--- title: The Ultimate Bacon Guide description: Travel + Leisure dishes on where to satisfy your craving for all things bacon, from the best BLT to the best bacon-infused cocktail canonical: https://time.com/2969596/ultimate-bacon-guide/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-11T20:17:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:55:37.611Z og:title: This Is the Ultimate Bacon Guide og:description: Where to satisfy your craving for all things bacon, from the best BLT to the best bacon-infused cocktail og:url: https://time.com/2969596/ultimate-bacon-guide/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt763e9fcb634f2e70/69869b0e169ab0a96727a461/1-barbacon-article.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 1-barbacon article og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Is the Ultimate Bacon Guide twitter:description: Where to satisfy your craving for all things bacon, from the best BLT to the best bacon-infused cocktail twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt763e9fcb634f2e70/69869b0e169ab0a96727a461/1-barbacon-article.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Ultimate Bacon Guide by [Travel + Leisure](https://time.com/author/travel-leisure/) ## Travel + Leisure Jul 11, 2014 8:17 PM UTC  Karin Swann by [Travel + Leisure](https://time.com/author/travel-leisure/) ## Travel + Leisure Jul 11, 2014 8:17 PM UTC Talk about pigs: Americans ate 1.1 billion bacon servings during the 12-month period ending April 2014, about 6 percent more than the previous year, according to market research firm the NPD Group. We’re not just eating more bacon, we’re also making better bacon (consider the proliferation of artisanal bacons and chefs curing their own bacon in house) and finding creative ways to enjoy it. There’s bacon butter, bacon soda, bacon-infused booze, and bacon ice cream, to name a few inspired iterations. **All-Bacon Meal:** [**Sage General Store, Queens, NY**](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/the-ultimate-bacon-guide/2) Bacon is always on the menu at this [new American café](http://www.sagegeneralstore.com/) in Long Island City, but diehards show up for the three-course bacon brunch. It kicks off with a trio of bacons: Nueske’s applewood-smoked bacon, Dewig’s slab bacon, and Ham I Am! peppered bacon. Diners have their choice of mains like grilled bacon-and-cheese, mac-and-cheese-and-bacon casserole, and Wisconsin breakfast pizza with caramelized onions, ricotta cheese, crème fraîche, and (naturally) bacon. A sweet-and-savory bacon brownie finishes the meal off. **Bacon Happy Hour:** [**Bad Decisions, Baltimore**](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/the-ultimate-bacon-guide/3) Chef-owner John Reusing describes his [Fells Point spot](http://makeabaddecision.com/Bad%5FDecisions/Home.html) as a bar with a bacon addiction. The low-key neighborhood joint is known for its monthly bacon nights, when offerings might include bacon-wrapped Vidalia onions with bacon onion dip, bacon_satays_, and bacon Bloody Marys. Even the non-bacon drinks are quirky; the Bee Sting is mixed with mead and cider. **Bacon on Wheels:** [**Bacon Bacon, San Francisco**](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/the-ultimate-bacon-guide/4) This [food truck](http://www.baconbaconsf.com/) doles out bacon-accented comfort foods like bacon burgers; bacon fried chicken; and bacon, belly, and butt tacos, plus sweet treats like chocolate-covered bacon and bacon caramel corn. No wonder its Bay Area–wide reach stretches as far north as Larkspur and as far south as Sunnyvale. **Bacon Challenge:** [**Paddy Long’s, Chicago**](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/the-ultimate-bacon-guide/5) Five pounds of ground sausage, pork, and beef wrapped in brown sugar bacon and slow cooked, the bomb is intended to serve a table of six to eight—unless you’re after bragging rights. If you can eat the entire thing in 45 minutes or less, the glory of a [Paddy Long’s](http://www.paddylongs.com/) T-shirt, a place on the wall of fame, and a free meal (the bomb) are yours. Warning: many (89) have tried; only six have succeeded. **Bacon Cocktail:** [**Grange Restaurant & Bar, Sacramento, CA**](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/the-ultimate-bacon-guide/6) Ryan Seng, the adventurous barman at the Citizen Hotel’s [Grange](http://www.grangesacramento.com/), loves to get crafty with his seasonally driven cocktail menu. A crowd favorite? Tusk, a twist on a Boulevardier that pairs bacon-infused vermouth, Angostura bitters, and Buffalo Trace bourbon with a garnish of candied bacon. [**READ THE FULL LIST HERE.**](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/the-ultimate-bacon-guide) _More from Travel + Leisure:_ * [America’s Best Cities for Barbecue](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-best-cities-for-barbecue-2014) * [Beautiful Beaches to Visit in 2014](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/beautiful-beaches-to-visit-in-2014) * [25 Ideas for Your Best Summer Ever](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/25-ideas-for-your-best-summer-ever) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2969596/ultimate-bacon-guide/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2969596/ultimate-bacon-guide/"},"headline":"The Ultimate Bacon Guide","datePublished":"2014-07-11T20:17:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:55:37.611Z","description":"Travel + Leisure dishes on where to satisfy your craving for all things bacon, from the best BLT to the best bacon-infused cocktail","url":"https://time.com/2969596/ultimate-bacon-guide/","keywords":["Living","Food & Drink","Food","Bacon"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt763e9fcb634f2e70/69869b0e169ab0a96727a461/1-barbacon-article.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Travel + Leisure","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/travel-leisure/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt763e9fcb634f2e70/69869b0e169ab0a96727a461/1-barbacon-article.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"1-barbacon article","caption":"","creditText":"Karin Swann","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2969596/ultimate-bacon-guide/","name":"The Ultimate Bacon Guide"}}]}] ```