Classics Countdown: Chicken Fried Bacon

Classics Countdown day 8 brings us some meaty goodness:

Chicken Friend Bacon

Location: Giggles Campfire Grill Southeast corner of Lee Ave. & Cooper St. at The North Woods


Sarah: I could literally write an entire post, an epic ode to Giggles and the delicious foods they serve, but for now, we’re just talking about Chicken Fried Bacon.

CFB is a newer classic, introduced in 2010. Strips of bacon are battered and seasoned with fried chicken batter, then deep fried, and severed with a maple glaze dipping sauce.

When it’s done right, it is sublime!

But some years it’s not quite up to par. The biggest problem that tends to crop up is being undercooked. When that happens, the batter falls off and the bacon is more chewy than crispy.

But when it’s done right, it’s so good that it’s worth trying every year, even if you get one that’s undercooked.


Anne: You might think having one bacon product on the list is sufficient, but if you think that then you HAVEN’T BEEN PAYING ATTENTION, READER.

Giggles is a smorgasbord of delicious items, and chicken fried bacon was the flagship item for us- it’s what brought us there and kept us going. Just imagine- take regular old, delicious bacon, and then dip it in a fried chicken batter, and then deep fry it. Serve it with some sort of cinnamon dipping sauce- delicious.

Like other bacon products, Chicken Fried Bacon is also hit and miss from year to year- usually due to under cooking (it needs to be crispy, not droopy), but when it’s fried to perfection it’s amazing. Also- you get like 6 pieces per order, so make sure to share because this is one of those items that can fill you up when you go it alone.


Patrick: This has been only around for a few years now, but it has quickly leapt to the top of the must-have classics list.

If you you’re going to mess with bacon, you might as well chicken fry it and dip it in sweet maple sauce.

Find it at Giggles, a vendor who I am pretty sure could fry up cow pies and batter it and it would become a State Fair staple. Seriously, Giggles serves out gold and you better go get a slice.

Classics Countdown: Big Fat Bacon

We're back! For more Classic Countdowns. We're starting today off with a goody:

Big Fat Bacon

Location: The Big Fat Bacon stand on South side of Carnes Ave. between Liggett & Nelson streets, in front of the DNR Building


Sarah: The BFB stand popped up a few years before the bacon craze really took off. And ohmygod it was so, so SO good that first year.

BFB is still pretty reliable. Some years they seem to miss the mark, but most years are really good and every once in a while there’s a stellar year where the bacon is just the Most. Perfect.

BFB is exactly what it sounds like: A thick cut slice of bacon, fried on a stick, drizzled with a sweet maple sauce. It’s crispy and chewy and sweet and you could eat four or five in one sitting and not even be sorry.


Anne: I know there’s like this foody push to consider bacon like over and done with but I am here to tell you that they’re wrong- bacon is NEVER over and done with! You can never have enough bacon. Viva el Tocino!

That being said, one of the best place to get bacon is at Big Fat Bacon. Yep- a stand that only sells one thing- a large, thick-cut slice of bacon on a stick. And I know it’s just bacon, but this bacon- you guys- it has some sort of glaze on it that’s sticky and sweet? And it’s perfectly fried.

I’ll admit- some years are better than others. But I have to get one every year because when it’s good…it’s real good. Some years I get 2!


Patrick: If you’re going to get bacon at the fair (and let’s be honest, there are more opportunities to get bacon in some form or another, than there are teats on the biggest boar at the fair), then Big Fat Bacon is the way to go.

Giant, thick cut bacon on a stick. Done, that’s it. No bells or whistles, just bacon being bacon, like it should be. Crispy, fatty, greasy. Done! Sentence fragments!