We Love it When Pigs Fly: The Bacon of the Month Club is Here!

Win is a huge bacon lover. OK, maybe not as huge as this person, but still he's right up there. So it seemed only fitting that at some point he be enrolled in the Grateful Palate Bacon of the Month Club. You might remember that we recently purchased a Wine Grab Bag from them and were pleased with the results. We're just starting our Bacon of the Month Club subscription and so far, so tasty.

When Win's membership began, he received a club membership certificate, a bacon t-shirt, a cute little toy pig, and a Bacon of the Month club pen that glows a bright pink when you press down to write. Now honestly all this is very cute, but Win really just is interested in the artisanal bacon being delivered to our door each month. As such, I have commandeered the little pig toy and cool pig pen to carry in my diaper bag and whip out when Lima needs a quick diversion. Oddly enough, a glowing pig pen can really perk up the spirits of a fussy toddler.



Recently, our first month's supply of bacon came. It's Swiss Meat's Hickory Smoked Honey Cured Bacon. Swiss Meat and Sausage Company is a family-run business located in Swiss, Missouri. The Grateful Palate literature that accompanied this bacon promised a "wonderfully sweet bacon with an almost soft, creamy texture." I'm not enough of a bacon connoisseur to be able to detect a "soft, creamy texture" to bacon but I was able to tell it was very high quality and delicious. Win, much more of a bacon connoisseur than I, agreed and loved it.

If the bacon in the photo above seems a bit overcooked to you, don't fret. I like my bacon on the more well-done side and Win kindly obliged by cooking mine this way. He'll eat the rest of this month's supply a little less done and more to his taste.

So far, the quality of our Grateful Palate products has been outstanding. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that I did have a problem with how I was billed for shipping charges though. When I placed my order, I received an online invoice quoting a certain shipping charge. It seemed low to me, so (expecting to pay more) I inquired about it but didn't hear back from the company. As such, I assumed that this lower rate was the amount I would be billed. When my credit card bill came, the shipping charges were much higher than originally stated. I checked with the company and these charges were in fact correct, since bacon needs to be sent via 2-day UPS and those rates are higher. The problem was twofold: The Grateful Palate web site wasn't clear in how shipping charges were tabulated when you ordered multiple products (in our case the wine and bacon) and they never got back to me on my initial shipping charges inquiry leaving me to assume the initial price quote was correct. I was prepared to pay the full amount for shipping, and when I never heard from them my larger than expected credit card bill was a shock. In any event, the company assures me they have changed their web site and problems such as this one will be avoided in the future. We've been quite happy with their products so far; I just mention this so that anyone else who orders from them knows to check out the shipping charges carefully.

I was pleased that his first month's supply was a hit and we're looking forward to seeing what comes in the mail next month.