On one of my recent outings to Whole Foods, I accidentally found myself in the chocolate section. Okay, it wasn’t really an accident. I took my sweet time, letting my mind soak in the hundreds of chocolate bars lingering within reach. I started dreaming about their smooth, creamy interiors when my daydream was rudely interrupted by a single word – Bacon. What the heck was bacon doing in the chocolate section?

A side note – I’m a huge fan of bacon. I love sautéing shallots (or just about anything else) in rendered bacon fat. I’m even guilty of keeping a small container of bacon fat in my refrigerator just in case. It gives shallots a salty, smoky flavor that I adore. Toss in some fresh thyme, and you’re in business. Fabrice recently shared his thoughts with me on our American addition to bacon. He said the easiest way to torture Americans is to take away their bacon. He’s right, you know.

But back to bacon and chocolate. Vosges, a small haut chocolate company out of Chicago, has recently released their Mo’s Bacon Bar. A mixture of dark and milk chocolate surrounds tiny pieces of apple wood smoked bacon and alder wood smoked salt. My mind started humming – wondering about the sweet and salty combination on my tongue. In quickly grabbed a bar and headed to the cash register.

$6.99 later I had the chocolate bar in hand, ready to experiment. I gingerly tore off the paper surrounding the bar and inhaled its deep chocolaty scent. No hint of bacon on the nose, but maybe that came later. I snapped on a generous square and took a small bite, letting the creamy chocolate slowly melt on my tongue. It tasted like normal chocolate – intense, rich and smooth.

But as soon as I began to chew, everything changed. Teeny tiny crunchy bits of smoky bacon were laced throughout the bite, turning the sweet to salty. At first my taste buds couldn’t decide rather to rejoice or revolt. It took me a few minutes to process all the data being sent to my brain. I swallowed and came to a conclusion – I really liked it.

Taking another bigger bite, I chewed this time. The contrasts in both texture and flavor really started to sing. I found myself swooning slightly and a smile crept over my lips. As I enjoyed the new combination, I carefully watched the reaction of my chocolate-tasting companions. One had her face screwed up in horror while the other pondered the contrasts. While she couldn’t wait to be as far from the bar as possible, he thought the combination was interesting, but not enough to go out and buy one.

Lucky me. I was left with the remainder of the bar, which gradually disappeared over the next couple days. Who knew that bacon and chocolate could be such great partners? Thank goodness people like Katrina over at Vosges Chocolate takes risks!

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