Bacon Bash, as the name implies, is a celebration of all things bacon. Yesterday marked the second time in as many years that Mr. Baconpants has thrown the ‘burgh’s biggest bacon party at Harris Grill in Shadyside. Yes, there’s really a Mr. Baconpants. And he wears bacon pants.
Because I’m the world’s biggest slacker (and a little shy in social situations), I didn’t stop him to chat during the event yesterday. Nor did I take more than one photo of the food (shown above), proving again my slacker tendencies. But what you can see above is a great representation of the bacon-centric food offered by Harris Grill for Bacon Bash.
Bacon wings were salty, well peppered, and ridiculously crispy. The bacon sprinkled around the wings in the chafing dish seemed a bit of an afterthought but the wings were spectacular. Maybe the best I’ve ever eaten and perhaps the tastiest food of the day.
The best showing by bacon was the bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers. Crispy right up to the edge of burnt, the bacon cut the heat of the peppers and the cheese stuffed inside mellowed the little bites out. The bacon-wrapped meatball showed a simple approach to baconizing a dish. Mini-BLT sliders hid bacon under ample roughage in the classic sandwich; a tasty bite or two but not enough bacon.
A surprising star was the bacon sushi. Three rolls: a salmon/cream cheese/bacon, a BLT, and another I couldn’t quite figure out. The first was excellent on account of the cream cheese/bacon pairing. All made bacon taste light, an amazing feat of culinary artistry.
The only food let-down was bacon-wrapped tofu: the bacon too chewy, the tofu bland and watery.
Sadly we missed out on the chocolate covered bacon. My only complaint of the day was the timing of getting food out to the table. Because the arrival of fresh food was somewhat sporadic, people would descend on the table like locusts when something new came out. We never were able to get there in time for the chocolate bacon, though looking back at how much bacon I consumed, I’m probably healthier for having missed it.
Three Rivers Underground Brewers were on-hand showing off their homebrews and they were all spectacular (the beers, not the brewers)…fresh and flavorful across the board. I’m seriously considering going to their upcoming event in October. All super-nice guys too, happy to share thoughts and ideas on techniques for a beer- and cider-brewing rookie like me.
Other beer consumed at Harris Grill: for me a pint of Coronado IPA (a solid example of the style). My partner-in-crime (my bro-in-law) had a duo of Bastards: Dirty and Arrogant.
My favorite moment of the day? This guy placing second in the bacon eating contest, losing by a mere half-ounce of pig:
The juxtaposition of the Star of David and bacon-eating greatness was brilliant (this coming, mind you, from a guy who for religious purposes should have been abstaining from all meat yesterday, but who likewise succumbed to the wiles of bacon).
After leaving the event we made a quick stop at East End Brewing. We tried a couple brews on tap, including the strangest beer I’ve ever tasted (Kvass). I came home with a growler of Big Hop and half a growler of their root beer (keg kicked in the middle of my fill).
At the end of the day I felt surprisingly good, albeit unbelievably thirsty. And tired. I showed as much restraint in eating as is possible at an event focused solely on bacon, but in the end I still ate a good pound or two of salty, fatty bacon. Any body is going to protest that to some degree. But I’ll be back next year to celebrate bacon. Thanks, Mr. Baconpants for taking bacon to such great heights!
A bacon bash? Wow, my hubby would have loved it. Maybe next year they could offer a side of Lipitor.
On the way out Sugardale was handing out take-home packages of pre-cooked bacon. Because apparently we hadn’t eaten enough while at the event.
Next year before the event I’ll be sure to post that it’s upcoming so your husband can plan accordingly.
[...] Blog Post: Bacon Bash by Burghertime [...]
Thanks for the compliments on the Jalapenos – the stuffing is actually smoked and pulled pork belly(to keep with the Bacon theme)and a little home made bbq sauce mixed with a little cream cheese and cheddar, then wrapped in Bacon and smoked over applewood for 3 hours at 200 degrees.
Normally I’d say that’s a lot of work to make a little item, but they were spectacular and well worth your effort. I could have eaten 100 of them.
The entire process took about 12 hours from start to finish. I had to smoke the Belly for about 6 Hours. I cut the Jalapeños while I was doing that. The pulling of the pork took about 2 hours and then mixing the filling, stuffing and wrapping each took about an hour. I got the first batch on the smoker at 2 am and they were all finished at 9 am.
It was labor intensive to make that many, but it is totally worth it – they are unbelievably good!