Who Ever Thought of Bacon and Chocolate?

From chocolate-covered bacon to bacon brownies and even bacon-and-chocolate cupcakes, the latest trendy flavor combination is certainly provocative. Never before have breakfast and dessert been blended with such finesse, such pizzazz, such disregard for custom. Balancing sweet and salty is nothing new, as seen in various ethnic cuisines as well as in your average country fair kettle corn, but this recent combination is nothing short of explosive. Chocolate-covered pretzels? Typical. Pumpkin bacon chocolate chip cookies? Not so much.

mo's bacon bar by vosges combines rich milk chocolate with applewood smoked bacon

photo from vosges' official website

Nevertheless, the curious craze for bacon and chocolate has growth rapidly, in part due to online presence of curious food bloggers, eager to test out new ideas in their own kitchens. Why not try some Bacon and Peanut Butter Truffles? Or how about some Maple-Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies? Better yet, why don't you whip up a batch of Chocolate Bacon Blondies?

Bacon and chocolate have also found their way onto restaurant menus across the country, sneaking into the dessert menu alongside less exciting standbys, like the perennial apple turnover. For example, Animal Restaurant in Los Angeles, which focuses on meat dishes, has introduced the Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar to much fanfare. Check out a review and some beautiful bacon bar footage here.

Even upscale chocolatier Vosges has hopped on the bacon-and-chocolate bandwagon with Mo’s Bacon Bar, a combination of applewood smoked bacon and deep milk chocolate that promises to make the “lust of salt and sweet coat your tongue,” they claim. Since its introduction, the bar has proved a surprise hit, selling out in 48 hours when released in British chain store Selfridges.

So where do you stand on the bacon and chocolate debate? Delicious . . . or disgusting?