You don’t have to hit the jackpot to feel like a millionaire, especially when you can just buy bacon for the same effect — well, almost.
That’s the idea behind “millionaire’s bacon,” an upscale side dish that’s similar to candied bacon and increasingly showing up on menus across the Bay Area.
“The taste is succulent, sweet and spicy with many different spices going in. It’s very complex,” said Hoyul Steven Choi, co-owner of Sweet Maple and several other restaurants that serve the dish across the Bay Area.
It all starts with center-cut bacon that’s much thicker than the standard sold in grocery stores. One slice is about a half inch in thickness prior to cooking; standard bacon is about 1/16 of an inch thick.
The thick slabs of pork are covered with sugar and cayenne pepper before they’re placed in an oven and cooked at a low temperature for a few hours. The technique results in a sweet, spicy and smoky indulgence that put Sweet Maple on the map, Choi said.
Choi didn't invent the dish, but he realized there was a real business behind it so he trademarked the name. He's not the first to do so, though. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office database, businesses in Delaware and Texas have previously trademarked the name, but have since abandoned the claim.
If the name didn’t already give it away, this side dish can set you back a few bucks.
Most restaurants offer the dish with two pieces of bacon for prices that range from $2 at Danville Brewing Co. in Danville to a whopping $14 at Blackwood in San Francisco. (Blackwood's price reflects the total on their dinner menu, which comes with asparagus too.)
Choi thinks the price is warranted since the two slices are the equivalent of about five to six pieces of regular bacon.
“It’s almost like a bacon steak,” Choi said. “I don’t recommend anyone eat that alone since it’s meant for two people.”
Five years ago, Choi and his business partner Chaiporn Kitsadaviseksak started serving “millionaire’s bacon” at Sweet Maple before they started offering it at their other locations, including Blackwood, A Kitchen Story, Taylor Street Coffee Shop, Fred’s Coffee Shop, Berkeley Social Club and Kitchen Sunnyside.
“Millionaire’s bacon” may not be on the same level of fame as avocado toast, at least right now, but that might change as Choi and Kitsadaviseksak plan to open a ninth spot, called Fillmore Social Club, and serve the dish there, too.
Confident about his craft, Choi believes his customers think the trademarked item is worth the wait, and the people that complain about the price just haven’t experienced it yet.
http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Millionaires-bacon-new-avocado-toast-12235212.php
Wood.
That’s the idea behind “millionaire’s bacon,” an upscale side dish that’s similar to candied bacon and increasingly showing up on menus across the Bay Area.
“The taste is succulent, sweet and spicy with many different spices going in. It’s very complex,” said Hoyul Steven Choi, co-owner of Sweet Maple and several other restaurants that serve the dish across the Bay Area.
It all starts with center-cut bacon that’s much thicker than the standard sold in grocery stores. One slice is about a half inch in thickness prior to cooking; standard bacon is about 1/16 of an inch thick.
The thick slabs of pork are covered with sugar and cayenne pepper before they’re placed in an oven and cooked at a low temperature for a few hours. The technique results in a sweet, spicy and smoky indulgence that put Sweet Maple on the map, Choi said.
Choi didn't invent the dish, but he realized there was a real business behind it so he trademarked the name. He's not the first to do so, though. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office database, businesses in Delaware and Texas have previously trademarked the name, but have since abandoned the claim.
If the name didn’t already give it away, this side dish can set you back a few bucks.
Most restaurants offer the dish with two pieces of bacon for prices that range from $2 at Danville Brewing Co. in Danville to a whopping $14 at Blackwood in San Francisco. (Blackwood's price reflects the total on their dinner menu, which comes with asparagus too.)
Choi thinks the price is warranted since the two slices are the equivalent of about five to six pieces of regular bacon.
“It’s almost like a bacon steak,” Choi said. “I don’t recommend anyone eat that alone since it’s meant for two people.”
Five years ago, Choi and his business partner Chaiporn Kitsadaviseksak started serving “millionaire’s bacon” at Sweet Maple before they started offering it at their other locations, including Blackwood, A Kitchen Story, Taylor Street Coffee Shop, Fred’s Coffee Shop, Berkeley Social Club and Kitchen Sunnyside.
“Millionaire’s bacon” may not be on the same level of fame as avocado toast, at least right now, but that might change as Choi and Kitsadaviseksak plan to open a ninth spot, called Fillmore Social Club, and serve the dish there, too.
Confident about his craft, Choi believes his customers think the trademarked item is worth the wait, and the people that complain about the price just haven’t experienced it yet.
http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Millionaires-bacon-new-avocado-toast-12235212.php
Wood.
