This past Saturday I attended the sold out Bacon & Beer Classic with the other 4500 attendees during my evening session. It was definitely not short on the fun factor list. I have attended many festivals in my time but Bacon & Beer Classic had me feeling like a kid again. The festival had all the right ingredients for a good ole time. There was bacon, beer, games, people in costumes, a photo booth and the ability to stand on the field. I’m still smiling from the experience.
A judging panel was present at each session selecting winners in both the food and beer categories. Judges for the first session consisted of Liza De Guia, the Founder/Chief Storyteller, food curated, Adam Poch, Bacon Minister/Bacon Connoisseur, Lisa Fernandes, Chef/Owner of Sweet Chili, Derrick Prince of Stanton Social/Masterchef season 2, David “The Rev” Cancio, Director of Marketing Schweid & Sons, James Tai, an independent craft beer consultant, Herb Karlitz, a food and beverage event marketer and owner of Karlitz & Company, and Chef Plum, who has been featured on many television segments and has a popular podcast called Plumluvfoods Live. Chef David DiBari, a chef in many NYC hotspots and a guest host on Toni On! New York (CBS local) and George Motz, an Emmy award-winning filmmaker who made the documentary Hamburger America joined the judging panel for the evening session.
The judges winning picks are as follows:
BRUNCH SESSION:
Best Sweet Dish- Pig Guy NYC– bacon s’mores on a stick
Best Savory Dish- BarBacon
Best Overall- Sweet Chili– “pork-gasm”
People’s Choice- Rudy’s Original Cheesecake Drops– bacon infused
Winning beers from Abita Brewing, Southern Tier Breweryand Original Sin Hard Cider.
EVENING SESSION:
Best Sweet Dish- Pig Guy NYC– bacon s’mores on a stick…Again!
Best Savory Dish- Hard Times Sundaes– with meat from Schweid and Sons
Best Overall- Route 66 Smokehouse
Best Use of Bacon- John’s of Times Square– pizza
My personal favorites and winners in my book were:
Happy Elephant Beer Company – Thai Wheat Beer
Jonas Bronck Beer Company – The New York Chocolate Egg Cream Stout – Contact Brewer Steve Nallen at Steve@metrocraftbeer.com or Brewer Ken Hettinger at Ken@bronxbeer.com for information on where to get either of these wonderful beers. Website: www.bronxbeer.com
Pig Guy NYC – Bacon s’mores on a stick. For further menu items and locations you can visit their website. http://www.pigguynyc.com/
If you weren’t able to make it to this one you can catch them at any of their other locations thru out the year. Sign up for their mailing list so that you will be the first to hear when Beer & Bacon Classic comes to your city. http://www.baconandbeerclassic.com/
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