phx - best use of bacon

[winedubar]

ok, i'm addicted to bacon. i can't help myself. i told my book club last nite *we finished reading 'the 10th muse, my life in food by judith jones..good stuff* that i thought bacon was the 5th food group. i'm in search of a restaurant dish that makes excellent use of bacon.

anyone have a dish that they love that makes excellent use of bacon? side dish? main dish? dessert?

[Bill Hunt]

OK, this is an old thread, but given my recent visit/review of NOCA, I have to give the nod to them. There were bacon bits and essences in several dishes that were worth mention.

Hunt

[firecooked]

Since you revived this, I must add the heirloom tomato / Black Mesa Feta salad at Atlas Bistro that had the most outstanding strip of bacon across the top.

and Bill -- since I just read your NOCA review -- you should really try the seared Fois Gras Waffle on the desert menu at Atlas (you will need to bring your own d'Yquem)

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Atlas Bistro
2515 N Scottsdale Rd Ste 18, Scottsdale, AZ 85257

[MesaChow]

The *best* use of bacon has been very well covered in this thread so far, so I thought I'd throw in most *interesting* use of bacon I've ever experienced: Bacon ice cream at Sweet Republic on Saturday. I only had a taste (and really just to tell husband that I tried it) but it was very interesting, indeed!

[Firenza00]

You had some of it, too? We went and tried some. The owners said they'd just used regular supermarket bacon since it was somewhat of an experiment. We talked to them for a while and mentioned that we loved Vonhanson's bacon. They had us write down the name and some directions for them. They mentioned TPS was a bit far to drive (some would disagree) but I'm sure the sweetness of VH bacon would be a nice addition to the ice cream. Tara even suggested they make the bacon ice cream with chocolate ice cream. :)

[ciaogal]

I think a bacon / peanut butter would be a great combination.....yum!

I am meeting friends in the vicinity of sweet republic tonight...I bet if I mention bacon ice cream....we'll be on our way!

[Firenza00]

Even if they don't have bacon, I'm sure you can find one you will like. Or if you don't see it, maybe they'll have a stash out back. :)

[ciaogal]

Firenza00...thx! I'll ask if I don't see it! I have that salty/sweet craving going on! It's a girl thing!

[crsin]

No one is mentioning the taste (except "interesting," which can go either way).

How was the actual flavor?

Either way, you gotta appreciate their experimentation.

[MesaChow]

The flavor was to me, well, very bacon-y. (or is it 'bacon-like'?)

I went there to bring some of the salted caramel ice cream home, and what occurred to me is that the salt there serves to enhance the sweetness of the caramel. I felt like the sweetness of the (vanilla? sweet cream?) ice cream served to make the bacon flavor more intense. I was surprised to read Firenza's confirmation that it was just supermarket bacon, because it was very flavorful, and I first thought that it was a more expensive brand.

I'm not sure how else to explain it....."interesting" and "bacony" are really my best attempt!

[tara17]

I enjoyed the taste I had. It was vanilla ice cream with bacon. It wasn't quite "bacony" enough for me, though. I would have enjoyed a stronger bacon flavor, but since it was their first time experimenting with it, I'm hoping it will get better and better.

[Firenza00]

They seem to enjoy experimenting. They showed us some ground Schezuan(sp?) peppercorns they are plan on using for an ice cream flavor. I'm sure if enough people ask about their bacon ice cream, they'll keep working on it.

[Molto E]

If you would allow house-made pancetta then the PLT at Digestif has to be in contention...house-made pancetta that has been curing since Dec. 1, house made muffin, heirloom tomato and greens with aioli-yum! He also is curing Kurobuta pork belly to make bacon but I have not been acquainted with it yet.

[epicurina]

The bacon at Matt's Big Breakfast is thick cut and has a peppered rind. Not sure where it is sourced from, but it gets my vote for the best side of bacon in the city. As far as best use of bacon, try the bacon-wrapped grilled shrimp at Richardson's. Not very original, I know, but the spicy sauces and smoke from the grill make it worthwhile.

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Matt's Big Breakfast
801 N 1st Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004

Richardson's Cuisine of New Mexico
1582 E. Bethany Home Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85016

[Firenza00]

As discussed in the current Matt's thread on CH, he sources the bacon from The Pork Shop in Queen Creek. We've bought it from them and really enjoyed it. It's very thick cut, but since they cut it when you order, they can probably adjust the thickness if you wish.

[travelchow]

I have to say that I just came back from Pane Bianco, thinking I was going to be healthy and order the salad, but he had his bacon sandwich as the market special. That may be one of the best uses of bacon I have ever had.

[Bill Hunt]

Best bacon that I have ever encountered, and I feel much as you do, has been breakfast at Rancho de Los Caballeros Resort, Wickenburg. It was just bacon, and not a special ingredient in some froux-froux dish, but was the best that I have ever encountered, and that includes some specialty bacons from tiny smokehouses in the TN hills, and WV mountains. I still have dreams of this bacon.

Hunt

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Rancho De Los Caballeros
1551 S Vulture Mine Rd, Wickenburg, AZ

[ciaogal]

I have to recommend the Abs of Squeal @ Cowboy Ciao...OMG...That Pork Belly is unbelievable.....not sure you can categorize it as Bacon....but it is damn close...or better!

[Firenza00]

Abs of Squeal? Gotta try that one. :)

[winedubar]

lol - that wins for best name :D

[crsin]

This gets a vote from me as well. Delicious stuff.

Pork belly, egg cheese, pickled radish...pretty interesting dish.

[Beaver Street]

Tracey Dempsey, the pastry chef for the Cowboy Ciao group of restaurants, has been known to do some interesting desserts with bacon. I'm not sure if they are regularly on the menu, but her bacon brittle is amazing. She has also done bacon ice cream.

[azhotdish]

Have you tried the bacon sandwich @ Celtic Curtain?
http://www.celticcurtain.com

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Celtic Curtain
3128 E Cactus Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85032

[winedubar]

CACTUS? but thats sooooooooo far ;)

thanks for the rec!!

[normalheightsfoodie]

I like to have grilled onions with steak when I am at home. I cook down some thick cut bacon nd then I grill the onions in the drippings, and finnish it off with a little cognac.

[hzp]

the Liegeoise at trente cinq. we adore it and the secret is.... you can actually ask for extra lardons from the chef. ;)

[hohokam]

word.

Thanks for the tip about being able to order extra. After we had that salad, we joked about coming back and ordering a plate of the lardons, hold the greens. ;-)

[winedubar]

omg - that sounds fantastic....thanks you 2, i'm going to try this one asap :D

lardons=yum

;)

[Firenza00]

That was my first thought, too. I had it when we went a couple weeks ago. The chunks of bacon/lardons were amazing. Needless to say, I had to make sure I ate exactly half, as Tara and I split it and I didn't want to lose a finger.