News Flash! New Bacon!

It is well established that bacon is its own special Food Group. There are grains, veggies, fruits, dairy, meat - and then there's bacon. In a class all by itself.

So, when my regular supermarket, Andronico's, lovingly known as Astronomico's, offers a new brand of pastured, organic, (relatively) local bacon, I'm all over it. Llano Seco, a ranch in Chico, CA, has been offering pork products, mainly chops and spare ribs, at Andronico's for quite some time, and I've been happy to purchase them there, but the bacon is new to me. I snagged two packages on my way out.

I cooked one up to make a tarte flambée for a friend whose husband is terminally ill - yes, the bad news just keeps coming this year. Her husband loves goat cheese, so I knew just what to make. And you get the benefit of a review because, of course, I tasted a piece or two of the bacon as I put together the meal.

This is very thick-cut bacon, perhaps the thickest I have ever seen. It renders slowly and resists crisping - the ends were still flexible when the middle was ready. The taste is lively and fresh with sweet and salt flavors, light on the smoke. It worked like a champ on the tarte flambée, playing a savory symphony with the caramelized onions and tangy goat cheese.

I have the other pound in the freezer, which we will enjoy at a later date. For all the good reasons that well-produced meat offers, I can heartily recommend this bacon. The other Food Groups are fine, but bacon is the best.