Know Bacon, Know God, No Bacon…

Is there such a thing as too much bacon? I thought it a valid question after this weekend’s inaugural Bacon Fest. And while I didn’t have a chance to try every bacon offering throughout town, I did sample a few memorable dishes.

I love bacon. Honestly I do. Almost everyone I know (including vegetarians and PETA members) loves bacon. It’s a magical meat. It’s nearly perfect. But can you make a cocktail with it?

The folks at The Porch, K Street‘s new Southern-style eatery, would say yes. Emphatically yes. After all, doesn’t bacon make everything better?

The Porch’s stab at a bacon cocktail is called the “Southern Sunday.” It’s a mixture of bacon-infused bourbon, maple syrup, and fresh egg whites, shaken hard and served over ice. It’s definitely a curiosity, a novel attempt to create, what, a breakfast cocktail? After all it is made with eggs and bacon, and maple syrup to boot.

But would you want to drink it? Probably not. It’s a strange, salty glass of cheer better left to the imagination, and far inferior to the rest of The Porch’s cocktail menu which is overflowing with fresh ingredients and delicious combinations.

The good news is that once past the cocktail menu, it’s hard to find a miscue coming from The Porch’s bar and kitchen. Every dish is laden with Southern charm and Lowcountry flavors. From the hearts of romaine topped with blackened crawfish to the shrimp and grits with blue crab gravy, the pimento cheese to the hoppin’ John.

On the other side of the pork belly, the folks at Devine Gelateria put together my favorite bacon infused treat of the week, maple bacon gelato. To say it was perfect would be an understatement. To say it was one of the greatest things I’ve ever put in my mouth might be a little closer to the truth.

It was salty, it was crispy, it was sweet, it was creamy, it was just about the finest expression of bacon I’ve ever had. And, to tell the truth, even though I am a total fan of Devine, it was still unexpected. After having my share of bacon themed delicacies, I didn’t think surprise was in the gustatory vocabulary any longer, but indeed, the wizards at Devine pulled it off.

So, to answer the question above, “Is there such a thing as too much bacon?” I would say no. But bacon can be misapplied as noted above. Nevertheless, The Porch hits the mark with just about everything else, so I won’t hold it against them. And Devine never seems to miss the mark, ever, so I guess I’ll just keep going…while upping my gym time to compensate.