Bacon.

Think about that word for a second. Does the taste of bacon run across your mouth when you read it? Do you hear the crackling sound of it when you see the letters come together? Can you smell it? If you didn’t answer ‘yes’ to any of those questions, then this review isn’t for you. This review is for the bacon lover. It’s for the person who eats bacon before bed because it helps him sleep better. For the person who doesn’t understand why there isn’t a bacon-flavored frappuccino at Starbucks. The person who knew what bacon mania was prior to its citation in Wikipedia. Why is this review for you? Because I went to the Bacon and Barrels Festival, the holy grail of bacon, and I want you to be jealous of me!!!

[If you noticed, I didn’t ask any questions about beer. Honestly, if I phrased beer related questions with the same fervor as in the bacon questions and you answered yes, you’re probably an alcoholic. Awkward…]

Back in 2013, Bacon & Barrels was born. It wasn’t created just to introduce the bacon and beer obsessed to diverse takes on bacon and beer—although that’s reason enough. At its core, the event raises money for non-profit beneficiaries in the Santa Barbara and San Diego areas. With that in mind, you can feel good about stuffing your face since the proceeds from your ticket are going to a great place.

This festival had over 50 great participating breweries and restaurants, but it might be overwhelming to review all of them. Instead, I wanted to highlight my favorites. This isn’t to say the others weren’t as good. Instead, I’m just saying these are the one’s who put me in a food coma and I was happy to be there.

Sandwich Emporium was the first stop and they set the bar when it came to taste. The Saigon Grinder was made of smoked bacon, rendered bacon fat pate, Asian slaw, cilantro, cucumbers, and jalapenos all on a pork belly roll. It was both sweet and spicy and full of all the good stuff. Did I eat just one? No. The festival gives unlimited grabs on all the food so I felt no shame in grabbing another sandwich. Who am I kidding, another two sandwiches!

Rubicon Deli was next. Their Morning Glory sandwich was delicious from beginning to end. To start, their garlic cheese bread was beautiful and smelled amazing. Yeah, I called a loaf of bread beautiful. The sandwich had orange bourbon glazed ham (you may want to read that again), espresso bacon jam (you can re-read that too), habanero cheese, and pork rind. It incorporated delicious pork aspects and tasting the jam on the garlic cheese bread was savory. I loved this one, but couldn’t fill up on it, because…well there were other vendors. I’d make my way back to Rubicon before the day ended.

The guys at Corbin’s Q made the most tantalizing looking kabob, ever. It was the Yak Nut Kabob and it took chicken and smacked it between bell peppers, sweet teriyaki glaze, and you guessed it bacon. Seeing the smoke rise as it was being grilled and hearing the sound of the bacon was hypnotic. Diving into it was even better. The chicken was moist, the bacon was sweet, the teriyaki brought it all together.

I’m not the biggest beer drinker, so I don’t have a laundry list of favorite beers and brands. Instead, I order beer based on the look and description. That means anything I drink has to be lightly colored and easily flavored. So a summer ale by Sam Adams or a cider is perfect. If Martinelli would create a line of alcoholic apple cider, I’d be the happiest gut on the planet. I ended up finding the next best thing when I saw the folks at 2 Towns Cider House. They were giving out cups of their Bright Cider and with that I was already in line. With the first sip I could taste just how smooth, crisp, light it was. Then they let me know it was made with fresh-pressed apples and seconds later, I finished it off.  Now, when my doctor asks me if I’m getting enough apples a day, I can say yes.

Being invited to the event was one level of excitement, getting access to the VIP lounge sent me to elation. One of the first things I tried was the Bacon Donut from Nomad Donuts. This donut is out of this world delicious! It’s a honey sesame, kimchi, and candied bacon confection. It was beyond sweet, soft, and “lick every one of your fingers” good. It took everything in me to not ask to take the entire tray, but Lord knows I wanted to. Just to sit on a chair with the whole platter would have been like opening Christmas presents in June.

Right next to Nomad Donuts was Sweet Treats Truck. When I got to this table, I simply looked at the chef. A slight frown on my face I said, “Why would you do this to me?” Somehow she knew that her Chocolate Covered Bacon with Caramel Dipping Sauce would be the death of me. With a smile she responded, “Sorry. One or two?” Two, duh! This bacon was so thick and the chocolate was unbelievably decadent. Although it was solid, the chocolate was smooth, melted in your mouth, and was packed with intense cocoa flavor. The caramel made it even richer. The cool thing about the duo was they were great together, but the bacon could suffice on its own. Did I separate the two? C’mon, you know me better than that. That would be like separating twins at birth, taking the Dodgers from LA, splitting Kanye West from Kanye West. Don’t do that.

After the chocolate bacon, I skipped my way over to Pure Cupcakes. It wasn’t a light skip, more like a fat and heavy trot. But when I got to their table and took a few too many of their Bacon Baby Cupcakes, time moved slowly. They were giving out vanilla bean cupcakes that were drizzled with Maker’s Whiskey bourbon. Not just a cupcake, not just whiskey, but a whiskey cupcake! Sure there wasn’t enough Marker’s in the cupcake to raise your alcohol levels, but I could taste it and I liked what I tasted.

The last of my favorite bacon foodie stops was Sabuku Sushi. They gave out two different rolls: the Bacon Avocado Roll and the B.T.A. The bacon avocado rolls had bacon, red onions, and avocados inside the roll, was drizzled with a spicy ginger aioli and sweet mandarin sauce. What topped it: scallions and shiro gama. Along with it, the B.T.A. had bacon and spicy tuna asparagu, bacon garlic, siracha, and yuzu wasbi on sauce. To top it off, it had tempura crunchies, kuro gama, and scallions. I liked watching the chef prep, season, and serving them to excited guests. Even more, I liked eating them. They were beyond fresh, flavorful, and so good I had to take four of them–of each of type. It was so good, but I looked so fat. Did I care? Sure I did. But I had no problem using the rolls to to wipe away my disappointment.

As I said, the Bacon and Barrels festival in San Diego was amazing! I like bacon, but after this festival I love bacon. Not like, “My Strange Addiction: I Love Bacon”-love, but just a genuine affinity for the food. Oh, and this is probably why:

Don’t think this is their only event, they’ll be in Solvang in July and you can purchase tickets, here!

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