Forget yesteryear's pork belly, suckling pigs, or even duck-themed tasting menus: 2012 is the year of the goat (including the ones eating pizza right now). Technically, 2012 is the year of the Water Dragon, but with dragon meat currently unavailable, it was only a matter of time before the humble goat stepped into the center ring of the food fad circus. Beats hearing about bacon, anyway.

According to Bon Appetit, this upcoming shift has been brewing since this past summer, and only since 2011 has NY Mag offered a goat category in their Best of New York feature. This year's entry opens with "These are the salad days in the big city for connoisseurs of goat," awarding the the Flatiron restaurant Junoon's patiala shahi goat curry as best in show, but also the animal on other fancy menus, such as roast “capretto” at Scarpetta, an item which has technically has been around since at least 2009).

Earlier this week, Clinton Hill favorite Locanda Vini e Olii re-introducted a goat-themed tasting menu (including Goat Head Soppressata), while last month the Gowanus knife emporium Cut Brooklyn hosted a full multicourse goat roast.

And then there was "Goatoberfest" hosted by Betto and The Brooklyn Brewery. They weren't just trying to stuff your belly, but promote Heritage Food's "No Goat Left Behind" program (yes, really), whose mission statement is to be "a serious project intended to introduce goat as a viable meat product in the United States, while simultaneously aiding dairy farms that have little need for male goats."

Goat herds may prove to be a fantastic investment, and at very least they taste delicious. You can start by taking a day trip to Verbank, NY for some well-priced Nigerian Dwarf Goats, of which there seem to be a plethora available. And if you're not sure about real live goats just yet, but have a couple grand lying around, there's this incredibly lifelike vintage goat available for sale right now.

To assist those with a sudden hankering for this delectable bovid, Heritage foods has already compiled a list and a full Google Map of their locations (see below).