Ah, bacon — a food that’s been so sinfully delicious, so versatile, and so ubiquitous for so long that it transcends trendiness. Served across America with chocolate, piled high on burgers, and wrapped around everything from dates to quail legs, the endlessly creative presentations are both eye-popping and mouthwatering. A little bacon never hurt anyone, and these restaurants really bring it home. In honor of National Bacon Day, here’s a look at where bacon lovers can truly find hog heaven.
Related: The Price of Bacon the Year You Were Born
House-Flared Thick-Cut Bacon
Prime & Provisions Chicago Ordinary bacon dishes have a hard time measuring up to this dish served at the steakhouse Prime & Provisions in the Windy City. This meaty monstrosity involves a 7-ounce piece of bacon topped with Michigan maple syrup and dark chocolate. It’s one of those dishes you have to try to truly understand the sweet and savory juxtaposition.
Related: 38 Tasty Places to Eat for Cheap in Chicago
Stuffed Medjool Dates
J.T. PrimeYuma, Arizona J.T. Prime chef Alex Trujillo serves Medjool dates, a regional specialty item, stuffed with crispy bacon and blue cheese and finishes the masterpiece with a chipotle sauce. As the pop-up restaurant likes to say about this dish: Sharing is caring.
Related: 51 Cheap and Easy Fall Recipes
Devils on Horseback
Therapy Las VegasIn over-the-top Las Vegas, Therapy goes all in with the Devils on Horseback appetizer: soft truffled goat cheese and almond-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon and served on Romesco sauce.
Related: 20 Bucket List Restaurants in Las Vegas
Thick-Cut Bacon Au Poivre
Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House New York, Dallas, and 14 other cities While Del Frisco’s is best known for hand-cut steaks, the restaurant also has a special touch when it comes to bacon. Its not-to-miss bacon offering involves coating applewood-smoked bacon in a bourbon molasses glaze and topping it with thinly sliced pickled Fresno chilies.
Related: 17 Meat Delivery Services for Ordering Steaks
Candied Bacon Brownie
Nose Dive Gastropub Greenville, South Carolina The bacon indulgence at Nose Dive involves warm, rich chocolate brownie topped with the salty and sweet taste of caramel popcorn and a chocolate caramel sauce and served with peanut butter ice cream.
Related: 20 Most Decadent Chocolate Desserts Across America
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Le Grande BLT
Flour Shoppe Café Rockville Centre, New York There are BLTs, and then there’s the Le Grande BLT served at Flour Shoppe Café. What makes this sandwich so special is its thick-cut bacon, which is slathered with maple syrup before being baked in the oven. In case that’s not enough bacon, the sandwich includes bacon jam.
Bacon Old Fashioned
The Patterson House Nashville, Tennessee The Patterson House is one of the most legendary cocktail bars in the country, and the Bacon Old Fashioned is a specialty, with maple-syrup-bacon-infused Four Roses bourbon and an orange rind garnish. They offer walk-in seating, but due to the pandemic they are currently taking reservations, too.
Sizzling Bacon
Peter Luger Steak House Brooklyn, New York Peter Luger, established in 1887, is best known for huge porterhouse steaks that serve two or four people. Its by-the-slice bacon appetizer is cut extra-thick and hailed by diners as a “must.”
Related: 25 Steakhouses That Are Worth the Splurge
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Bacon Cheeseburger Fries
Fat Sal’s Los Angeles Fat Sal’s is a deli known for its giant bacon-filled sandwiches and over-the-top milkshakes. Its bacon cheeseburger fries are topped with chopped bacon and hamburger patties, two kinds of cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, and creamy Fat Sauce for a treat of heart-stopping delight.
The MAC
Bacon Boise, Idaho Downtown Boise’s Bacon offers five varieties of bacon and claims to move 8 tons of it each year in omelets, lasagna, and meatballs (and much else). Its signature macaroni and cheese dish, The MAC, has been hailed as among the best in the country by Food & Wine magazine. Its bacon shots and bacon bloody Marys, which come in regular, spicy, and ticked-off versions, also have a following.
Bacon Waffle
The NestBellflower, CaliforniaLocated just southeast of downtown Los Angeles, The Nest serves breakfast fare, some gravy-laden comfort food and some healthier. On the former end is the standout Bacon Waffle, made of batter with bacon crumbles mixed in. The exclamation point of the dish is its bacon whiskey syrup. Not that hungry? There’s a small-plates version, too.
Related: 25 Places to Find Amazing Waffles Across the Country
Lobster Fat Boy
Hank’s Haute DogsHonolulu and Lahaina, Hawaii Gourmet twists are evident everywhere at Hank’s, from the meat (wagyu and rabbit make it onto the menu) to the sides and desserts (including white-truffle mac and cheese and crème brûlée). On weekends you can get a lobster dog — a lobster, shrimp, and fish sausage seared in butter — and the Lobster Fat Boy, a bacon-wrapped lobster dog deep-fried and topped with garlic aioli, tomato, and lettuce. The restaurant offers online ordering for carryout, too.
Big Ass BLT
Dr. Field Goods Santa Fe, New Mexico The sandwich features a ground bacon patty roasted in a wood-fired oven and served on house-made bread with mayonnaise, locally grown tomatoes, and lettuce. Dr. Field Goods encourages patrons to add a fried egg to this local favorite to complete the experience.
Oyster and Bacon Sandwich
CochonNew OrleansThis fried oyster sandwich on white bread is a familiar Cajun staple, but with a dose of bacon to ramp up the smokiness, this sandwich takes on a new layer of complexity. The restaurant is open and accepting reservations.
