For those naysayers who don’t believe that bacon dishes shape entire nations, the U.K. was recently told to relax, and the bacon supply from Denmark is holding strong regardless of the travel ban. Whew. Dodged a bullet on that one.
Then there was that classic scene in “Trading Places” with Eddie Murphy explaining his thoughts on the pork belly market. Pure dialogue gold on a topic that just about everyone can relate to. Bacon.
We think we’ve made our point. Bacon dishes are on the shortlist of foods that can pair with just about anything – heck, it even pairs nicely with itself and we’ll get to that one in a moment.
Maple Bacon Donuts – Nickel Diner, Los Angeles, CA
Featured on Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives, the Cooking Channel, and Jonathan Golds 101 List, this 1940s-era diner not only makes notorious bacon dishes like their maple bacon donuts, but they give back to the community – big time.
Owners Monica May and Kristen Trattner also run Her, a charitable organization for female-owned restaurants in Los Angeles, created amidst the COVID-19 pandemic by women who own restaurants in LA.
Seems they’re following in the footsteps of one of our fave celeb givers, Oprah Winfrey who’s been knocking it out of the park year after year as one of the top givers in the world.
In collaboration with Meals By Genet, they provide comfort meals to the unhoused, and needy folks living on the streets of Downtown LA. Kind of like a soup kitchen, but with the best-tasting donuts on the planet.
Stuffed Dates Wrapped in Bacon – Therapy, Las Vegas, NV
Vegas likes to go large, and the same holds true when it comes to stuffing dates – no simple appetizers here in Sin City.
Therapy’s famed appetizer, Devils on Horseback consists of soft truffled goat cheese and almond-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon and served on Romesco sauce.
Grabbing an order of these to go while taking care of business at a Las Vegas workstation hotel might even inspire some of your own creativity, but at the very least dates are filled with antioxidants. So you’re kinda staying on a healthy track, bacon aside.
They also have top mixologists creating signature cocktails for you. Remember, any type of drink pairs perfectly with bacon dishes so you’re cool if there’s a drink snob in the group.
Thick-Cut Bacon Au Poivre – Del Frisco’s, New York, NY
Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House has 16 locations coast to coast so if you’re looking to make an entree out of bacon, you shouldn’t have to travel too far.
The thick-cut Nueske’s bacon au poivre comes with a bourbon molasses glaze and is topped off with coarsely ground pepper and completed with thinly sliced pickled Fresno chilies.
When we say thick, we’re talking about 1/2 inch of juicy, tender pork belly. Del Frisco’s also known for their extensive wine list so pairing this with a nice wine gives you a well-balanced bacon dish. You may even be doubling down if you’re doing a keto diet!
Maple Bacon Old Fashioned – Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, Mostly West Coast
There are lots of great, off-the-beaten-path bars and restaurants known for their bacon Old-fashioned cocktail, but we chose Lazydog because they seem to like putting a little fun in their step. We’re always on board with that.
Bacon in a cocktail is quirky in itself, and at the Lazy Dog, the dinners echo this quirk – they are served in TV dinner trays. AKA the American Bento Box.
These dinners are made in-house, frozen in retro-style trays, and ready to pop in the oven when you need them. How could you not feel nostalgia watching reruns of Friends, eating out of a tin tray, and sipping a bacon old-fashioned cocktail?
Remind yourself you’re also contributing to a good cause, keeping the residual payments for the cast of Friends in the 10’s of millions of dollars so they can continue buying homes.
But seriously, who would put bacon in a cocktail if they didn’t have that adventurous kid-at-heart gene? Speaking of which, check out the Lazy Dog About Us page. Nuff said.
The restaurant chain does touch the four corners of the U.S., so when nothing but a TV dinner and a good bacon cocktail will do, you shouldn’t have to reach out too far. A-OK to bring the pups as well, they also have a dog menu!
Bacon Paired With Bacon On A Clothesline – David Burke Tavern, New York, NY
Award-winning Celebrity Chef David Burke operates the Tavern restaurant out of a townhouse on New York City’s Upper East Side. The Tavern brings you thick-cut grilled bacon hung with clothespins. Then the succulent strips get blow-torched to perfection at the table.
You are provided with scissors to snip away and start pairing. The bacon is covered in a delicate maple glaze with bits of rosemary torched alongside.
David came up with the clothesline idea after hanging fruit leather to dry from a clothesline for another dish a long time ago, but the hangin’ bacon is his signature bacon dish that’s often copied but it’s never quite the real deal.
Honorable Mention – The Bacon Bomb, Kaiser Tiger, Chicago, IL
If you happen to be carrying around $90 bucks with bacon written all over it and have a hefty rainy day fund for heart surgery saved up, then read on.
The Bomb features an epic 2 pounds of ground beef, 2 pounds of ground pork, 16 slices of thick-cut bacon, two eggs, and a blend of spices.
Adorned with pepper bacon and wrapped in a brown sugar bacon weave, it is cooked for hours on the smoker and served with fresh-cut fries, buns, pepper jack cheese, onion, lettuce, and tomato. Not sure if the sides can be replaced with a cup of heart stents, asking for a friend.
In Conclusion
If your takeaway here is that you can get your kids to hang the laundry by pinning some bacon on the clothesline, then you totally get it.
Bacon dishes cast mystical spells that mesmerize and grasp the senses while weakening the knees. No one can resist the allure of crispy crunchy sizzlin’ bacon.
