NaBloPoMorphic: It Begins

I've decided to participate in NaBloPoMo which means I pledge to post some variety of blog every day without cheating or backdating posts.  (There's still time if you want to do it, too!  Go here for more info; they're all official this year!)

However, I'm not officially doing NaBloPoMo and competing for fab, fab prizes because:

A)  I'm a professional writer and (in theory) cranking out moderately coherent words on a daily basis is not only no big deal, but also my JOB and therefore I have an unfair advantage.

B)  Sometimes I suck at my job and there's an excellent chance I will lose interest in this and fail some time around November 3 because I accidentally got drawn into A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila marathon or something similarly sad and banal.

C)  There is no C.

So let's get this party started.

* * * 

I've gotten a ton of mail since yesterday asking me about the exotic candy bar from my last post.  When my friend Stacey mentioned its existence in passing, I grilled her for twenty minutes on three separate occasions and I don't want to leave you guys hanging should you have similar questions.

To be crystal clear, yes, this is a milk chocolate bar and it contains bacon bits.  And I understand how wrong this sounds.  Katrina, the bar's creator and Chicago's own Willy Wonka, was inspired to come up with this combination when she was a child eating chocolate chip pancakes and a few rashers of bacon.  I guess there was something about how all these flavors melded together that Katrina found to be magic and a candy bar was born.

(Speaking of odd food combinations, Sandra Lee's memoir Made from Scratch comes out November 6.  It's like she knew it was my birthday or something!)

Anyway, this is a regular bar of really high quality milk chocolate, all glossy and creamy and melty to the touch.  But when you bring it towards your mouth, the first difference you notice is a slight smokiness.  When you bite into it, there are little chewy parts, just like if it were filled with candied fruit or chopped nuts or heath chips, except they're bacon bits.  They aren't weird or obtrusive, they're just... nice.  You also run across tiny hard crystals of smoked salt and they give the most excellent crunch.  The whole effect is like eating a really smoky chocolate covered pretzel, with the perfect balance of sweet, savory, and salty. 

Although this sounds like the best chocolate ever, particularly during PMS, there's a couple of drawbacks for me.  First, the bacon bar costs $7.00.  Yes, it's worth $7.00 but that's still a hell of a lot to shell out for eight square inches.  Also, despite the fact the bacon bar is spectacularly good, the flavor is almost too complex for my uncultured palate.  That's why there was still half a bar of it left yesterday.  (I'd like to attribute my self-control to the diet/exercise/lifestyle changes I made for the third book, yet these healthy adjustments did not stop me from inhaling most of the bowl of fun sized Snickers last night.)  And third, there is no third.

And that is the sum total of my knowledge of this subject.

Tune in tomorrow for NaBloPoMore bacon, banter, and banality!

(Or possibly not?)

   

Comments

[Bethany]

I'm sure that this bar is delightful. I just don't think I could get past the "smokiness" smell?!?!

[Susan]

bacon and chocolate? I just don't think I could do it. But then again I never thought I'd like chocolate covered potato chips and they are addictive to me now. So who knows? But there is no way I could spend $7 on a candy bar.

[Kathy]

I dunno. I kind of like my sweet and THEN salty, especially when my moods-are-a-swingin'.

[Jennifer McKenzie]

I feel like an alcoholic who has just heard about a new margarita flavor.
Boo Hoo.
But your description was mouth watering.

[Green Bay Pat]

I accidentally had some of this Sunday when I was in the NorthBridge Vosges buying $150 worth of chocolate. They had bits of one in a dish and I had some while I was wandering around picking out what I wanted. It was weird because I wasn't expecting bacon in the chocolate, but I had about 9 more bits of it so it couldn't have been too bad. The saleslady said it makes great chocolate chip pancakes.

[Sarah]

$7 eh?

couldn't we get the same effect with a $3 jar of Hormel bacon bits and a $0.99 Hershey bar?

jeez...it's bacon and chocolate people...it's not (crap what costs $7.00?!!?) let's say 2 value meals from Taco Bell.

hmm...one candy bar versus 17 tacos. I think I'd take the taco...and then try the generic version ;)

[Patty Duke]

Um just so you all know.
Bacon is meat Candy
http://www.cafepress.com/buy/candy/-/pv_design_prod/pg_1/p_storeid.66235851/pNo_66235851/id_13494555/opt_/fpt_/c_360/

[Victoria]

Mmmmm......Sounds wonderful! I'm off to fry up some bacon, to slather right onto to my ass.
PS~ I beat you--a whole bag of fun sized Snickers and a bag of Reese's PB Cups.(a chick on the Today Show called them Midget Snickers!)

PS~Thank you for posting about Kim Klein, she is my sister-in-law, and she WON!!!!

[Jennifer McKenzie]

Yayyy for Kim!!!

[Jen]

I'm such a whore for all things Vosges and will gladly plunk down $7 for a candy bar, or $30 for a box of truffles. I like the Barcelona and Naga the best. Since becoming a Vosges fan a few years ago, I can't take other companies like Godiva seriously.

Jen, you should also check out Cocoa Rouge on Division near Damen. They do a lot of unique pairings, as well as make a DAMN good hot chocolate.

[TheOtherJen]

I love the chocolate/salt combo and I love bacon. I particularly love bacon with sweet stuff. (Pig candy anyone? Brown sugar coated bacon - heaven!) That sounds just crazy enough to be delish. I don't know about 7 American dollars delish, though. That had better be some damn fine delish, let me tell you.
When I get rich that will be among the first things I buy. But probably not until then. Unless they make it in a store brand - white wrapper with black letters: Bacon-Flavored Chocolate. That I could maybe afford.

[Cathy Dee]

Last summer a friend gave me an organic dark chocolate bar of some Mexican variety from Trader Joe's. It tasted like soap. After that, even bacon chocolate sounds good.

[LLori]

Just a heads up, Godiva is owned by Campbell's soup company.

[trish]

could we please stop all the candy bar/bacon chocolate talk? You're all making it really hard to stay out of the kids buckets o' candy from last night...thanks alot.

[PDX Pup]

Out here in Portland, there is a nationally-known donut shop known as VooDoo Doughnut (Google it). They are famous for a variety of fun donuts, one of which is a bacon-topped maple bar. (In my experience, people who live east of the Mississippi have no idea what a maple bar is. Again, Google it). It's sheer heaven, and I have to concur with whoever above mentioned the allure has to do with the salty with sweet combination. It's delicious.

[Kari]

I just don't think I could stomach chocolate and bacon together. I guess I'm don't eat much of either in the first place?

Thanks for letting us know about NaBloPoMo. I had no clue, and since I gave NaNoWriMo the thumbs down last year due to pressed time, I have officially joined the challange.

Finally, it is great to hear from your comments that Kim Klein won! Having voted for her leaves no doubt in my mind that she deserves it, but I think you also played a role in her success by pointing us her way. You deserve a full bottle of Pinot all to yourself for a job well done!

[Sarah]

Now the bacon doughnut I can handle! yum.

Do they deliver? ;)

[Karina in T.O]

All this damn talk of chocolate?? All this damn chocolate on sale because Halloween is over? Yeah, there was an incident at our place last night, not too long after I read the posts above.