Wendy's Bacon Deluxe

In interviews I'm often asked to explain why bacon is so popular at the moment. It's a topic I also explore in my book, Bacon: A Love Story.

In summary I think there are a few reasons why bacon is experience a culinary renaissance. Several Food Network chefs love bacon and talk about it all the time; more artisanal producers are selling bacon over the Internet; more people are cooking/eating at home because of the economy; there is a backlash in response to all the diets telling us we shouldn't eat bacon (among other things); and last, but not least, fast food restaurants.

Regarding the last point - fast food restaurants - several of the major chains have started to use bacon as a marketing tool in recent years. Understanding everyone loves bacon, and that bacon seems to be more popular than ever at the moment, savvy food marketers have jumped at the opportunity to use it as a product differentiator.

Although that's the case, in common fast-food style, many of these chains utilize some of the cheapest and therefore least appetizing forms of bacon. I personally don't eat at fast food establishments very often, but when I do I rarely have an interest in anything with bacon on it (which is obviously an unnatural instinct for me).

And my sense is that I'm not alone, because some of those same fast food chains are now upgrading their bacon, which is either due to a lackluster consumer response or because they've identified an opportunity to even further differentiate themselves by serving better bacon.

Which brings me to the purpose of this blog entry...Wendy's Bacon Deluxe. Wendy's famously introduced a sandwich called the Baconator not long ago - so they are clearly in the middle of the bacon/fast-food trend. Realizing they needed to upgrade their bacon offering to attract true bacon lovers, they recently introduced a new sandwich called the Bacon Deluxe featuring four strips of thick Applewood smoked bacon (which is also now served on their Bacon Mornin' Melt Panini).

A Wendy's rep contacted me recently and asked me to try this new sandwich (which they sent me gift cards to purchase, in the interest of full disclosure). I was hesitant at first just because I didn't want to be in an awkward position if I didn't like it. But I decided to give it a shot anyway. And I'm glad I did.

The Bacon Deluxe is as good as any bacon cheeseburger you would buy at a sit down chain restaurant. The bacon is not the cardboard-esque bacon often encountered at fast food restaurants - it's thick, has a nice fat/lean balance, and is cooked properly. It's simply good bacon.

So if you're a bacon snob like me and have avoided most fast food bacon as a result, I encourage you to give the Bacon Deluxe a chance.

By the way, follow my Twitter account @baconunwrapped tomorrow - I'll be giving away gift cards from Wendy's so you can go try the Bacon Deluxe yourself.

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