Usually dessert brings to mind sweet and sugary, not smoky and charbroiled. So I was intrigued when I heard about Burger King’s new bacon sundae. Little did I know Burger King already has fierce competition on the bacon-dessert front, and it comes from Flip Side, the burger joint that opened at Easton in March. Flip Side has a milkshake with bacon-infused vodka mixed in, so I tried both to find out if bacon and dessert really can go hand in hand.
Burger King Bacon Sundae
Price: $2.49
Appearance: The sundae arrived in a small plastic cup with broken pieces of bacon scattered around the ice cream.
Ingredients: Vanilla ice cream, chocolate fudge, caramel syrup and bacon
Nutrition: 510 calories, 18 grams of fat
What I hoped it would be: I wanted to taste little bits of bacon mixed in with the ice cream.
What it actually was: It was jarring to taste plain vanilla and then smoky bacon. But the bacon seemed less forced when mixed in with a spoonful of caramel.
Rating: 2 out of 4 strips of bacon
Winner: Flip Side Vanilla-Date Shake with bacon vodka
Price: $8.50
Appearance: The eggshell-colored milkshake was served in a tall glass with a light sprinkling of dates on top.
Ingredients: 2 cups vanilla bean ice cream, a cup of Medjool dates and one shot of housemade bacon-infused vodka
Nutrition (estimated): 900-1,000 calories, roughly 28 grams of fat
What I hoped it would be: A subtle mix of bacon flavor that wouldn’t overpower the milkshake
What it actually was: The vanilla bean ended up being an interesting complement to the bacon flavor, and the vodka taste was stronger than I expected.
Rating: 3.5 out of 4 strips of bacon
Photos by Jodi Miller