Truffles n’ Bacon Café
Lumberjack Pancake – Bacon Jam, Bacon Butter, Pure Maple Syrup
Buttermilk Biscuit
Not Your Mama’s Grilled Cheese – Grilled Cheese Panini with Brisket, our Award-Winning Bacon Jam, Grilled Tomato and Sauteed Kale
Originally visited in June of 2014, the small restaurant toqued by Jackie Lin at that time inhabiting a space within Antiques at the Market, rumors of Truffles n’ Bacon Cafe relocating to a sprawling storefront on South Eastern immediately put a return on the agenda – an all new menu featuring expanded options as well as breakfast only serving to elevate intrigue stoked by the creativity and quality seen during my first dining experience.
For sure as ‘hidden in plain sight’ as the original, the 90+ seat cafe still tucked away from main throughways in a sizable strip-mall with nearby eateries and sports collectable stores seemingly doing good business, it was just after 1:15 that I walked through the glass doors of Truffles n’ Bacon and surprisingly greeted by name from across the room, the owner apparently a social media follower, it was with warm smiles that a choice of tables in the quarter-filled space was offered.
Gussied up with large-scale works from a local modernist as a light soundtrack helped mellow sounds from a kitchen twice the size of the entire original cafe, it was to an equally enlarged menu that eyes turned while sipping cucumber infused water, a bit of disappointment in the already-sold-out mac n’ cheese bites quickly resolved by selecting two entrees plus a flaky house-made biscuit served a la carte with a sidecar of honey.Told that portions run large, but not so large that “(I) couldn’t handle it,” from someone clearly amused by the eating exploits described on this site, it was nonetheless with wide-eyes that plates were received in short intervals, the two-top almost overwhelmed while the pate porting a fluffy buttermilk flapjack literally could not be seen when looking from top down.
Remiss to have passed up the signature bacon jam on visit one, and requesting it in place of the eggs and meat normally served alongside the Lumberjack, suffice it to say that the juxtaposition of savory and sweet is everything one would expect from the item’s description, and with a light bit of heat lingering on the finish the only question becomes how best to utilize the condiment, in this case gilding the edge of pillowy pancakes with great results on its own, but even better when mixed with housemade bacon butter and 100% pure maple syrup.
Taking note of French Toast for a future visit, and reluctantly omitting one of the best bread pudding presentations in Sin City as well as the warm brownie that saw me swoon just one year ago, it was to savories that attention was turned for entree number two and although a bit skeptical that the sandwich may have a bit too much going on, the “Not Your Mama’s Grilled Cheese” was actually a well-balanced update on an oft-riffed classic, the golden bread doing an excellent job of holding up to melted cheddar and juicy brisket while sauteed kale and sliced tomatoes added bitterness and acid to offset the another hefty layer of spicy bacon spread.
FOUR STARS: No longer limited by a tiny stall in an antiques market or a kitchen without a hood, Truffles n’ Bacon Cafe continues to execute upscale American classics at a great value with one eye on decadence and the other on balance. Though perhaps not as cute and kitsch as before, one must wonder just how far this team could go if given the right motivation and clientele.
RECOMMENDED: Lumberjack Pancake, Not Your Mama’s Grilled Cheese, Bread Pudding, Brownie (Previous Visit)
AVOID: N/A
TIP: Open at 8:30am daily with specials and catering service available. Jars of Bacon Jam also available for purchase in store.
http://www.trufflesnbacon.com/default.aspx
