Review of Bacon Mania Food Truck and Dabling with the 7 Sins

There I was innocently working in my office and occasionally reading Drudgreport.com, getting the latest news and gossip. Of course the biggest news was Senator Weiner sending pictures of his package to young college girls on Twitter….what a dumbass. Believe it or not his name is Senator Weiner (life is sometimes poetic). This dude is definitely engaging in some of Dante’s 7-deadly sins of lust and pride. But enough gossip news, I was getting hungry and my smart phone was abuzz with twitter notifications about Food Truck arrivals. Today I tried a food truck I never tried before, the “Baconmania Truck”. You gotta love these guys basing their truck theme around one of the most glutinous foods around..BACON!

Cheese Crisp with Bacon

  As  usual, I chat it up with folks in line and ask them whats good.I received many suggestions including the “Bacon and Cheese Crisp”, which is shredded cheese melted on a grill and festooned with bacon. It is then quickly removed and cooled to form a crisp. Brilliant! The other recommended dish was the Chilli

Chilli..is that Senator Weiner in that suit?

Soup with included a couple of types of beans, bacon, sausage and some other mystery ingredients. The dude in the suit, who was chowing down, managed to mumble out that “it was some of the best chili he ever had” (not direct quote but close). I asked the truck owner what she recommended and I told her I wanted something big, one of their signature

dishes and NO PULLED PORK! The owner recommended a dish called the ”Rico”, which is a 1/2 pound hot dog, wrapped in bacon, smothered with sweet grilled onions, bacon chunks and grilled jalepenos. I also ordered “Rico”and the “Speedy Gonzalez” which is bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers.

When the order arrived, I was shocked by the size of this Hotdog. It was huge! (throw in your favorite “that’s what she said” joke here). As I walked back to the office, people were staring at my hotdog and a couple of women even stopped me and asked if they could take some pictures of my lunch. Instantly,  I had  thoughts of the twitterverse abuzz with pictures of me holding a giant bacon wrapped hotdog at waist level. This was not good, what if these pictures ever surfaced if I decide to run for President?

So enough of the thinly veiled food references to Senator Weiner, back to the Food Review…

“The Rico” a.k.a “The Senator”

"The Rico"hot dog. Giant 1/2 pound hot dog wrapped in bacon and smothered with grilled onions, more bacon and some jalapenos and chipotle dressing. This is the picture Senator Weiner should have been tweeting.

This beast of a hot dog shares its name with another weiner from the early 90′s, “Rico Suave”. This sleazy Latin pop star who wore excessively  tight leather sequenced pants, bandana and long greasy hair and suffered from the deadly sin of pride. “The Rico” hotdog is not far away from the singer in terms of greasiness and excess. It is served on a large hot dog bun, a small layer of grilled jalapenos, a 1/2 pound hand-knotted all-beef hot dog (wrapped in bacon),  grilled sweet brown onions, trimmed chunks of bacon and topped with a chipotle mayo sauce and a light dusting of paprika. This is one of the most formidable hot dogs I ever encountered, this thing is a beast. The size of the weiner was larger than a baby’s arm and the girth as thick and wide as a hot-sauce packet.

Bigger than my hand and bigger than a baby's arm

When I took my first bite, I first tasted  the savory fat flavors in the bacon and sweetness of the grilled onions. As I bit through the hot dog, I could taste the quality of the hot dog itself as the skin was firm and contents juicy.  The bacon wrapped around the hot dog added to the intensity of the flavors.  

It's thick and wide!

As I began to chew, the spiciness of jalapeno and chipotle dressing kicked in. The flavors were sweet, savory, spicy and fatty all in one beautiful mouthful! By the fourth bite, my mouth was starting to feel a little bit of the heat and sting of the spicy flavors. It was not so spicy that I wanted to stop eating, but rather spicy enough were you wanted to eat more. For a person who likes spicy, this is a walk in the park with a low-moderate level of heat.  For a person who doesn’t like spicy, you may request no jalapeno.  Just like “Rico Sauve”, “The Rico” hot dog will seduce you and tempt you to eat the whole thing. I tried to eat the whole thing and had to tap-out half-way through.

“The Speedy Gonzalez”

I needed a pair of side-kicks to go along with the giant hot dog I ordered, so I got a “Speedy Gonzalez”. This dish consists of two jalapeno stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped up in bacon and then deep-fried. The bacon is  crispy. When I took a bite, I experienced the crunchiness of the fried bacon, the firmness of the fresh jalapenos and the sweet gushiness of the cream cheese.

stuffed with cream cheese

The flavor was spicy, salty and creamy… a great combination. The frying had intensified the flavors of the jalapenos and were very noticeable despite the fatty flavors or cream cheese and bacon.  The jalapeno itself had a nice bright green color, indicating freshness.

These are definitely messy dishes and you should come with a bib. Right now, I am still experiencing the deadly sins of gluttony and sloth as I am paying for the my excesses this afternoon.  In a few minutes I will be going to 24-hour fitness once again to pay penance for my lunch-time sins.

 I will likely eat at the “Bacon Mania Truck” again and try new items and will tell my family and friends about it. This is a great truck with lots unique items that I would still like to try,  including the PBJ balls…. maybe next time.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Tom Holmberg

Food Blogger / Founder at Tom's Foodie Blog

Tom grew up in a cultural diverse neighborhood and a culturally diverse family, so he has learned to appreciate all types of food. "I am not a Chef, nor do I play one on T.V., but I have learned to appreciate food from years of eating and cooking." Tom also spent 10 years in the restaurant industry in various roles, from Prep Cook to server.

Latest posts by Tom Holmberg (see all)

• Father’s Day Idea: Big Bite Bacon Fest at San Diego County Fair - June 13, 2013
• Great Maple Restaurant – “From Great to Miserable” - June 10, 2013
• Sneak Peek of Provisions Market in Old Town Orange - May 23, 2013
• P.F. Chang’s New Summer Menu and $50 Gift Card Giveaway - May 20, 2013
• Meltdown on Kitchen Nightmares and Social Media: Lessons from Amy’s Baking Company - May 14, 2013