The mere sound of bacon sizzling in a hot skillet can make anyone feel like a dog begging for treats. Now, imagine a festival that brings together the savory flavor of bacon and the crispness of ice cold beer. Sound too good to be true? Think again.
Story by Esmeralda Coronado
Photos courtesy of Edible Austin

What: The Austin Bacon & Beer Festival
Where: The Marchesa
When: Feb. 22 from 2:30 p.m. –  5 p.m.
Tickets: $40

Local food magazine Edible Austin and Eat Boston, a food events company, are partnering up to host the Austin Bacon and Beer festival, featuring bacon dishes and craft brews from Austin restaurants and breweries. A portion of the proceeds benefit the Capital Area Food Bank. Eat Boston’s co-founder Aaron Cohen says the company originally started the Bacon and Beer festival in Boston a few years ago and hosts the event every few months in a new city to raise money for local non-profits. “I started doing the events when I had a ‘real’ job, so it made sense to give back to the community. And restaurants, breweries and other small businesses are always very supportive of their community,” he says.

There are over 30 restaurants and breweries participating in the festival from the Austin area, including The Noble Pig, Barlatas Tapas Bar, Independence Brewing Co. and South Austin Brewing Co. Frank, a nationally recognized restaurant in the heart of downtown, specializing in sausages, hot dogs and cold beer will also be in attendance. Frank’s owner, Daniel Northcutt, says the restaurant plans to cure its own bacon and make bacon sausage for the festival, but he would not reveal what dish they plan to feature for the event.

Northcutt says he will be tweeting the description of their dish to @hotdogscoldbeer on the day of the festival. Although Frank is juggling a few different projects, including catering for South by Southwest, Northcutt says there is “no way in heck I wouldn’t be there.”

Austin Bacon and Beer is a 21 and up event.

Edible Austin’s marketing assistant Shannon Kintner, who helped plan the first annual Bacon and Beer Festival this weekend, says that she is expecting the event to sell out, so interested participants should buy their tickets soon.

“Everyone loves bacon and beer,” she adds.