Last Chance! Bacon Week @ Plan B Burger Bar in Milford
How does Plan B in Milford celebrate its 1-year birthday? With a cake? NO! This meat-loving restaurant celebrates with BACON! Bacon Week runs from September 10th - 16th at Plan B Burger Bar in Milford. John Brennan, the executive chef was nice enough to invite me to come opening night. I alerted my cardiologist. Armed with a big appetite and an open mind, I brought my bacon LOVING husband Marc along to help me taste everything on the menu. The meal began with the 3 signature drinks- all made with bacon infused bourbon. Plan B prides itself on its bourbon selection, and I’m a fan. I tried the bourbon straight and it was really nice, with just a hint of the bacon- nothing overpowering.
My favorite cocktail was the Apple Cider –bourbon, apple cider, ginger ale, and fresh lemon juice. It was refreshing without being overly sweet. Marc’s favorite was The Ravenous Hog -similar to an old fashioned, made with bourbon, maple/vanilla simple syrup, orange bitters, and lemon rind. I liked this one as well. The third offering was the Blackberry Bandit.- bourbon, muddled fresh blackberries, honey simple syrup, fresh lemon juice, fresh pomegranate juice, and chocolate mole bitters. Both of us found it a bit too heavy. The first 2 were garnished with a bourbon soaked candied bacon strip.Save these for dessert.
John brought out our first course - the Bucket of Bacon, which is just that, a bucket of bacon with 3 incredible dipping sauces: chocolate, jalapeno cheese, and aioli- all infused with bacon. I preferred the chocolate and the jalapeno cheese sauce (not spicy). I think the pairing of chocolate and bacon is phenomenal. I’m a sucker for the sweet and savory mix. Marc preferred the aioli because the taste of the bacon was in the foreground. All 3 are wonderful and uniquely different from each other.
The meal continued with the Scrumptious Swine Salad and Bacon Cheddar Chowder. The salad was comprised of organic mixed greens and baby spinach tossed in a bacon bourbon vinaigrette served in a bacon bowl and topped with bacon lardons, diced red onion, grape tomatoes, bourbon soaked red grapes, green beans, crumbled blue cheese, and sliced hard boiled egg. Hands down, it was the winner of the night and belongs on the regular menu. While the bacon bowl is overkill (you can’t even see it under the salad), the salad itself is scrumptious. The lardons are meaty and tender and the dressing is to die for! My meat-loving husband said he would choose it over a burger in a heartbeat. It is that good!
The soup is very tasty and satisfying. For chowder, it could be a little thicker, but the taste is terrific. The centerpiece of the menu is the Divine Swine- drop dead burger (100% ground bacon burger, topped with thick sliced chicken fried bacon, bacon aioli, bourbon bacon red onion jam, and a fried egg, all sandwiched between a grilled cheese). Marc and I didn’t see eye to eye on this one. I thought the burger itself was just too overpowering and salty. I would have made the patty half beef and half bacon. Marc, on the other hand, as the true bacon fan, liked the taste combo of the bacon, softened by the fried egg and cheesy bun. My recommendation would be to skip the burger, but if you are like Marc, and you eat all the bacon off your kids’ breakfast plates and also order another side of bacon (!), then this might just be the burger for you.
The dessert choices were bacon cotton candy and a plate of 3 bacon themed candy bars (praline, nougat, and peanut butter). After trying all of these, I would skip the desserts and simply have the candied bacon strips with some chocolate sauce, saved from the bucket of bacon. I have to applaud Chef John for his daring and creative menu choices. He decided to go full throttle with his bacon week menu, and we truly enjoyed it. The meal was an adventure, and although I would never recommend eating this way daily, it was a special treat to be experienced.
