The real holiday season is finally here.
National Bacon Day is today (Friday, Dec. 30).
To help savory up the occasion, National Today (basically the online home of quirky holidays, many of them food-friendly) commissioned a study to quiz 1,000 Americans about bacon.
(So far my celebration has consisted of a BLAT from Googie Grill, one of the top dogs on our best BLTs list, and an off-menu carnitas-bacon torta at El Zarape Taqueria.)
Here's what National Today found:
• 21 percent of Americans say they would eat bacon every day for the rest of their life.
• 16 percent say they can't live without bacon.
• 18 percent say bacon is their favorite food; 4 percent of Americans don't like bacon.
• 19 percent say turkey bacon isn't real bacon, and another 17 percent say the same thing about Canadian bacon.
• Half of Americans prefer it crispy; 31 percent like it not so crispy; 3 percent like it charred.
More sizzling food news nuggets appear below:
• The eighth annual John “Spud” Spadaro Hospitality Award is now in its judging stages. Another worthy crop of finalists includes Anna Vindiola, Gaspare Aliotti and Jeano Brucia-Abraham, with the presentation party happening Friday, Jan. 19, at Elks Lodge in Monterey ($30 for Sicilian steak and more, 521-1884).
• Big Sur Food & Wine topped its triumphant return with record donations for the nonprofits it supports, pulling in $64,000 for the likes of CPOA Big Sur Relief Fund, CPOA Upper Rocky Creek Road Repair Project, Big Sur Fire, Big Sur Health Center and The Henry Miller Library (who each received $10,000).
• Progressive eatery/institution Tillie Gort’s of Pacific Grove (373-0335) is not closed, though it is for sale, and I regret any confusion I may have caused in reporting saintly Al Siekert no longer preps his meals for the homeless there. TG's vegetarian soups, eggplant Francese and homemade hummus continue to rank among the top sellers.
• Big Sur Foragers Festival is coming up quickly (Jan. 12-14), with a new slate of in-town dinners before the climactic Fungus Face-Off at Ventana Big Sur's new oceanview lawn (1-4pm Saturday, Jan. 13), bigsurforagersfest.org.
• Locals Tuesdays at the Hyatt Carmel Highlands in January offers a 25 percent discount on food at California Market at the Pacific's Edge (620-1234) with Monterey County ID.
• More good Highlands stuff: HCH hosts a four-course meal and wine pairings with a side of local wine history, culture and education as Joyce Vineyards opens the "Forks. Corks. Action!" Winemakers Series Jan. 26 at 6pm (RSVP, $120, 620-1234, forkscorksaction2018.eventbrite.com) to benefit MEarth school gardens and eco-literacy.
• Gusto Handcrafted Pasta & Pizza (899-5825) has a new pizza owner Denis Boaro is going bonkers over, the porchetta pizza with lovingly layered pork on the 48-hour-cured organic crust.
• New Exec Chef Jacques Zagouri is loving being back in the area at Fandango in Pacific Grove (899-5825), where he is deepening and refreshing the beloved French countryside menu with his own takes on fresh local seafood and foie gras.
• Carmel's Harrison Memorial Library (624-4629) is accepting non-perishable food donations in lieu of overdue fines through Jan. 8.
(1) comment
Mark's history of bacon demonstrates why bacon has become so popular that it gets a special day honoring a cut of meat. So you're better prepared next year's clebration, consider getting the kitchen tool that makes cooking up a huge batch of bacon a lot easier. Entertaining a group of friends can be a lot of fun and much easier with this gadget. It's called the Bacon Pro.
Granted, I am biased, since I’m the inventor and all, but it cooks 23 slices of bacon all at once in the microwave. It is quick, clean, easy, and healthier. The fat drips away and can be saved for later use in all kinds of recipes.
This is not some cheap drug store bacon cooker. Many housewares experts believe it's the best bacon cooker ever made for the microwave. There’s not a bacon aficionado in the world who would go back to cooking bacon in the oven or on the stove-top. Check it out at https://www.baconpro.com and watch the video about how it works. And bacon all around.
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