This Bacon Festival will change your life, cholesterol count
Just when you thought Springsteen, Bon Jovi, and discounted black jean shorts from the mall were the only reasons you'd ever head over to New Jersey, along came the Zeppelin Hall Bacon Festival, a porky paradise running now through April 1st at the gigantic, mass transit-accessible beer hall in Jersey City. Now forget the Jersey part, remember the bacon one, and just keep scrolling...
Have you ever ordered a bacon cheesesteak and thought, "Hey, there's way too much steak on this"? Well, your prayers have been answered with this cheesesteak loaded entirely with bacon. And feel free to call it a cheesebacon.
This is the double-smoked bacon mac 'n cheese. We suggest taking that bacon flower on top, crumbling it up amongst the pasta and cheese, and enjoying the change in texture as you destroy it.
Fried onions, melty cheese, and tons of bacon top the Bacon-Bacon Terminator burger, but what makes it truly a machine sent from the future to end all human existence is that it's stuffed with chopped bacon, diced & smoked pork chop, and bacon au jus. Judgement Day, indeed.
Why anyone would want non-thick-cut bacon is a mystery, especially after downing this Steak House Bacon that's been double-smoked, grilled, and topped off with apple cider reduction and crispy onions.
In what might actually be the perfect tailgate food if you can mange to replicate it (Editor's Note: you totally can. We believe in you.), they've created a bacon-wrapped Buffalo hot dog.
These aren't sausages, they're bacon sausages. The Bacon Sausage "Menage a Trois" is a combo of crackled black pepper bacon sausage, hickory applewood, bacon sausage, and aged cheddar bacon sausage.
And for an after-dessert snack, look to the bratwurst and bacon sliders, which come as a set of four and include andouille, kielbasa, cheddar brat, and bratwurst topped with a thick cut of Black Forest bacon.
Andrew Zimmer is Thrillist's NYC Editor and sometimes he feels like that dog from the Beggin' Strips commercial. BACON!!! Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Cayla Zahoran is a freelance photographer and you can see more of her really awesome shots on her food photography site.