Following the Bacon

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, July 1st, 2010

It usually doesn’t take more than a free food advertisement to draw me in as helplessly as a fly to a bug zapper, but Restaurant 3′s bacon infused menu forced me to approach at ramming speed. 

Quick back-story recap: In honor of the Travel Channel’s day of filming for an episode of Food Paradise, Clarendon’s “3” hosted a pig roast with free pulled-pork sandwiches last Tuesday.  Also: I love bacon.

The joint was jumping.  The official “you could be on camera” warning plastered across the entrance was hardly a deterrent for patrons pigging out on the porch.  And thus I joined the crowd with careless abandon to stuff my face with a tender, juicy pork sandwich.  If you happen to see me on the Travel Channel, call me a diva, but I’m the one licking my fingers with hickory sauce and happiness smeared across my cheeks.

While the pork sandwiches were a Tuesday-only thing, other highlights from the bacon-infused menu are either available regularly or with their return in October for the “Week of Bacon.” 

A member of the latter group is the Pork-Tail (a bacon inspired cocktail) called “Breakfast.”  It’s a mixture of bourbon, maple syrup, and orange juice with a bacon dusted rim.  The name is certainly clever, but the taste proved that bacon can indeed be abused. 

 

However, the Bacon Bloody Mary works.  With bacon-infused vodka and a house-made mix garnished by a pimento-stuffed olive pinned to a slice of bacon, the drink has a great blend of spicy and subtly savory components to compliment your brunch.  Fortunately this Pork-Tail is available regularly as long as the supply of bacon-flavored vodka lasts.  Which led me to ask – where does one get bacon-infused vodka?  Answer – they make it themselves with their own slabs of cured pork and a bit of time for full flavor fusion.  As much as I love bacon, meat is not usually a thing I want to associate with a beverage.  (Meat smoothies make me cringe.)  BUT this cocktail has answered the challenge with tasteful flair.

 

And finally dessert arrived – a Bacon Studded Waffle topped with Maple Bacon Ice Cream, garnished with a strawberry, whipped cream (bacon-infused too, methinks), and drizzled with maple syrup.  There were five forks. One plate.  After the first cautious bite, a battle ensued.  The bacon bits were evenly dispersed between the elements to give a fluffiness and not-too-salty side to the waffle while the ice cream brought all the sweetness to the relationship.

 

(please note the fork poised and a bit impatient for action)

I love to be the bearer of good news:  The Bacon Studded Waffle is on the regular menu.

- Jamel Daugherty

Tags: 3 Bar and Grill, bacon, bloody mary, maple syrup, Pig Roast, travel channel, waffle