Yes: it's real. And I have one. Walking into Bittersweet for to purchase a brownie, I let my gaze pass over the right-hand wall, the one on which the milk chocolate bars are displayed (the dark bars, being more sinister, get the left). As soon as I saw the audacious flume of bacon, depicted on the bar's box as if spilling uncontrollably forth from the bottom, and in its force widening its way as it went, with a slight curve to its course as if the cover captured a shock of auburn hair mid-flip and all without care, saw the bacon still glistening with the sheen of dripping grease, and the whole of the most variegated, seductive coloration, juxtaposed to a pleasingly asymmetrical near-rectangle of chocolate embossed with the chocolatier's pretentious name (it remains unclear to me why a Chicago-based operation has taken its name from a French mountain range, as this can only lead to mispronunciation, especially in a city with a street named after celebrated author GoEEthee), and the understated, descriptive title announcing the contents as "Mo's Bacon Bar", I could not prevent myself from making the purchase.
It is, in fact, not bad at all. The bacon provides almost more a textural element than one of flavor; or at least, the flavor it is contributing is hard to separate out from that of the smoked salt. If anything, it's too salty; saltier even than your average chocolate-covered pretzel.
Ouch! Did it cost you seven bucks? Seems a bit steep. Sounds tasty tho. How (to the best of your descriptive abilities) does on pronounce the name of that French range? I have wondered about it every time I've seen it written out.
Posted by: The Modesto Kid | August 26, 2007 at 05:42 AM
It cost me eight.
I pronounce the French range like "Vozh"; that's a long "o" and the "zh" is the fricative in "asia". (Wikipedia informs me that it's called the voiced postalveolar fricative and is written like "ʒ".)
Posted by: ben wolfson | August 26, 2007 at 01:48 PM
whole foods is pushing these like crazy here, and i think at six a pop. come to chicago.
Posted by: tammy | August 27, 2007 at 11:07 AM
Clearly.
Posted by: ben wolfson | August 27, 2007 at 08:30 PM
Dear God almighty. Where can I find one of these treif delicacies? I can hardly wait.
Posted by: Kara | August 29, 2007 at 06:08 PM
I got mine at Bittersweet, but they do stock Vosges stuff at Whole Foods even if you're not in Chicago, apparently, though who knows if they're still cheaper out west.
Posted by: ben wolfson | August 29, 2007 at 07:42 PM