24hrs News recently published the first episode of my saga to find Vancouver’s undiscovered bacon – Bacon Quest. You can download the original PDF HERE (or grab the full newspaper HERE,) or just keep reading for the unrated version.

Bacon Quest – the search for Vancouver’s undiscovered bacon.

Episode 1 – DB Bistro Moderne

To those that are allowed to even indulge, bacon is a many-splendored food. Doug Larson is quoted as saying “life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon.” Who are we to argue? That guy was an Olympic medalist!

In the upcoming six week adventure, we’re going to go for the gold and discover what only few mortals have ever dared – we’ll take you to places where the bacon’s even more special than it already is (if that’s even possible.)

So where to start? Unlike fine purveyors of steak, the thought of a ‘bacon house’ is only a dream. Being thought of mostly as a breakfast food, the mind immediately shifts to Vancouver’s myriad of breakfast places. There’s omletteries, waffle shops and even an International House of Pancakes but nothing that immediately screams out bacon. One place though, is what I’d call THE place for brunch, DB Bistro Moderne in Kitsilano. If anything bumping into the Chef de Cuisine Stephane Istel on his day off was a sign. The fact that he was donning a t-shirt that says ‘lardons give me hardons,’ sealed the deal, so I put him to the test and what I got was completely amazing. Two types of bacon sliced thick, the regular kind we’re all familiar with prepared sous-vide, and a Chinese-inspired variety, roasted, spiced, dipped in brine and braised. Both types made for a magical dining experience and a good start to the Bacon Quest.

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Raj Taneja is part technologist, part entrepreneur, part social media guru and part foodie. He runs urbanmixer.com and publishes a miscellany of his musings at raj.jp.