LIKE SUMMER, bacon arrives with a bit of sizzle. Thus throwing a bacon-centered bash over the first weekend of the toasty, roasty season seems like an ideal pairing of time of year and breakfast food (though, of course, it is a breakfast food that has a knack for making wintry dishes even heartier). Whether you prefer your salty strips to still be hot from the pan, or cooled down a bit as they complement a pitcher of Bloody Marys, you'll want to seek out what's happening at the Monterey County Fair & Event Center over the final weekend of June. It's...
MONTEREY BACONFEST, a taste-a-lot-of-things to-do that puts the noshable meatstuff at the center of the action. It isn't just about the first meal of the day, either, at the Saturday, June 25 and Sunday, June 26 party; every meal of the day now seems to possess a bacon-y element, from lunchtime Cobb salads to dinner-style pasta carbonaras. Even cocktails are in the salty swing, and not just Bloody Marys, either (a drink that bacon has been much associated with in recent years). Even margaritas are getting their bacon moment. Chef Todd Fisher of the "United States of Bacon" TV show and Chef Tony Baker of Baker's Bacon will be bacon-ing up the joint, and live music will lend those munching bacon-tastic treats at various vendors a soundtrack to bacon-up by.
TICKETS? They're twelve bucks in advance. Gates open at 11 a.m., which begs the question: Will you stop for some bacon and eggs on your way to the festival? For some bacon buffs, the notion of only chowing down on the savory favorite later in the day is just far too late.
