For those of you in or near Santa Barbara: Any suggestions of great bacon dishes you’ve had locally? I’m considering Julienne, which has a crispy pork belly that seriously draws my interest. But I’m open to being swayed.

Now, if you really can’t stand the idea of not seeing us in September, we’ve got a great alternative opportunity for you. Last year’s Bacon Day party benefited a local theatre group, Genesis West. On September 19 they will be holding their first annual Sweet Sunday! It’s like Bacon Day, but all sweets! Cookies, cupcakes, pies and candy…your one-stop eating destination for that sweet tooth of yours. RBS is sponsoring this event and we’ll be there with our own spread of sweets, full of bacon of course. You’ll also have a chance to win lots of exciting swag, and meet some of Santa Barbara’s…well, sweetest people. (I couldn’t help myself.) Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, and there are reduced children’s prices as well. Once you get inside, you can indulge in all the sweets you can handle. (Augustus, save some room for later!) Coffee and soft drinks will be provided, and wine and champagne will be available for purchase. So come on out, enjoy another beautiful Santa Barbara day, and show your support for the local arts. We’ll see you there!

Related Posts

• Bacon Day 09: The Swag
• You like cookies, don’t you?
• Crispy bacon shrimp
• Kraft Bacon Cheddar

After all that hype, you’ll probably be surprised to hear how disappointed I was in the bacon-wrapped shrimp appetizer. When we saw it on the menu, we were shocked we’d never ordered it before. When it arrived at our table, we couldn’t wait to tear into it. The five shrimp were served on a bed of rice pilaf and looked like a work of art (although my iPhone didn’t do them justice.) The bacon was perfectly wrapped, a festive stripey ensemble. Unfortunately, it also  had an overdone crispness to it, nearly burnt in flavor, and the shrimp were dry. The only thing we could figure was that they must have deep-fried them and left them in the oil too long. Deep-frying always seems like a good idea, but it can certainly be taken too far. Let this be a lesson to all you Fry-Daddy owners out there. Too much of a good thing can be…well, too much.

Having said that, the rest of our meal was outstanding; just thinking about their famous split-pea soup is making me hungry. To top it off, each and every bartender can make a killer Manhattan. If you happen to visit Santa Barbara, you have my highest recommendation for Shalhoob’s. Just don’t forget to invite me!

Related Posts

• Bacon Day and Sweet Sunday
• Kraft Bacon Cheddar
• Bacon Fashion NOW!
• Hot Dogs: Now with Bacon!
• Bacon via Bruce

This, it turned out, was Garrett County’s hickory-smoked, uncured bacon. Unlike most bacon aficionados, I really like those rare thin slices you find hidden in a normal package. Thick cut-bacon doesn’t always win me over, and I was totally intrigued by this very different looking product. So, refusing to acknowledge a price, I threw the bacon in my basket and moved on.

When I buy a new bacon, I like to try it plain the first time. So I opened it up, pulled out a few slices and threw them in the skillet. Well, maybe it wasn’t that simple. First of all, before cooking, it smelled very smoky, almost more like ham than bacon. When I removed my slices from the package, the bacon was so thin it was difficult to get out of the package without tearing, and they stretched a great deal. I actually thought I had three slices when indeed it was four, but I wasn’t likely to complain about that. As you can see in this photo, there really was a lot less fat, which meant much less grease produced during cooking.

It was difficult to cook them evenly, I suppose because of the diminished grease content. I would have liked them to be more crisp overall, but I took them out before certain areas of the bacon could burn. The flavor was really good, but again, not necessarily what I would associate with a favorite bacon…more like a tasty ham. Or rather, what I wish ham tasted like, because I don’t love ham. I think the rest of the package will be used as an ingredient. For instance, I was planning to make some split pea soup soon. This will be the perfect smoky, salty bacon for that use.

This is what I love about American food culture. At any given moment I may run across a food from anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world. We have such a ridiculous wealth of food variety at our fingertips, and I want to taste it all. So maybe this won’t be my new breakfast favorite, but it was definitely worth a try. I’m always on the lookout for new and different bacon products to try. And yet I still haven’t had the KFC Double Down…hmmm. Maybe I don’t really want to taste it ALL.

Most Commented Posts

• Bacon in a Can
• Bacon Cinnamon Rolls
• Bacon-Wrapped Eggs
• Bacon Beer! Yes!
• The Bacon Shot. Good Lord.

First we got a few slices out and had a look. The cheese didn’t smell like liquid smoke, which was a definite positive. So many “bacon” products are really just smoke enhanced with no actual bacon involved. Not so with these slices. There were evident bits of bacon in each slice. I dug one out and tried it and, as far as I could tell, it was just a tiny piece of bacon. Nothing weird or texturally creepy about it. Two points for the cheese.

Next we threw some burgers on the grill and topped it with a slice. Like good American slices, this cheese melted beautifully without adding any extra grease to the formula. I assembled my burger with the usual condiments, pickles, lettuce, tomato and took my first bite. Sadly, the bacon flavor was drowned out by all the other ingredients. We decided to try a few bites of just the burger and cheese (no bun, no condiments) and found that the bacon flavor was there, just not strong.

My next favorite thing to do with an American slice is to make a grilled cheese. Sadly, these photos did not turn out, but let me see if I can give you the mental picture. I just took two slices of whole wheat bread, buttered one side of each, and threw them in a skillet with two slices of the bacon cheddar in between. When the sandwich was golden brown and perfectly crispy (mmm…grilled cheese), I placed it on a plate and let it cool for the 10 seconds that my self-control would allow. THIS…this is what this cheese was made for. Two slices made sure it was nice and gooey on the inside, and the bacon flavor was able to shine through, unfettered by condiments of any sort. Now, it’s certainly not the same as making a grilled cheese with a couple slices of real bacon, but it’s a quick and easy way to get some bacon flavor with much less hassle.

Kraft is also making their Deli Deluxe slices in Jalapeno American flavor (something I will definitely try), and 3-Cheese Garlic & Herb. Want to give one of these products a try? Just hit the contact button at the top of this page and send us your name and address. I have 10 free coupons to give away on a first-come, first-served basis. Give it a go and, if you feel so inspired, send us your feedback. We’d love to hear what you think. (Dave, I’m looking at you!)

Related Posts

• Bacon Day and Sweet Sunday
• Crispy bacon shrimp
• Bacon Fashion NOW!
• Hot Dogs: Now with Bacon!
• Bacon via Bruce

Thanks, Genna, for alerting us to this screaming hot deal.

Related Posts

• Bacon Day and Sweet Sunday
• Crispy bacon shrimp
• Kraft Bacon Cheddar
• Hot Dogs: Now with Bacon!
• Bacon via Bruce