Marcel Vigneron dinner leads to desperate search for Nueske Bacon

[sassille]

Dinner with Marcel Vigneron at Bread Bar last night was a huge treat. One of the highpoint dishes for me was the Lyonaise salad. Described as frisee, “nesting egg”, bacon, sherry vinaigrette and endive. The paper thin sliced bacon was crispy and delicious. So when he came out to greet us and asked what our favorites were, we got to chat a little. He said the bacon was Nueske.
So! Where can I find Nueske bacon in L.A.? Yes it is available online. But I want it f or a Xmas shindig. Now! Can’t wait for another bite of that smokey, crispy-ness. Santa - are you listening?

[Will Owen]

I like Nueske's flavor okay, I just don't think it's worth all the extra $$$. I will put in a plug for the home-grown stuff at Schreiner's in Montrose. The slab bacon is just $3.65/lb. I like to get a pound or two and cut slices for breakfast, or cube lardons for braising green beans or cabbage/brussels sprouts/whatever. I also use those (instead of slices) to make frisée aux lardons, which is actually dead easy once you get the strategy figured out.

[Bob Brooks]

Gelson's has it frequently. Surfa's seems to have it always.

[sassille]

Thanks! Oddly enough I tried Gelson's first and bought about 1/2 lb at a decent price. Then I had to run over to Surfas for stocking stuffers and found Nueske bacon for about 15% more $$
Cecilia

[Dommy]

Yup! My first thought was Surfas as I am tempted by it everytime we go (We actually do't keep Bacon in the house for all sorts of fighting against evil reasons...) Thanks for comparing the price for when I might actually need it. :)

--Dommy!

[NYCnowLA]

gelson's has a lot of Nueske products. bacon, smoked pork chops, etc

[lizziee]

Vincente Foods in Brentwood.

[Galen]

Thanks for the tip on buying Nueske's at Gelsons. To be honest with you, I didn't care for it too much. It was a little too smoky for me. Tasted like I was eating an ashtray. I'm glad I tried it though. I love bacon and this thread had me salivating to try it.

[NYCnowLA]

i think the best bacon around is from Bob's Market in Santa Monica - fresh from the butcher counter. Worth a try and much better then Nueske's IMHO.

[foodiemahoodie]

You can order online.

http://www.nueskes.com/

They might have a store locator, but in my 30 second cursory search, I didn't find one.

[Harry Nile]

I get Nueske's at Jensen's in Palm Springs and have some in my refrigerator right now, as a matter of fact. It's the thick-cut variety, very smoky, and cooks beautifully under a bacon press in a cast-iron skillet. Almost ten years ago, Johnny Apple had an interesting and detailed piece on Nueske's in the NY Times ( http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/16/sty... ), where he investigated "why it tastes the way it does." Answer: hard work and attention to detail. It's an equally good story about American small business, and by reading it I finally realized that the bacon I've been eating for years comes from a little town in Wisconsin 30 miles from the lake I visit every summer. I know where I'll be next July!

[Jack Flash]

I buy it at HOWS market in Pasadena.

[streetgourmetla]

This dish was a favorite of mine too. I liked everything I had.The corned beef with 3 textures of corn was so good my wife ordered it again. Great to see you.