Momservation: You had me at candy bacon.
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If you got it, you might as well flaunt it.
Lazy Dog Restaurants know they have a good thing with their maple bacon. So the first thing they set in front of me as an invited guest to their Fall Menu Sneak Peek 2018 at their Folsom, CA location was a stiff Maple Bacon Old Fashioned.
The bacon candy (they literally call it Bacon Candy on their menu) also made an appearance on the lightly fried and delectable Crispy Deviled Eggs they served next along with Roasted Winter Veggies that will make you declare that fall is deliciously in season.
Candied bacon again showed up in one of the three entrée options, the PB & J Burger which my guest and I passed on as a little too adventurous and not very fall-like. They had me at bacon candy but lost me when it was paired with beef, lettuce, tomato and peanut butter and grape jelly.
It was the only miss for me on a seasonal fall menu that was packed with creative and appetizing offerings that reflect a regular menu that makes it so hard to choose where to start.
The “scratch kitchen” known for chef Gabe Caliendo’s delicious farm-to-fork inspired dishes rarely misses. Lazy Dog Restaurants make most everything in house including their signature Maple Bacon Old Fashioned and the vanilla bean ice cream and salted caramel sauce with the Apple-Huckleberry pie.
Inspired by owner Chris Simms’ skiing experiences in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the family-run elegantly rustic restaurant wants you to feel like you just stepped into the Four Seasons after a day of skiing ready to eat. Says Simms: “Just like the lodge in Jackson Hole, the Lazy Dog offers the perfect environment for all ages, making the entire restaurant the place to be for a quick dinner with the family, a meandering meal with friends or a night out on the town.”
Fall is my favorite season and what better way to greet it than with a Pomegranate Punch, Cornish Game Hen with apple-sage gravy, and Apple-Huckleberry Open Face Pie?
While my guest and I enjoyed sampling the three seasonal drink offerings that also included a tasty Meyer Lemon Margarita, we had a new favorite when the Crispy Deviled Eggs arrived lightly fried and topped with smoked paprika and the bacon candy.
“This is what fair food aspires to be,” I said as the comfort food took on a new and melt-in-your-mouth twist that wasn’t too greasy or heavy.
The oven roasted Cornish Game Hen looked, smelled and tasted divine with the complimentary sweet corn stuffing sprinkled with sausage and feta and that oh-so-yummy apple-sage gravy.
I had the Spaghetti Squash & Beetballs to see if it was something my vegetarian daughter would want to order on our next visit. I was also curious to see if a “beetball” could compare to a real meatball for this lover of the traditional spaghetti and meatball dish. The beetball surprisingly held its own, tasting remarkable similar to a crispy on the outside, hearty on the inside meatball. The dish made with spaghetti squash, zucchini ribbons tossed with olive oil, garlic and marinara and topped with romano cheese, pesto, toasted pumpkin seeds and balsamic reduction will definitely please both vegans and vegetarians.
Another dish for selective eaters, the Seven-Layer Chocolate Cake that is gluten sensitive, certainly sounded delicious enough for mainstream with Nutella buttercream, almond flour chocolate cake, raspberry sauce and whipped cream. But my guest and I couldn’t resist the taste of fall offered by the Apple-Huckleberry Open Face Pie served warm with the homemade salted caramel sauce and vanilla bean ice cream.
Don’t have a Lazy Dog Restaurant near you? Neither do I. But this is the second time I have traveled out of my regular, habitual dining radius (by a good half hour) because I won’t say no to this fabulous restaurant. The fantastic food offerings, the upscale rustic ambiance, and for a limited time the new fall seasonal menu offerings were a dining adventure worth traveling for.
Both the Folsom (300 Palladio Pkwy) and Roseville Lazy Dog locations (238 Gibson Dr.) in the greater Sacramento area are beautiful and inviting with three distinct dining areas in one: The festive bar area for a livelier evening, a family dining area with acoustics for table conversations, and the après ski inspired patio area with fire pit for year-round outdoor dining (and a dog menu!).
To find one of the 26 Lazy Dog Restaurant locations near you visit LazyDogRestaurants.com. for your next great dining experience.
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