Irving Mill

I happen to have eaten at this establishment recently and I loved the new menu which has been brought in by former Resto chef, Ryan Skeen. I happened to love Resto as well (it's a neighborhood joint for me) and thought he did a fantastic job putting together an excellent menu there. It was very interesting then when last night I was closing down a bar just east of Union Square with a few friends when I got involved in a conversation with a patron sitting next to us. It was after talking to him for a little while that I realized he was in fact, Ryan Skeen, head chef at Irving Mill! The reason I mention it on this blog is they have a menu very loaded with pork and different parts of the pig and different preparations. Ryan had mentioned to us that he has three whole hogs that he will be using this week for a special "pork tasting menu", as he described it. $45 for 8 different preparations and parts of the pig. I plan to be there this week to taste this magnificent sounding feast! I think Sunday nights is when this steal and delicacy is being offered. I highly suggest you try out this restaurant on any day of the week, as it is outstanding!

New Book: Holy Smoke

I was given a new book about North Carolina style BBQ called Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue. I have not read it yet as I just recieved it in the mail as a gift from the Hup-Dog, but I will post a review of it once I have had time to go through it.

Bacon Dipped In Chocolate!

Pig Candy

Bacon Buttercrunch

I don't doubt that this has been done many times over, and I am not saying that this is some new bacon delicacy, but I personally had never had bacon covered in milk or dark chocolate before. So this weekend, when I was down at the Essex Street Market with Nebber T. Riley to try out lunch at Shopsins (get the ebelskivers and the sliders, amongst other things on this deep menu, as both were outstanding!) in the marketplace. While waiting, we had Dana wait on line and Nebber T. and myself walked around the market to check out the two cheese stands and the chocolatier, Roni-Sue's Chocolates. Roni-Sues happens to specialize in amazing truffles of unique and various flavors, as well as what they call 'Pig Candy'. Pig Candy is "crispy fried bacon strips, dipped in either milk or dark chocolate". While both are OUTSTANDING, I think the saltiness of the bacon goes perfectly with the more bitter dark chocolate. The milk chocolate tends to be richer and overpowers that dichotomy of flavors. I highly recommend you try out the delightful treat if you are down in the area (Essex and Delancy). The also have Bacon Buttercrunch, which is "cultured butter, sugar, milk & dark chocolate, with chopped, fried bacon added to the toffee, then dipped in toasted chile pinon nuts". As some one who likes toffee a lot, it is delicious and although it does not sound as though bacon would go well with this, it fits amazingly well together!

Turbaconducken - what will they think of next?

The wonderful people over at Bacon Today have provided us with so many innovations in the field of Baconology. I gotta say, I loved The Bacon Explosion, as it looked insanely delicous! I loved the creativity behind it, the aggressive and egregious use of bacon throughout the process, and all the imitators who have made their own versions and posted those to the web as well for all to see. But it has clearly been taken to the next level: the Turbaconducken!!!

Again, I like the creativity, but what's next? The bacon-banana? The bacon-pecan pie? I welcome the bacon-concoctions, but I feel like this is going to get out of hand rather quickly. That being said, who is making this heavenly delight and inviting me over to taste it?