The Best of the BaconMedic Eats
Being a life-long foodie turned blogger, I am frequently asked about my favorite foods and what my best meals have been. People want to know “If the BaconMedic could eat anything, what would it be?” Today—I’m going to answer that question by sharing some of my favorite dishes with you. For this list, I’ve included pictures when I had them, but sometimes seeing the food as it arrives to my table makes me forget everything except getting that first bite into my mouth. And that’s OK—it is definitely better to enjoy your meal and the company rather than worry about snapping pictures. Besides, if I shared pictures of everything, what incentive would you have to go out and find things on your own?
First, some background. As my faithful followers learned in (Re)Visiting Venice, I was lucky enough to have been raised by parents that instilled the love of food and travel into me at a very young age – “just try a bite and decide if you like it” were words to live by wherever we were. Because of my parents, the marriage of travel and trying new foods are permanently connected in my mind.
Food is life—we can’t survive without it, but food is also a culture. It tells a story of the people who live in an area. When you have the opportunity to experience their story through food then your heart and mind opens forever. Because of this, the thought of traveling to a new destination only to eat an overcooked burger at a chain restaurant practically makes me homicidal. There are so many better local options available. As I’ve said numerous times before; do your research! I confess to planning all my meals while traveling based on the regional specialties (but always leaving room for some local recommendations).
You’ll notice that many of these foods will require you to travel in order to get to them; while I will fully admit to driving almost 5 hours to New York City just for a pastrami sandwich for lunch and returning the same day, I also realize it isn’t for everyone. Don’t let my list discourage you, rather make it your goal to try someplace new where you can hear a great story and enjoy some great food. Soon, you’ll have your own list.
Laundry never looked so good.
Any casino worth its salt has a high-end steakhouse and Foxwoods is no exception. While David Burke Prime serves up some of the best steaks and chops in New England, the real go to here is the Clothesline Bacon appetizer. While not difficult to make at home, the folks here bring it to the next level using super thick cut smoked local bacon and a black pepper maple glaze to create the perfect food. Both sweet and just a little bit spicy, this is truly ‘meat candy’ and will leave you forgetting that you have an amazing steak heading your way as you contemplate asking for another serving.
Chicken Liver Paté
Thompson House Eatery, Jackson, NH
Charcuterie Board at The Thompson House Eatery.
There is nothing more pretentious than paté, is there? And made from chicken livers? Some people might be scared off eating an organ that’s primary purpose is to filter waste from the blood supply. This is only one of the many house made treats found on the Charcuterie Board at the Thompson House Eatery in tiny Jackson, New Hampshire. Smooth and buttery, the paté is truly the definition of luxury. You don’t get much, enough to spread on just a few of the house made crackers, but considering how rich the pate is, a dollop may be more than enough. Combined with the Chef’s selection of meats, cheeses, and pickles, you could make a meal of the board if you wanted to, but why would you? With an amazing selection of steaks, chops and other dishes from locally sourced ingredients, you won’t go wrong with anything you order. If you choose to skip the paté? Your loss, but that’s more for me.
Seafood Chowder
Maine Diner, Wells, ME
Maine Diner Seafood Chowder-a New England classic.
When in Maine the first thing that comes to mind for dinner is usually fresh seafood – lobster, steamers, whatever the catch of the day is. But to start it off you need a steaming bowl of creamy chowder, and there is no better place to get it than at the Maine Diner. Located on busy Route 1 in Wells, they not only have all the usual diner fare such as breakfasts, burgers and club sandwiches, but they also boast an incredible selection of fresh seafood. The seafood chowder is exactly what culinary dreams are made of: creamy, loaded with HUGE chunks of the freshest seafood, including clams, scallops, shrimp, fish and best of all, gigantic chunks of lobster! While a full bowl may be enough for your meal, be sure to leave room for the Lobster Pie, also a Diner specialty. Cooked in the traditional New England style of breadcrumbs, butter and a splash of lemon, this is deliciousness in its purest form. Get the combo plate which includes a cup of chowder, the lobster pie and a slice of pie – Maine Blueberry if you’re smart.
Greek Fries
Boston Burger Company (Multiple locations), Boston, MA
No, it isn’t a salad—well, unless you replace the lettuce with delicious fries! Greek Fries at the Boston Burger Company.
What goes better with a burger than fries? It makes sense that a restaurant that specializes in gourmet burgers would have some pretty darn good fries, and served plain they are delicious – but kick it up a notch and order some of the specialty fries. They have over 10 different types, but the Greek Fries are your go to. Topped with Feta Cheese, Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Red Onions and Greek Dressing, you may never be able to return to plain French fries ever again. If you left room for a burger – and hopefully you left a LOT of room because they are huge – Boston Burger Company has 26 specialty burgers for you to choose from, or if you are feeling creative, you can design your own. My personal favorite is – shockingly – the Porkasauras, which is topped with pulled pork, bacon, cheddar cheese, BBQ sauce and pickles. Extra napkins required!
Chargrilled Oysters
Acme Oyster House, New Orleans, LA
Chargrilled Oysters at Acme Oyster Bar—there’s a reason they call them the “gateway oyster”.
For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out the allure of oysters. Briny and slimy, they just didn’t do anything for me – that is until I was told to try char grilled oysters. With a little research, I quickly figured out that Acme Oyster House in New Orleans was ‘the place’ for this deliciousness. Why not I figured? It’s only an appetizer, the worst thing that could happen to me is that I won’t like it. Wrong! The worst thing that happened to me is that not only did I like it, I loved it. Warm and bubbly with butter, cheese and herbs, I popped down my half of the appetizer, hoping my wife would hate it and give me hers – no such luck. Suffice it to say not only am I now obsessed with chargrilled oysters, I have become a full raw bar aficionado. One of my happy places is now pulled up to a bar with a platter of oysters and a cold beer. I guess that’s one of the benefits of getting older, your taste buds continue to grow up with you.
Chicken and Waffles: when it looks like this, who wouldn’t love it?
A number of years ago when I told my wife I was craving chicken and waffles for breakfast, she looked at me as though I had three heads. Like many born and raised in the north, she was confused - these two items just ‘don’t make sense’ together. Yet when we ventured into Hash House a Go Go in Las Vegas and that huge plate was placed before us, her life suddenly changed for the better. I recall her first bite, her eyes lit up as though it suddenly all made sense. Hash House a Go Go Chicken and Waffles converted another skeptic! Unfortunately, when you start here, others may pale in comparison as is the one that all others are now judged by. It starts with a big fluffy bacon waffle tower and is then topped with couple of perfectly sage fried chicken breasts and then garnished with flash fried leeks. Drizzled with a maple syrup reduction, this is the perfect way to start your day (or end your night) in Sin City. Daring souls can upgrade their chicken to Nashville Hot for a buck more, something my advancing age is forbidding me from doing.
East Nasty
Biscuit Love, Nashville, TN
The East Nasty - Bon Appetite’s Best Sandwich in America.
It’s a well-known culinary fact that nobody does breakfast better than southerners. While anyone with a flat top can fry eggs and bacon, it takes a special kind of love to serve up a southern breakfast. What’s the difference you ask? In a word: biscuits. There is nothing better than a fluffy, buttery, hand-made southern biscuit, whether served alongside eggs and bacon, used as sandwich bread, or covered in sausage gravy. Biscuit Love in Nashville offers any of the above options, and more. Biting into one of their biscuits is truly heaven on earth: hand-made, hand cut, they are all made with love. While anything on the menu here will get you ready for your day, the East Nasty trumps all other choices, so much so that you may run the risk of never trying anything else on the menu. Named the best sandwich in America by Bon Appetite Magazine, this deliciousness barely fits into the category of sandwich other than the fact that the ingredients are sandwiched in between two halves of one of their buttermilk biscuit topped with a fried boneless chicken thigh, aged cheddar and home-made sausage gravy eggs?. A fork and knife is required. Pro Tip: start off with an order of Bonuts, fried biscuit dough dusted with sugar and topped with lemon mascarpone and a blueberry compote - you won’t have any regrets.
Get the Pastrami Sandwich—your tongue will thank you (see what I did there?)
Ok, so its touristy. And a little expensive. But I’m a firm believer that the best pastrami is located in New York City, and Katz is the best of the best. Made in house and hand cut, the meat melts in your mouth and is perfectly seasoned. The visit to Katz itself adds to the awesomeness. From getting your ‘ticket’ when you enter, choosing the line you will wait in (hint: the further from the front door you go, the shorter the line), looking around at pictures of every celebrity who ever dined there, Katz is an experience. You will find all the traditional choices found at any Jewish Deli, including corned beef, turkey, bologna, and even beef tongue but the pastrami is where it’s at. Once you reach the front of your line, place your order quickly and efficiently, you may have had at least 10-15 minutes to decide. Your cutter will then offer you a slice of whatever meat you are having him cut, this is the time to slip him a few bucks in his (probably) overflowing tip jar – you won’t regret it, as your sandwich will suddenly grow a bit larger. Served plain on rye bread, this sandwich stands on its own and has no need for toppings, however nobody would judge you if you were to use a squeeze of spicy deli mustard, located on the tables along with a bowl of house made half sour pickles delivered by the wait staff. If you still have room for dessert, grab a black and white cookie.
Pastrami heaven.
Italian Sub
Bricco Salumeria, North End, Boston, MA
You know the sandwich is going to be incredible when you walk in and see this!
Boston’s North End is famous for its selection of Italian restaurants. Veal cutlet, pasta, meatballs – you name it, they have it. But for lunch, there is only one place: Bricco Salumeria. This well-hidden Italian Deli is located down an alleyway off busy Hanover Street, behind its more traditional Italian restaurant, Bricco, and next to the Bricco bakery. The fact that they have their own bakery is what makes the Italian sub the best in Boston – they start with warm, fresh baked Italian bread, hand slice top quality Italian meats and cheeses, top it with traditional veggies (lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles and hots) and then a drizzle of olive oil. The end result is sheer perfection. While there is no place to eat inside, there are a couple of picnic tables located outside if the weather is cooperating. A large sub is big, a party of two might want to split it, or better, grab a chicken cutlet parmesan sub and share them both. Either way, it’s a win.
Muffuletta
Central Grocery, New Orleans, LA
The original muffuletta at Central Grocery.
Sure, New Orleans could do a traditional Italian sandwich, and it could be as good as Bricco Salumeria, but in a city that has created a culinary style of its very own (think fried boudain), why copy something when you can improve on it? The Central Grocery, located across from the French Market, looks to be a typical Italian grocery store, shelves stocked with various olive oils, canned vegetables, and dried pastas. Of course, you can get a pound of sliced prosciutto, but that’s not what the line outside the door is waiting for. It’s the Muffuletta, and Central Grocery first made this original N’awlins sandwich. They start with slicing fresh Italian meats and cheeses in house, but that’s where the similarity to other Italian subs ends. For starters, gone is the typical sub roll, replaced with a locally baked round loaf – yes, a loaf – of sesame seeded bread. The upper portion is then hollowed out and filled with their family recipe olive salad, which is then pressed down onto the meats and cheeses below. Smart customers know that buying one of these babies is best done the day after it was made so the olives and meats can marinade together, something the folks at Central Grocery understand fully. Place your order and head across the street to the banks of the Mississippi River to best enjoy this delicacy. Not convinced? Read more about it in my Louisiana Libations and Local Eats blog—you will be booking a flight in no time.
Chipotle Steak
Carl’s Steaks, Waltham, MA
Chipotle Steak at Carl’s Steaks.
When it comes to subs – or hoagies, or heros, or grinders or whatever you want to call them – the cheesesteak is king. No matter what mom and pop sub shop you wander into, the cheesesteak will not only be present on the menu, most likely it will be the first thing listed under the hot sandwiches. Alas, not all cheesesteaks are created equally. For something so simple – steak, cheese, bread – it shouldn’t be hard to screw up, right? Wrong. Let’s be honest, we have all been victim of a bad cheesesteak, be it overcooked and dry, or grizzled beef; there really is nothing more disappointing than having your high expectations dashed. Just like with doctors specializing in a certain condition or mechanics specializing in a certain brand of car, you have to go to a specialist for the best cheesesteak. Carl’s Steaks in Waltham, Massachusetts is the cheesesteak specialist. With 18 different cheesesteaks to choose from, you can’t go wrong, but the best of the best is the Chipotle Steak. They start with a mound of their thin sliced, perfectly grilled ribeye, layer it with American and Provolone cheeses, grilled mushrooms, bacon (of course!), and top with their own spicy chipotle sauce. Words can’t describe just how amazing these ingredients are when combined into an overstuffed cheesesteak, suffice it to say you will moan and groan in pleasure while eating – something that might creep out your dining companions. Don’t like steak? No problem, they also have a selection of specialty chicken subs, the Budster is your go to – chicken cutlet, BBQ sauce, bacon and melted Provolone cheese.
Three Pigs in a Bun
The Ultimate BBQ, The Big E, West Springfield, MA
Number 1 reason I go to the Big E every year!
So, I don’t know what makes this so damn good. Is it the fact that I can only get it once a year at the Eastern States Exposition, which runs for 2 weeks every September? Or is it the perfect combination of a grilled Italian Sausage (sweet or hot), piled high with house smoked pulled pork and topped with crispy bacon, all on a sub roll? I’m not sure, but usually right around July, I start counting the days until I can get my hands on this sandwich, and when I finally choose my day at the Big E, I head straight to the stand located parallel to the midway. While my day will be filled with many thousands of calories, Three Pigs on a Bun is the only mandatory food for me. While I know I can get this sandwich during the Big E, the rest of the year involves locating the Ultimate BBQ Food Trailer. Sad news: If you want one of these guys during the other 50 weeks of the year, you’ll need to hold your own private event in Connecticut, as the rest of the year is spent catering.
Three Pigs in a Bun
Kobe Beef Burger, River Road Tavern
What does it tell you when I started compiling this list that the first thing that popped in my head was the Kobe Beef Burger at River Road Tavern in Bedford, NH? A burger in and of itself is a simple enough creation – ground beef, a bun, cheese if you want – yet so many places manage to screw it up. Not at River Road Tavern. They start with ground Kobe beef, smash it into a perfect patty, season it with a little salt, grill it exactly how you want it (and please don’t ever tell me you want it above medium rare, I might have to question our friendship) and place it on a perfect squishy bun. It’s served on a metal plate with lettuce, a slice of tomato, and onion for you to add if you desire. Cheese and thick cut bacon are options, but this burger is so good you really don’t need – and this is me talking - either. Of course, adding either or both is a great option and brings it to the next level. Bottom line is a great burger is defined by quality ingredients which is why the Kobe Beef Burger at River Road Tavern is the best burger I have even eaten. Need a side? Shoe string fries with a Thai dipping sauce or (and?) Mac & Cheese topped with Cheetos are both perfect choices.
Cheesy Western
Texas Tavern, Roanoke, VA
This one is hard to explain. Yes, it’s a simple burger, no there is nothing special about any of it, at least when you first look at it. Yet, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts which is what makes the Cheesy Western at the Texas Tavern (Roanoke’s Millionaires Club) in Roanoke, VA just so amazing. One might suggest that it tastes its best after a night of spirits with friends, but not so. Having also eaten this delicacy sober, I can tell you it’s just as good as a hangover cure or just a plain old lunch. The ‘Cheesy’ as it’s called is nothing more than plain old burger patty topped with a fried egg, pickles, sweet relish, and melty cheese. You order this guy one of two ways – a ‘Cheesy With’, meaning with onions, or a ‘Cheesy Without’, meaning – well, you get the idea. Don’t stop at one either, if there is one drawback to the Cheesy it’s that you could down a couple of them in one sitting and feel absolutely no guilt whatsoever. Chili is also a great choice, just order ‘A Bowl’ – again, with or without.
Japanese Wagyu Ribeye
When it comes to main courses, steak is king. Every restaurant has it; I’ve seen steak at the highest end gourmet restaurants, chain restaurants, seafood restaurants, even greasy breakfast joints. Whenever a chef creates his menu, steak is almost always included. Yet, we all know, not all steaks are created equally. For the best steaks, one must travel to a steak house, and if one wants the best of the best steaks, one has to look at Japanese Wagyu steak. Steaks from these cows are truly special – these bovines are massaged daily and fed a special diet which includes beer – with the end result being one of the most tender, well marbled steaks on earth. So, when I sat down at Tender Steakhouse at the Luxor Casino and saw the Japanese Wagyu Beef Ribeye on the menu, I was fully prepared to be wowed, and wowed I was. Ignoring the fact that I had never spent so much money on a steak, I quickly cut into this perfectly grilled piece of heaven. In a word – perfection. It was so tender, so juicy, so beefy. I truly had a moment with that first bite, a moment which was again repeated with the second bite, then the third, and continued until plate was devoid of any evidence that I had just downed the absolute best piece of beef I had ever eaten. The only drawback: now that I’ve bitten into a Wagyu steak, no other steak will ever be as good.
Smoked Beef Brisket
Franklin BBQ, Austin, TX
Prior to my ‘All Meat Road Trip’ that I took to Central Texas a few years ago, I wasn’t a huge fan of Beef Brisket. In general, it’s an incredibly difficult cut of beef to make edible; that muscle is a true workhorse on the cow which results in almost inedible meat – chewy, stringy, grizzled. To turn it into anything palatable, it needs to be cooked for a long period of time at a low temperature so the tough connective tissues can break down into something eatable. My reason for not liking it was simple: most pit masters at BBQ joints in the Northeast just aren’t talented enough to get it right every single time. Undercook it just a little and it remains chewy, overcook it and it’s like eating dry shoe leather. There is such a small window of opportunity to be successful and I had found that more often than not that window is missed. Texas, however, is an entirely different story. Beef is king when it comes to ‘Que in the Lone Star State, and these pit masters get it right. Soft, tender, juicy and smoked with Post Oak – it practically falls apart in your mouth. During my 5 days and 12 different BBQ joints, the one constant was incredible brisket.
Don’t let the line scare you—it’s worth the wait.
While I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend any of the great places I visited, there was one that stood out. Franklin BBQ in downtown Austin is probably the most well-known, mainly because people start to line up every single day as early as 6am! While I debated if it was worth the wait, thousands of people must know something, so I arrived at 8am with over 100 people already waiting. Yes, that might dissuade most, but if you think of it as an event and take the time to get to know the people waiting with you, the time will fly by. I received my brisket (along with some sausage and pulled pork) by 1250 and by 115 was in heaven. While I have no idea what pit master Aaron Franklin does differently (he insists that it’s because he is using the absolute best beef), it really doesn’t matter. The Beef Brisket at Franklin BBQ is far and away the best I have ever had. Advice: come hungry and try everything you can because everything is that good. Then take a long nap.
Beef brisket from Franklin BBQ—the line was worth it!
BBQ Spaghetti
Interstate BBQ, Memphis, TN
BBQ spaghetti: Italian grandmothers beware! You have competition.
Memphis Style BBQ is one of the four major styles of ‘Que; utilizing mostly a dry rub and pork ribs, this region is worth a visit just for the sheer number of options. While most people immediately think to order ribs and pulled pork – why wouldn’t they? – I went straight to Interstate BBQ for one of their original creations. While it may sound strange to a purist (both BBQ and Italian Food lover), BBQ spaghetti is not only a thing, it’s (gasp) even better than spaghetti with boring old meat sauce. The concept is certainly simple enough: spaghetti, chopped smoked pork and BBQ sauce; the results though are so good you will wonder if you will ever be able to eat the Italian version again. Interestingly enough, BBQ spaghetti is listed as a side dish (although a large order is more than enough for a meal); in a way, this was a blessing because it <ahem> ‘forced’ me to order ribs and pulled pork, and ohbytheway, also mind blowing.
Fried Catfish Platter
Fried Catfish Platter. Go get it. Trust me.
Deanie’s Seafood, New Orleans, LA
As a New Englander, I *thought* I knew Fish & Chips. Just take some cod, or haddock, or whatever whitefish that was the catch of the day, beer batter it, fry it and toss it on top of some fries – voila, fish and chips. But this is N’awlins. Change up the whitefish and use catfish. Dredge it in seasoned batter. Fry it up and you have gone to the next level in the world of fish & chips. After my most recent visit to the Crescent City, I spent hours wondering what made the Fried Catfish at Deanie’s better than any other I had eaten. The fish was certainly fresh, it fell apart with every bite. The batter was seasoned just right and fried to a perfect crisp. Every bite was as good as the last, and when I cleaned my enormous plate I felt a sense of sadness not knowing when I would have the opportunity to indulge in this delicacy again as living 1500 miles away makes a return trip decidedly inconvenient. Of course, regular readers know that Deanie’s caused me to violate my unofficial rule about not repeating restaurants when I’m out on a culinary adventure; I showed up 24 hours later for round two. By the way, if you always wanted to try oysters, Deanie’s is a great place to start – these little guys were so sweet and briny, perfect for a first timer.
General Gau Chicken
Chinatown Café, Chinatown, Boston, MA
General Gau Chicken
I know, I know. I can hear you questioning my sanity. Am I telling you that one of the best things I ever ate is a Chinese dish that not only can you get at any mall or airport food court, but isn’t even authentic Chinese? And who on earth is General Gau? Or is it General Tso? I can’t answer any of that, I just know if you walk into Chinatown Café in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood with $10 cash in hand you will receive the most amazing version of that dish you have ever had. For starters, it’s made to order, which is key to preventing the disgusting sauce soaked globs of batter surrounding most similarly named dishes. The chicken is fresh and juicy, the batter is crispy, and the sauce is a perfect balance of sweet and spicy. Served over a bed of white rice and best eaten with chopsticks, this dish will change your mind about General Gau Chicken. Or General Tso Chicken. I still don’t know.
Memphis Mafia-Voodoo Donut: An offer I couldn’t refuse!
What best of list would be complete without a dessert? This one is a tough one because quite honestly, I don’t eat a lot of desserts. That’s not to say I don’t care for sweets, it’s more a matter of being completely full by the time the server asks if I want to look at the dessert menu. That being said, there is one thing that sticks out: The Memphis Mafia from Voodoo Donut. The original Voodoo is in Portland, Oregon; unfortunately, my travels have yet to take me to that region of the country. Thankfully, Voodoo has opened an outpost at Universal City Walk in Orlando, and the long lines looping out the door and around the corner suggests that this shop is as good as the original in the Pacific Northwest. Voodoo is most famous for its Maple Bacon Donut, which of course made that a must eat for me. While it was a very good, there really is no such thing as only having one donut, is there? While my wife (thankfully) stopped me from ordering – and eating – an entire dozen, I did try a couple of their other creations and was absolutely floored by one in particular: the Memphis Mafia. Let’s get one thing right out there: this is in no way, shape or form a donut. They list it as a fritter, but even that is a stretch. This monstrosity is more like a deflated football, glazed with chocolate frosting and peanut butter with a generous portion of chocolate and peanuts on top. Oh, and did I mention the cinnamon sugar and banana chunks inside? A normal human being would split this guy, or perhaps save half of it for the next day, but when you are eating something this good it’s hard to stop. Honestly though, after a long day of walking through two parks, I burnt enough calories to justify it, at least in my mind. Don’t want something so large? Anything else on the menu is spectacular!
Well folks, there you have it-the best of the BaconMedic Eats. Of all the blogs I’ve written to date, this is one of my favorites. It inspired me to seriously think about all the great meals I’ve had in my travels—limiting the list to just 20 was difficult. I purposely left out meals from outside the United States, that list alone would easily make for another top 20 list – and future blog post. The important thing to remember is this list is constantly evolving, and that’s a very good thing. It means many other amazing culinary adventures await. Will the 100-day dry aged steak at Andiamo overtake the Japanese Wagyu at Tender? Will a Cheesesteak at Pat or Gino’s in Philly beat out Carl’s? How about one of the up and coming pit masters in Austin knocking off the Master, Aaron Franklin? I don’t have the answers to these questions – yet. And that’s the best part of this amazing journey I’m on.
