A SHOUT OUT to FoTDB Bobby for letting me know about this article in the Detroit News yesterday:

It really is a nice article and great to see a food writer take a serious look at the phenomenon that has become bacon.

It also helps that we have an unabashed bacon lover Ari Weinzweig, co-owner of Zingerman’s Deli and Zingerman’s, just down the road in Ann Arbor.

Here are some highlights:

Do you suppose if bacon were called anything but bacon that we’d love it as much? Say the word to anyone other than a vegetarian and watch the response: We adore it. Quite simply, bacon is meat candy….

Chefs and home cooks are going whole hog, folding bacon into muffin and waffle batters, wrapping it around seafood and chicken livers, saving the fat to enhance stir fries and to make chocolate gravy (a Southern favorite), and dipping the crispy cooked strips in melted chocolate to really gild the swine…

Bacon also has had its share of taking it on the chin because of its high sodium, fat and calorie content. But compare that to a hot dog or hamburger or even a glazed doughnut, and bacon looks like health food.

“I look at bacon as fine wine,” Weinzweig says. “You need to have more than just one in your repertoire.”

You can read the whole article “Surrender to artisanal bacon — the latest gourmet hit” over at detnews.com.

Also – if you are in the metro Detroit area and love bacon, you do not want to miss Zingerman’s Camp Bacon!

About Camp Bacon
What : Led by Ari Weinzweig, highlights include bacon tasting, curing demonstration from three leading artisan bacon curers, cooking demo, breakfast and lunch from Zingerman’s Deli and a free signed copy of “Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon.”

When: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. June 19; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. June 20. Following the June 19 event, the Zingerman’s businesses on Plaza Drive will open their doors until 5 p.m. for a free bacon party with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit the Washtenaw County 4H. There will be Bacon Apple Doughnut making at the Bakehouse and Maple-Bacon Lattes from Zingerman’s Coffee Co. Zingerman’s Creamery will be stocking a full line of great bacons for sale that day as well.

Where: Zingerman’s Bakehouse, Creamery and Coffee, 3711 Plaza Drive, Ann Arbor, 48108

Cost : $150 per person

More information or to make reservations : www.zingermanscampbacon.com. Or contact Pete Sickman-Garner, pgarner@zingermans.com or (734) 904.0644.

via The Detroit News: