Baconfest Michigan Recap

Given the crazy success of Baconfest Chicago in recent years, Michigan decided to get on the bacon bandwagon and thus Baconfest Michigan was born. The very first Baconfest Michigan was held on June 2nd at the Royal Oak Farmer's market and regular, non-VIP tickets were $45 a piece which entitled you to three drink tickets and all the bacon dishes you could sample.

The event started at 6:00 but people started lining up by 5:00

It is well documented here on my blog my love for bacon so I was like a kid at a candy store at this event.

 I was trying everything in the beginning, leaving no stall un-sampled.

Some of my favorite dishes were:

Bacon caramel apples from The Root

Bacon & grit cake topped with thick-cut smokey maple & black pepper bacon in bacon-scented redeye gravy from The Rattlesnake Club

Pork belly slider on a pretzel roll with pickled red onion, bacon jam and grainy mustard from Cork Wine Pub

Oh yeah. Bacon jam baby!

My breakfast the next morning: bacon, caramel, and cashew corn

Some of the more interesting dishes were:

Bacon Fat Truffles from The Root

Braised bacon, mac & cheese, and a chocolate chip and bacon cookie (the restaurant escapes me)

Bacon-banana cupcakes topped with a bacon-chocolate buttercream from Cliff Bell's

 Probably the best thing I ate I wasn't able to get a picture of because I was getting so full that I was lapsing into a bacon coma but Treat Dreams in Ferndale is an ice cream parlor that specializes in interesting and unusual ice cream flavors. At this event they had two different bacony flavors:
The Sunday Breakfast: vanilla swirled with maple syrup, waffles and bacon
The Boss Hog: Bacon fat, puree'd bacon, and bacon pieces
I have eaten at Treat Dreams prior to this event but never got to experience any of their bacon flavors. This event just reminded me how much I love their ice cream. They had two of my favorite things in one dish: bacon and ice cream.

Despite not eating lunch that day, I still was a lightweight and barely made it around the whole venue. By the time we got to the last side of the building, I was getting so full that I knew I'd be sick for the rest of the night if I ate much more. So after about an hour and a half, my husband and I decided to head home with full, happy tummies.

This event was tons of fun and I loved sampling all the creative dishes all the restaurants came up with. I'll definitely be going again next year.

Baconfest Michigan is tonight and I'm skipping lunch to save room

A few weeks ago I purchased tickets to Baconfest Michigan that will be taking place tonight at the Royal Oak Farmer's Market. I almost missed out on the opportunity because their Facebook page mentioned they were almost sold out. I think I was one of the last people to get my hands on a general admission ticket  because one of my friends tried to buy tickets a couple hours later and she was out of luck. Thankfully I WAS able to score two tickets to tonight's event and will be ecstatically feasting on all sorts of porky goodness.

It's no secret that I am a bacon fiend. My students know this. My family knows this. Even my friends on Facebook whom I haven't seen in years know this.

So when I saw the food lineup for tonight's event, I was like a kid on Christmas moring (and this is BEFORE I've actually SEEN any of the food). As someone who is always looking for new and creative ways to add bacon to dishes, this event will be like going to Disney World for me. Here are just a few of the mouth-watering bacon dishes they are offering at tonight's event:

• Bacon ravioli
• Pork belly slider on a pretzel roll with pickled red onion, bacon jam and grainy mustard
• Bacon & grit cake topped with thick-cut smokey maple & black pepper bacon in bacon-scented redeye gravy.
• Applewood-smoked bacon Cotswold grilled cheese
• Bacon fried rice w/Honey bbq sauce 
• Plantain-fried in bacon with mustard maple panchetta
• Bacon jam and goat-cheese toasts
• Bacon Cashew Carmel Corn
• Cvarci. (deep-fried pork belly crisps)
• Wasabi bacon chocolate pops
• Chocolate-covered candied bacon
• Butterscotch pudding with bacon
• Bacon cheesecake
• Apple + Bacon Caramel

 Are you hungry yet? I know I am. Heck, I'm going to skip lunch just to save room for all the bacony goodness I will be partaking in later! Expect a post later this week with a full report on how it went down (that is, if I don't suffer a heart attack first :p)