I learned something over the weekend which should have been pretty obvious. Women earn some serious street cred with the guys when they can do this: scoop up a dripping piece of greasy bacon and gobble it up without shame.
Saturday I dipped my toes in the sand and licked bacon grease off my fingers during Clearwater Beach Uncorked. This food, wine and beer festival is on the beach and steps away from the Gulf of Mexico. Mmm. Let’ get back to bacon.
Like other food festivals, Uncorked is an opportunity to acquaint yourself with fancy flavors crafted by chefs, vintners and brewmasters as well as new products from familiar brands. One of the standout experiences worthy of its own post was the Bacon Bar by Datz Tampa featuring Oscar Mayer bacon.
Yes. I repeat. A Bacon Bar serving four different types of sinfully delish pork slab.
Chocolate-dipped. Bacon saltiness marries nicely with the candied, yet bitter dark chocolate
Peanut butter and jelly with cashews. Sweet, savory and crunchy.
Espresso. Giddy-up and go with a light peppery zip.
Maple. How sweet it is!
Visiting a food festival solo with no social expectations or pressures means the only ones judging you for your graceful (or not-so-graceful) foodie indulgences are a bunch of strangers you’ll probably never see again. But, there is that moment when you’ve caught someone’s attention by locking eyes while chomping on bacon and catching the grease rolling off your chin. Then again, maybe it wasn’t my blue eyes that grabbed his. It just could have been the bacon.
After I ran into my friend Rob Neff of Fifth World Art, I felt it was my duty to make another run through the Bacon Bar. I mean, what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t share this indulgent goodness? Check out Rob’s time-lapse video of the bacon extravaganza below, or follow this link.
Bacon. Does it get a thumbs up in your foodie book?
I miss going to food and drink festivals. All this talk about bacon is making me drool.