April 20, 2014 Easter Bacon, Explosive Bacon, and another Bacon Alarm Clock link

MY LIFE WITH BACON CONTINUES THIS WEEK after skipping last Sunday.  I wrote a short post last week but for some reason my phone didn't upload it; I hope you didn't miss the blog too badly!

BACON IN THE NEWS.  There are a few interesting stories floating around out there.

The first one comes courtesy of my son, Sam Murphy.  Some engineering students created a real bacon alarm clock.  No, not the Oscar Mayer "Wake Up And Smell The Bacon" app and scent device for your iPhone, about which I have written recently (update on it in a minute).  No, this is a real alarm clock that cooks real bacon at your bedside!  It's a true DIY project with a lamp inside, that is triggered by the alarm clock; the lamp heats the bacon, which is accessed by opening a drawer.  Very cool idea.  Not worth spending the time to make, though.  See link here.

I'm not a big fan of this type of automation.  Do you know ANYONE who sets up their coffee maker before going to bed, so it brews coffee in the morning?  I don't, and this device falls into the same category.  But cool.

BACK TO THE "Wake Up And Smell The Bacon" promotion by Oscar Mayer. I still think it's a great concept, but others think it's just a tease - there's no "there" there! No real bacon!  But the idea is to go out and buy some!  Loyal reader and friend Bill Uhlemann of TX submitted a sweepstakes bid and was notified that he WON.  Oscar sent him a picture of the box (looks really cool) and said it'd be 4-6 weeks before delivery.  Well, we're getting close.  Bill promises to put it in the mail to me immediately, and send me tracking info.  I will review it asap once received.

WE RECENTLY HAD A GREAT BREAKFAST at Marui's Famous Cafe in Mundelien, IL.  The food was fabulous, the service great, even though they were unusually busy.  Of course, there was bacon; although it was food service grade, it was very good, and the meal outstanding. The restaurant is Mexican themed, and their breakfast tacos/burritos were super.  I just had to give them a plug.  We like to support local businesses.

BACON PRICES UP 7% in a year.  Tiring news about the baby pig killing virus.  There are a number of articles on the price elasticity of demand about bacon.  Here's a link to a number of charts.

EXPLOSIVE BACON is an explosive headline.  Well, it turns out that the government asked housewives to save excess rendered fat for use in explosives in WW2. Having been an EOD Officer in the US Army, I probably came in contact with some WW2-era bacon.  Very interesting.  Great article, even better image, below:

THIS WEEK'S BACON comes from Al's Meat and Poultry Market in Wilmette, IL.  Dropped by this excellent establishment last weekend and picked up some super premium steak, and of course, some bacon.  While it isn't cured there, they sliced me two pounds right off a slab. Here's a link to their website.

Great stuff.  Bacon review below:

Al's meats are excellent.  Super Prime ribeye was great for dinner.  The bacon cooked up very well.  Produced a lot of rendered fat (maybe I should send it to the US Government).  Crispiness was high, because it was a little overcooked; 4 out of 5.  Succulence excellent, also 4 out of 5.  Flavor superb, the entire family loved it; 4 out of 5.  Very highly rated bacon.  Guess what?  Usinger's on the slab, sliced at the butcher.  Worth ordering online.  Go do it.  Unpaid plug.  See you next week!