Bacon and Beer Fest -hosted by @eatBoston and SoWa Sundays

Time for a totally arbitrary, rather nonsensical pop culture reference.  Saturday was Bacon and Beer Fest- an event that over took Boston like Lady Gaga took over the pop air waves in 2009.  Last year I was astounded at how she shot from the ground all the way up to have several number 1 hits in the year.  Bacon and Beer Fest, in its first year, took two weeks for the first round of tickets to sell out, and 2 minutes for the second round of tickets to sell out.  That is crazy talk.  My theory?  Like Lady Gaga’s catchy tunes, Bacon and Beer Fest had the best name ever- combining two wonderful things-the always loved, ever revered bacon (really the king of meats) and beer-which some might describe as nectar from the gods.  I said “some” might describe J.  An event that combines these two pinnacles in their respective categories was sure to draw a crowd not unlike the Grammys.

I knew this going in, so why I thought that arriving 20 minutes before the scheduled start time to the event would get me in the door as one of the first guests, but I was wrong.  When we got there the line was formed already and it was long.  It snaked through the parking lot and we found ourselves at the end of it, and then it grew longer, and longer.  Once 2 o’clock hit and we found ourselves inching to the door- I realized that we were going to get in as one of the first guests despite being so far back in line because so many were stretching the line out even further- to other parking lots and streets.  Like flies to honey….

I kid though, and the line moved incredibly fast.  Soon enough we were inside the old South End Power Plant ready to taste as many variations of bacon we could get our hands on!  The highlights for me: we started with Bacon Fritters

from Gaslight Brasserie which were light and airy, delicious pastry, yet not quite enough bacon for my taste.  They were served with a delicious mustard however that I felt really made the dish.  Our second helping was a thick, delicious, perfectly cooked piece of bacon topped with pimento cheese and micro greens from Whole Foods. Wow- this was delicious.  The Pimento cheese was rich and creamy with a full flavor of pimentos.  It was perfect offset with the smoky bacon.  Absolutely a winner of a taste.  Next stop was at the Rialto table for fried oyster and bacon mini sandwiches which were delicious- the oysters were nicely fried, the bacon was clear, and the whole sandwich really


came together.   My final favorite of the day?  Bacon, that had been smoked over cocoa beans and then dipped in Taza Chocolate from the Happy Pig Salumi.  Oh my lord- I had to walk away from this table VERY quickly-it was dangerous.  The bacon had a very subtle chocolate flavor, the chocolate dip
was perfectly sweet. I am craving more just thinking about it!  The other rockstar dish was the chocolate cupcakes with a stout frosting all topped with a nice piece of bacon from the South End Buttery.  The stout taste in the frosting was light enough to not overpower, but just nicely compliment the chocolate- and again that mix of savory bacon with sweet concoctions is just heavenly!

I had just a couple disappointments-the first was little cones of popcorn, pretzels and cereal mix and I must have gotten a bum cone. I heard from other attendees that these were delicious and full of great bacon flavor, but sadly I didn’t taste any of that. I got popcorn.  Sad.  Also, the Garden at the Cellar dates wrapped in bacon and stuffed with goat cheese.  The dates were incredibly sweet, and the bacon added that great flavor reversal.  I just would have loved a hair more of the tangy goat cheese though to really break up the date flavor.

All in all this was a great event. The lines did get a bit long at some tables, but the mood was fun, and it made it seem to go by just that much faster.  But it wasn’t just a great food event, all proceeds less cost is going to several amazing charities: Community Servings, Share our Strength, South End Youth Baseball and, The Juniper Fund.  So Bacon and Beer, on a beautiful Saturday, and helping out some great organizations?  Excellent use of time in my opinion.  I also want to mention that the system that SoWa Sunday’s has put together for parking cars etc (all for free) is pretty incredible.  So, as Im anticipating more catchy tunes from Lady Gaga this year, I can’t wait for next years Bacon and Beer Fest.  @eatBoston and SoWa Sundays-thanks for an amazing event!  You guys did a fantastic job!