Although we at MNN enthusiastically promote nutritious and planet-friendly eating, there are some food trends, healthy or not, that are too intriguing to ignore. This includes the phenomenon known as bacon mania in which an ordinary, underappreciated breakfast meat becomes an Internet meme, a rebellious anti-foodie statement and fodder for cookbooks, blogs, highly publicized events and numerous cheesy — or should we say meaty — novelty products. Although some may argue that the movement’s time has long come and gone, we’ve noticed that interest in “meat candy” has picked up steam again, thanks in part to a new bacon-heavy menu at a certain chain of popular diners. Is bacon mania back with an artery-clogging vengeance? We think so.

 

To mark the occasion, we’ve rounded up five of the most outrageously decadent items that have sprung from our national obsession with cured pork products — a “halal of shame,” if you will. Vegetarians and those who wish bacon mania would just go away once and for all, it’s time to avert your eyes. (Text: Matt Hickman)