head home on 99W and got caught in Beavers post-game coming back North. Â On the one hand, we were not going to make it back to Portland in time to meet friends, but on the other hand, here we were in the heart of wine country.
Delayed but not defeated, we opted to stop in Amity and have a nice dinner and a glass of wine. Â The Blue Goat seemed to fill the bill and looked very inviting as we pulled up across the street. Â Sure enough, we were quickly and cheerfully seated at the front window table, near a foursome of boisterous regulars, apparently well past their first bottle of pinot.
Ms. A and I ordered a bottle of Witness Tree Pinot Noir, which a friend had recommended. Â We decided to split a salad and it was quite delicious, particularly the pickled onion dressing. Â I had a cup of the bisque and it was satisfying as well. Â
We also split a ribeye steak and unfortunately it was not awesome. Â The bland flavor of the steak was betrayed by an under-seasoned treatment, and the texture was way too inconsistent and chewy for a restaurant like this to be serving.
For everything else - atmosphere, style, service and openers - the Blue Goat seems like a solid 4 star, but a disappointing entree knocked them down a notch. Â Our new friends at the bottle-per-person table seemed quite happy with the pork loin; and even though I'm pretty sure they were happy with just everything by then, I'd give the pork loin a try if I happen to be in Amity for dinner hour again.
Where is the sixth star to click? Â No, it really does seem that good and especially in the town of Amity. Â This continues to be our favorite restaurant in the mid-Willamette Valley which includes, Dalles, Independence, MacMinnville, Salem, Albany and Corvallis.
Why? Â The food. Â The cooking. Â The prices. Â The farm dinners. Â The owners.
We no longer are sure how many times we have eaten there but do know we have always enjoyed every dish and several dishes are beyond our ability to understand how they are created. Â They do wonderful things with meats, especially goat and lamb. Â Their light breads are unique to the wood-fired oven that takes over a large portion of the restaurant.
Others have talked here in Yelp about the service - we have had really good service each time we came, whether by ourself or with a group of 12. Â
Please give they a try, they deserve to have your attention and you deserve to eat their fine food. Â
Don't forget, they are not currently open on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.
Homemade bread baked in a large woodfire oven, fresh local produce, handmade pasta, homemade ricotta. Whoa! Not what we expected when we pulled into the small country town of Amity, OR hungry and hoping for a decent meal. What we had was delicious! My dining companions had a chicken salad sandwich with fresh salad greens and I had one of the best bowls of pasta I have had in a looong time. Great attention to detail and a localvore's dream. I can't wait to return. Their current menu is a celebration of spring with offers like asparagus soup, spring vegetable pasta, nettle pesto on wood oven baked pizza. Highly recommend this place based on my first experience. The atmosphere is cozy with an open kitchen, a long wood bar and the big wood oven. Great selection of local wines and beers on tap. I look forward to going back.
Review Source:Not good enough. Don't get me wrong, the food is good, just not good enough. The first time I went, I was looking forward to the pizza. Unfortunately, they decided they weren't serving pizza that day, so I had pasta; it was ok, but nothing to write home about. On my 2nd visit, they had the pizza, which more closely resembled an open faced sandwich with its elongated shape and soft crust and greeneries sprinkled on top. Service was lacking - I sat at a corner table and it felt as if I was in timeout because the server seemed to forget about us. If you're in the area, it's worth a visit, but if you're coming from any resemblance of civilization, sadly, it's not worth the drive.
Review Source:The Blue Goat is a great place for great food, and a nice atmosphere. Â The space is dominated by the kitchen and specifically the cob oven. Â This is not a bad thing. Â I really enjoy watching a kitchen at work. Â Most of the tables, chairs, stools and the bar are functional art created by one of the owners. Â Basically the space is inviting, warm and intimate - a great place for a meal and conversation with friends, or to sit at the bar and enjoy a beer your own thoughts and the surroundings.
We tried to sample as many items as we could, starting with Lamb Empanadas - excellent, moving to the sardines - good, but not my favorite, and then warm lamb salad - wow, and then scantily clad pizza - double wow. Â Finally dessert, the pear pie and the chocolate brownie with caramel sauce were a great end to a wonderful meal. Â The fresh baked bread was excellent as well.
Bar - Wine and Beer, If I remember correctly there were six handles, and only one macro brew. Â The other five are local, and a good variety.
Overall this is a fantastic restaurant, and it will only get better as more and more people discover Amity and The Blue Goat.
Definately worth the drive.
Our first visit last night and we were really pleased. Â The menu is limited - three entree items last night and one was Veg so I guess we have the other two? Â Neither were items "on paper" that I would have been interested in. Â Both were great and very interesting - not your standard recipies. Â There was a Pork pasta that had delicious flavors and I had a thin sliced steak searved over winter veggies. Â
Starters were equally interesting - I had house cured sardines (very nice) and Kari had a warm lamb salad that was excellent.
Only criticism - wine list is a bit thin - I think maybe five Reds and they were all in the interesting side but they could do more.
Prices are Very low - Entrees in the $11 - $14 range starters in the $5 - $8 range. Â Wine also had reasonable markups. Â We were $75 for dinner and a bottle of wine.... Â We're very happy that The Blue Goat appears to be a success - Amity needed it. Â We are wine industry types (Zenith Vineyard) and as we looked around there were three other parties in the restaurant from the winemaking community so we are "late" to discover the Blue Goat but we will make up time.....
The only thing wrong with this place is it's miles from nowhere. (Well, that and no reservations for parties of less than 6 and no American Express acceptance.)
Apart from that, the place knocked one over the left field fence! SWMBO and I made the 60 mile round-trip drive to check 'em out. We shared three menu items and there was a pleasant surprise in each of them. From their Winter Stew cauldron came two steaming hot containers (not unlike a baked bean pots) of thick beefy broth filled with "shredded Beef, Pinto Beans and Greens topped with Parsley and Sweet Red Pepper Esplette". We shared a Pulled Pork Sandwich (not BBQed but "simmered with Apple Butter") which was a two napkin Sandwich served with "Winter Slaw" and a "House Honey BBQ Sauce" which had noticeable Cinnamon overtones. We then split a Ground Beef Empanada filled with "aged Jersey Beef, boiled Egg, Currants and Green Olive. Served with house sweet Chili Salsa." Every dish had unexpected flavors and nuances.
Almost worth the trip alone is their Cob wood fired oven. At first glance, it looks like a huge Terra Cotta dome. It is in fact, a formed-in-place oven made of a material used in building centuries old dwellings in Europe and the UK. Essentially it's mud and straw not unlike what the indigenous peoples of SW North America used to form adobe bricks. I've never seen anything quite like it. From its fiery maw come many of their tasty dishes as well as their artisan Breads which, I understand are soon to be offered for sale to take home.
Our server, Sharmin, did a first rate job. However, the owner (I think) cut my questions a little short, I felt. Although, in fairness, they were begining to get fairly busy.
Jump in your car and drive to beautiful downtown Amity and give this place a try. I think you'll be pleased.
Located on the main drag next to an eclectic antique store, I enjoyed my recent visit for New Year's Eve dinner at the Blue Goat.
decor:
reclaimed wood tables
old school chairs
can seat a large party
local art on exposed brick
curving bar leading to warming, open, wood-fired oven
started off with:
house salad - refreshingly new mixture of large-leafed exotic mixed greens with just enough of a light, subtle dressing to accentuate the individual flavors and textures of each of the greens
meat empanada and veggie empanada - each was in a different pastry shell and served with its respective dipping sauce
roasted crispy pork belly over collards - crispy and savory
mains:
tagliatelle pasta
Wood-Fired Trout
dessert:
Chocolate Bread Pudding
other:
spiced pear spritzer - refreshing, individually, hand-made, non-alcoholic with pear juice, vanilla, light spices, simple syrup - a great addition to the meal
22 Feb 2011 update: article in local paper <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsregister.com%2Farticle%2F46941-hot%2Bearthen%2Boven&s=764ae190196dbd8c7439385691f8a9b64c68bc4611e87fc60d3098779b5e76ee" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.newsregister.…</a>
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