Usually at the Fair I find one or two items to taste-test every year. This year I have at least four items! And that doesn't even count the new "Gizzards and Livers" booth because I'm afraid I don't have the nerve.

The new Fair item you've been hearing the most about this year is the chocolate covered bacon. And despite all the hype I only saw it at one place ... the Fairgrounds Deli inside the Commercial/Educational building. $5 will get you three or four pieces of bacon, covered with chocolate.

Alas! Not hot, crispy bacon. Cold, floppy bacon. Covered with chocolate. I approached this with far less trepidation than I did the deep fried butter despite the fact that the times I eat bacon I prefer it hot and so crisp that it shatters when you try to cut it with a fork. (My husband informs me that bacon in that state is not "crisp," it is in fact "burned".)

First bite. Cold bacon is chewy, did you know that? The chocolate coating used on the bacon is really good -- sweet and tasty. This is not a cheap chocolate coating. Where the chocolate completely covers the bacon the balance of bacon and chocolate is almost perfect, salty and sweet. Where the chocolate does not cover the bacon, the chewy bacon-ness overwhelms the chocolate. I didn't find that good at all. Fortunately there was only a little part at the ends where this is the case.

Pretty good. I don't know if you'll want to go back and have seconds, but it's a nice Fair-only treat. Actually eating this made me think of days of bacon and pancake breakfasts, with maple syrup on the side, and getting a little syrup on the bacon. Did you ever try that? Wasn't it good? I wonder what maple fudge with bacon in it would taste like.