Dining Out Review: The Fat Goat restaurant

If there ever were a concrete example of the old saying "Third time's a charm," The Fat Goat comes pretty close.

This tiny, organically focused eatery on Lakeside Avenue, the latest reincarnation of Zed Café, has had almost as many chefs as it has years in business (about three).

While the mission, décor and general vibe of the menu are similar to Zed, The Fat Goat seems to have ironed out some of the kinks I encountered during my first two reviews of the place.

To Zed's credit, the food, service and ambience improved over time as chefs Bill Foster and Nancy Cohen had their respective reigns in the kitchen, but I never thought Zed's farm-to-table mission was carried out to its full potential.

I thought Zed could have done more to celebrate the local purveyors it relied so heavily upon by educating diners about eating localand the difference "fresh" can make to our taste buds and to our environment.

In a nutshell, I might not have realized this is what Zed was going for had I not read about it on the Web site before my visits. When Zed became The Fat Goat, I wondered if a new name was really going to change things that much.

However, with the name change came a staffwide commitment to teaching The Fat Goat's mission of turning naturally grown food harvested in environmentally friendly ways into a clean menu that marries the flavors of Virginia with Spanish and Italian accents.

When we pulled up on a recent weeknight, the Farm To Family bus was delivering a fresh batch of produce to the restaurant. (Farm To Family at http://www.farmtofamilyonline.com helps farmers use up any surplus by bringing fresh, local produce to urban areas.)

If this wasn't proof enough of The Fat Goat's ideals in action, our server explained every detail of the menu, including ingredient origins and various executions. Besides using as many local purveyors as possible, such as Bombolini Pasta (http://www.bombolinipasta.com), The Fat Goat also bakes its own bread, smokes its own meat and makes its desserts in house.

Our meal clearly encompassed all of the above; however, in certain aspects, the potent flavors of fresh herbs could have been better balanced.

Dinner starters range from Gryffon's Aerie beef sliders ($9-$18 for three to nine sliders) to flatbread pizzas ($9-$12) featuring housemade dough and local ingredients, such as Dave & Dee's wild oyster mushrooms.

We started with bacon-wrapped dates and a crab cake (both $8). While the bacon was a bit burned, the pungent basil-blue cheese stuffing contrasted brilliantly with the natural sweetness of the dates. A zingy balsamic glaze brought it all together.

Despite being served with an interesting garnish of cucumber and tomato pearls -- a purée of both vegetables dropped into hot oil the crab cake fell short. The barely seasoned meat wasn't jumbo lump as advertised, and accompanying lime wasabi aioli was all lime but no heat.

These flubs were quickly forgotten with the arrival of our entrées: house-smoked pork tenderloin ($19) and caramelized scallops ($24).

Medallions of tantalizingly smoky pork were served atop corn cakes, which reminded me of cornbread laced with the snap of fresh cilantro. Accompanying local figs glistened like sweet gems amid the pool of savory jus.

The scallops sported deliciously caramelized crusts, which didn't overpower their delicate flavor. Accompanying Mediterranean orzo mixed with roasted eggplant and tomato was texturally on point. While the addition of fresh chopped basil was invigorating, its intensity was too harsh.

Our waitress rattled off a list of several tempting desserts, but as soon as she said chocolate cake baked that morning, we were sold. The massive slice of moist cake arrived beneath an inch-thick layer of mascarpone cream-cheese icing. The icing was so buttery I could have eaten it out of a bowl with a spoon. Heaven.

Zed's owners seem to have tweaked what was necessary to elevate The Fat Goat to what Zed should have been. While the new name might grab your attention, the attention to detail should bring you back.

Freelance writer and graphic designer Dana Craig considers dessert the most important food group. The Times-Dispatch pays for the meals on her unannounced visits to restaurants. Contact her at .