Sunday, July 15, 2007

A Match Made in Heaven...

Quick--name the two best foods ever--

Yep, that's right: chocolate and bacon.

Oh the dark smoky deliciousness of chocolate and the fatty salty pork-y goodness of bacon. Two taste sensations that no one could ever grow tired of...but which until now had to be savored individually, alone.

Well, no more.

Devilman and I happened to be strolling by the Vosges Chocolate boutique in Lincoln Square when we saw a tantalizing sign advertising Bacon and Chocolate. Of course, we had to investigate, and once lured inside we discovered the Vosges has hit pure genius with its newest offering: Mo's Bacon Bar, a lip-smacking combo of applewood smoked bacon, alder wood smoked salt and deep milk chocolate.

Even Willy Wonka was never this inspired.

Needless to say, Devilman and I immediately snatched up a Bacon Bar and crammed it into our yawning maws like starved animals--and I have pleased to report that it is pretty darn good. The chocolate is only 41 percent, which is usually much too light-weight for me (I prefer 65 and above)--but the darkness of the salt and the bacon really need the sweet smoothness of milk chocolate. Tho' I'd probably have been happy to gobble down an entire slice of bacon dipped in chocolate (and I'm wondering why I never thought of this before), the bacon in the Bacon Bar has been pulverized, so it adds just a touch of porky crunch to each bite--an accent that is not over-powering at all. If you didn't know the nuggets were bacon, you might not recognize the flavour at first--it's subtle. But delicious.

I have to say that Vosges truffles are not my favorite, and, of their other exotic bars, only the Barcelona Bar really tempts me, but the Bacon Bar is so genius that it has already jumped to the top of my chocolate bar list. Of course, such genius is not cheap: the Bacon Bar is 7 bucks for 3 ounces. But such deliciousness really should be savoured, not gobbled (our first taste test not withstanding). I can make those 3 ounces last three or four days, so I don't really find the price that objectionable. Besides which, chocolate (like coffee) truly is one of those you get what you pay for delicacies. There's a reason why a Hersheys chocolate bar is only 75 cents: wax is cheap.

For those worried about their sugar intake, Vosges has also introduced a sugar-free version of their Red Fire Bar. I'm not sure what the sweetener in this bar is, nor did I get a chance to taste it, as Devilman ate the whole bar last night--but clearly it must have been pretty good.

But I think I'll stick with bacon.

3 comments:

Literaticat said...

at voodoo donut they have a maple bar topped with bacon.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

eden said...

I just learned that one can make egg and bacon ice cream, and I intend to do just that. Who knew that bacon could be a dessert? My life is complete.

Ysabeau Wilce said...

L: I am so longing to get to Voodoo Doughtnut--I've been trying to talk to Devilman into a trip to Portland for a while, and perhaps promises of a maple-bacon doughnut will cement the deal. How can he resist?

E: I'm a bit more skeptical about bacon and egg ice cream than I would just be of bacon ice cream--but I'm not a huge fan of eggy stuff (other than egg creams)...but I'd be willing to give it a try if you will give it a make...