Playing catch up.....

So while we were away, there was some sort of "Bacon Explosion"? I got like 157 emails to this while I was out so I was super psyched to finally get a chance to check it out. Man was I dissapointed, anyone else think if you are gonna call it Bacon Explosion, maybe you use some ground up bacon? But to their credit they do call it "The BBQ Sausage Recipe of all Recipes" Its nice they took sausage and made it better, they added bacon, that's a no brainer. But it did raise the underlying bacon consciousness when it went viral, so that has its merits. One of the guys at work (thanks for keeping my job available while I was 'away' btw... pays to simply work for bacon, more on that in a minute) made one of these, and said he enjoyed it, I asked what the best part was.... yes, the bacon.

So speaking of "working for bacon" apparently someone was so enspired by the sausage explosion, err I mean that BBQ bacon dealio that they want to open a bacon themed restaurant. A friend snapped this pic recently while at lunch. And its an actual site, this gentleman, Dru Morgan, a guy with obviously good taste is trying to 'crowd-fund' the whole shebang. Great news is it is apparently in my neck of the woods. So that is one place I could eat at all the time, I wish him the best of luck, and if I did facebook, I might even "add him" or whatever it is you do on those super fun social networks. Bacon Jason and I had this very idea many many times, not the crowd funding but the bacon restaurant, so there are two loyal customers. I dont do the facebook but count me in for $50 and save me a spot at the baconbar.

Another thing that is I guess you could say 'viral' or at least making the rounds is a photoblog that has lots of pictures of various food... "oddities"? "creations"? "fantasies made into reality"? what ever they are, the websites name says it all: http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/ its is worth scanning through the back pages of submissions as there are some truly fantastic bacon related items in there, in fact I think the first post was a shot of the marvelously magical Baconnaise. Bacon Jason and I are abut to order our second case, yes case C-A-S-E, bacon dipped in baconnaise is.. well you can imagine, its heavenly. Our only complaint, its bacon flavored, without the bacon, its completely kosher!!! Not that there is anything wrong with that, but if they can make creamy bacon goodness WITHOUT bacon, my god!!!!! can you imagine if bacon was on the ingredient list???!?!?!?!?!

Well I am sure there is plenty of stuff we have missed, look for a more frequent posting patern as Jason and I continue our baconquest, and no matter how funny it sounds over a bottle of scotch, we will not be assaulting anyone (else) with bacon taken mysteriously out of our pants, its staying put. I don't mean in our pants there is no bacon in our pants, but the first part, about keeping our bacon to ourselves, on our plates. Well thats not true either not on our plates as it is never there for to long cuz we eat it. OK worst allegory ever.

Windy City Bacon

In the vein of Sodolak's Steak House in Snook, TX, The Risque Cafe in Chicago is offering up country-fried bacon.  There is an article and picture in the Chicago Sun-Times, the article also mentions Chinaski's Bar, which on the first Monday of every month they have all you can eat bacon... for free.  

I love this quote: "All true religions have to have some monthly faith meeting," says one employee, when asked about the purpose of the bottomless bacon bowl.

So that's where the Church of Bacon is meeting.  If anyone has tried either of these or heads over and checks em out, let us know in the comments.  Chicago is a bit of a drive from SoCal... but when we do our Bacon Across America© road trip you know we will be stopping in.

Lucky Indeed!

Our friend Aaron pointed us to a menu for a Lucky's Pub in Houston, TX.

The last appetizer on the list.....

Bacon Wrapped Bacon - $8.95 Italian pancetta wrapped in Canadian bacon wrapped in American hickory smoked bacon with a maple butter sauce

I need a napkin to mop up the drool.

Now if it wasn't a 1600 mile drive I would totally go there for lunch.  

Anyone from the area that can chime in on this delectable treat, please let us know if it is as tasty as it sounds.

Update:  Bacon Jason made this observation:

Airfare to Houston - $200

Cab fare downtown - $25

Bacon Wrapped Bacon - $9

BEST LUNCH EVER? - Priceless

Cracker Barrel Bacon and the New Age Vortex

Ahh the great American road trip! Bottles of dew and jerky, and that odd "been in the car a little too long" scent that says, "Thats right baby I am free and on the road.. no.. as a matter of fact I do NOT live in my car" Not sure if its just a guy thing, but I've never see a group of girls piling into a car and driving for hours just cuz its fun. There was a time in my life where the open road with a cassette in the tape deck blaring and the promise of beer on a Sunday just across the state line was all one needed for a good time. I am here to tell you this is a young man's folly. Sure the cassette was replaced with an iPod and the bottle of dew gave way to an "energy drink" and well perhaps the length of the road trip may have been a little too ambitious. I am still numb in some of my parts. In less than 36 hours we drove over 1100 miles, drank some whiskey and had our socks rocked off, not a bad way to kill a weekend, if I was younger. I wish I could say I had something better to do, but alas, some things never change.

Destination: Sedona, home of new agey types that love their sex stones (aka 'fuckin rocks') and there positive vibration vortexes. There are artistes aplenty as well as some pretty spectacular views, if you are into that sort of thing. But this was no reason to drive nearly 600 miles in a day. Now good rock-n-roll, thats a whole other matter! I have a few friends I haven't seen in a while and they gots themselves this little rock and roll outfit. Now if you think the type of crowd you might expect to find in Sedona wouldn't exactly be the same type of crowd you might expect to enjoy some kick ass rock and roll, you would be correct. At one point the management of the bar was asked to have the band "turn it down a little", apparently they were waking people up at a nearby hotel. Rock and fucking roll baby!!! Show was great, we discussed bacon among other things afterward, good times.

So the morning after, you realize, wow, now we gotta go all the way back......whose dumb idea was this anyway?? Wait a second... didn't we pass like 4 or 5 Cracker Barrel Restaurants on the way here? You can't get that in California, so off we went, only 90 minutes to the closest one. Sunday morning at the Cracker Barrel off Deer Valley and I-17 is like some sort patience exercise that I wanted no part of, I have seen shorter lines at Hollywood clubs. Seriously, don't these people have something better to do on a Sunday morning besides stand between me and my bacon? Fortunately location was a non issue for a couple of road warriors such as us and the next location was near Sun City; at 11 am those old folks had already had breakfast and lunch and were at home taking a nap before supper time. No real line or wait, whoo-hoo!! Cracker Barrel is a "country cooking", serve breakfast all day, type of joint. Its also a, we got tons of over priced "kitsch" in our "country store", that you have to navigate through when you pay in order to get out of there, but thats a whole other rant. For all its setup, I was expecting a good bacon experience. Ya know when you go someplace and you get the bacon, these two flimsy strips come out with your plate and you are left wondering, "WTF?!"? Well not at Cracker Barrel the standard is 4 big meaty strips, and they are thick too! I was not disappointed, and the fact I had ordered an extra side of bacon, "just in case" was well, a stroke of genius, because now I had twice as much of this good stuff. Flavor was rich and meaty, meat to fat ratio was about standard, and the preperation was just right, a lil crispy but still chewy. I ate my fill and for the next 9 hours I was thinking, "Man that was some tasty bacon....are we there yet?!"

3 out of 5 strips and an extra half for the generous portions.