Highlights From the Bacon and Beer Festival

Not many things in this world go together better than bacon and beer; unless it's bacon and chocolate.

The first ever Bacon and Beer Festival went down Saturday afternoon from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Trolley Barn in South Boston. The event sold out in a matter of minutes, and about 1,600+ people were in attendance. 

The festival was put on by Eat Boston and SoWa Sundays, and many local restaurants were on hand to pass out their creative dishes (using bacon). Beer samples were also provided by a number of New England breweries.

I won't bore you with the details of everything I ate that day (especially because I ate quite a bit), but I will give you a quick recap of my favorites. Let me start off by saying tickets for the festival were about $27, and I ate and drank as if it was the last day of my life. In other words, I definitely got my money's worth. Some of my favorites include:

Stoddard's Fine Food & Ale deconstucted BLT:

This was one fancy BLT! The bacon was thick-cut, fatty and incredibly juicy. The ripe tomato and crisp lettuce also offset the chewy, salty bacon perfectly. 

Atwood's Tavern's Maple-glazed Bacon, Egg and Cheese Steamed Buns:

Atwood's steamed buns were like futuristic bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches. The soft, chewy buns were filled with fluffy egg, bits of bacon and melted cheese, with candied bacon on top. Delightful.

South End Buttery's Bacon & Brooklyn Brown Ale Cupcakes:

Decadence has a whole new meaning. These Brooklyn Brown Ale chocolate cupcakes were topped with a thick, creamy layer of Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout cream cheese frosting - with bits of crispy, salty bacon as a garnish. The cake itself was incredibly moist, and the bacon/chocolate combination was out-of-this-world delicious. I've never had a more delicious cupcake.

Like the food, the beer samples were also endless during the Bacon and Beer Festival. I tasted my fair share of beers throughout the afternoon, but my favorite had to be the Mayflower Porter.

The rich, mocha-flavored beer was a perfect companion to all the salty bacon dishes I ate over the course of the afternoon. 

I was pleasantly surprised that most of the food offerings at the festival were unique and light for being a bacon-fueled event. I thought I'd leave there overwhelmed with a stomach full of grease and fat, but I actually left the event satisfied and not overly full. I just wish more of the food vendors provided descriptions of the dishes they were serving - one too many of them were passing out plates without explanations. My second gripe: By 4 p.m., many of the food vendors had run out of food. Thankfully, I got there right at 2 and gorged to my stomach's content. I just feel badly for those that didn't get there until 3 or 4. 

Did you attend the Bacon and Beer Festival? What's your review?

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