Vancouver’s 7 Best Bacon Dishes

Get your bacon seven ways in seven days

There’s no question that bacon is not just for breakfast anymore. We still love it on our plates as smoky side, especially when nestled next to sunny-side up eggs. But why keep bacon separate when it’s so much better blended into a dish, where all ingredients can be anointed with its porky goodness. From breakfast to booze, here are seven ways – in seven days – to fill your bacon quotient.

Day 1: The Bacon & Egger at Deacon’s Corner

While the Golden Arches’ breakfast sandwich probably inspired the Bacon & Egger, the version at Deacon’s has the Midas touch. Golden eggs and slices of bacon – not some preformed patty – are nestled between an English muffin and swaddled in paper to keep it all together. Hold it in both hands and make sure to inhale a whiff of bacon before your take that first bite.

101 Main St., Vancouver, 604.684.1555

Day 2: The Iceberg Wedge at Joe Fortes

The iceberg wedge salad is a classic that’s making a comeback, but don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s healthy. At Joe Fortes, the wedge is practically a still-life painting on a plate, a van Dyck for gourmets. The pale green crunchy lettuce is flecked with sweet red tomato, bedecked with crispy, double-smoked bacon and crowned with creamy blue cheese dressing. Every forkful combines the sweet, smoky, sharp and salty flavours, which makes it a delight to deconstruct and devour this an artful entrée.

777 Thurlow Street, Vancouver, 604.669.1940

Day 3: The Apple Bacon Fritter at Lucky’s Doughnuts

Sometimes you want some sweet with your meat. Or is it the other way around? No matter, Lucky’s Doughnuts has you covered on all fronts with its Apple Bacon Fritter, an ideal treat that will jolt some sugar and salt into your veins. It’s not the only bacon doughnut in town, but what makes it stand out is its full integration of bacon with apple inside the fritter and maple glaze and bacon on the outside. All of Lucky’s confections are made the old-fashioned way from scratch, just like mama used to do.

2902 Main Street (Forty Ninth Parallel Café), 604.872.4901, 2198 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, 604.420.4901

Day 4: The Alambre at Salsa and Agave

It can be hard to find comfort food that’s not a carb bomb, especially at a Mexican restaurant. There’s no rice or beans in the Alambre, a specialty that’s essentially a scramble of grilled beef, peppers, onion, ham and bacon (add cheese for an extra buck; it’s well worth it). Bacon isn’t a pork product that figures prominently in Mexican fare, but at Salsa and Agave it lends an extra level of smoky contrast to the sweet onions and peppers in this dish. Wrap the mix in the tortillas that come with, or eat it on its own for a low-carb meal.

1205 Pacific Boulevard, Vancouver, 604-408-4228

Day 5: The Rabbit & Bacon Terrine at the Fat Badger

Sometimes you want something a little more refined with your pint of beer instead of the usual uninspired pub fare. And The Fat Badger delivers. One of its standout snacks is the Rabbit & Bacon Terrine, which is as appealing on the plate as it is tasty. The moreish melange of meats is married with pickled rhubarb; the tartness is a perfect counterpoint for such a creamy concoction.

1616 Alberni Street, Vancouver, 604.336.5577

Day 6: The Bacon Poutine at La Belle Patate

Depending on whom you ask, poutine has outpaced pizza as a late-night snack that revellers often seek out to satisfy post-drinking cravings and soak up excess alcohol. At La Belle Patate, traditional Quebecois poutine ticks the boxes with its crispy fries, squeaky cheese curds, rich gravy and that meaty mainstay: bacon. And although this Davie Street eatery is open Saturday night until 3 a.m., we’re happy to report that inebriated night owls aren’t its only clientele. Daytime dwellers chow down here, too.

1215 Davie St., Vancouver, 604.569.1215

Day 7: The Smoky Bacon Caesar at The Wolf & Hound

In our books, nothing says “hair of the dog” quite like a Caesar. And while some bars go crazy with garnishes, the clam-tomato-vodka version The Wolf and Hound serves at brunch packs a punch with double shot of bacon. Award-winning Bakon Vodka (distilled in Seattle) brings boozy-bacony flavour to the mix, chipotle Tabasco adds smoke and heat and the garnish – a crispy slice of bacon, of course – makes this a hangover cure in a glass. The menu even endorses its healing powers, offering “hangover Caesars” for just $3.99 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. during Sunday brunch.

3617 West Broadway, 604.738.8909