The Shakin Bacon

Since bacon is in the name, let’s start there. The bacon is caramelized with a hint of maple making it a bit sweeter than the average bacon. Which is fitting since this isn’t your average bacon! A sweeter bacon sounded a little strange yet intriguing to me at first but after I tried it, there was no question I loved it. Ordered a tasty burger (with bacon, of course), the patties are thick and juicy, the fries are pretty good too as they’re lightly seasoned.
The only downside of the visit was the wait time during lunch (we didn’t think to call in our order). To be fair, it was poor planning on our part since we visited on the Friday following their appearance in the Times Union which generated a mob they probably weren’t expecting. The food was so good that one experience with wait time won’t stop me from going back.
It’s a small space with just counter-​top seats for about twelve people so the large majority of orders are to go.
Will update this review after I’ve had a chance to go back!

I stopped in for an egg sandwich on my way to work thinking, «Hey — egg sandwich!» The folks were nice enough and the service was fairly quick, even though they were pretty busy with phone orders coming in. Without looking at the menu, I ordered bacon, eggs, and cheese on a roll. When I opened it up, it seemed a bit greasy (which is NOT a problem… this is an egg sandwich, after all). But when I bit into it, all I could taste was a surprising and unwanted sweetness — maple, maybe? — which I soon identified as coming from the bacon. I took the bacon off and the ate the rest… it was fine, but still had some of that sweetness left in a couple of bites. Even though I didn’t eat it, the bacon was a little floppier than I would have liked, but I didn’t order it well done… that’s on me and I’ll know for next time. But the sweetness? Why?! I looked at the menu on the website and noticed it actually says «caramelized bacon» — whatever that means — so I’m guessing that’s where the cloying sweetness comes in. I dig maple syrup on my bacon from time to time, but this was too much, just off somehow. Please stop doing whatever it is you’re doing to the poor, innocent bacon! And then I can come back and not get diabetes and sadness from my egg sandwich. Or, at a minimum, put up a sign or let people know somehow that this is how it comes. The specials board only mentioned «bacon» — nothing about caramelized anything. I’d really love to have a place like this to patronize, especially because the choices in the immediate area are few and not that awesome, but this bacon thing gives me pause. It’s an egg sandwich — no need to fancy it up; just do it well. But then, I come from a land where egg sandwiches are sacred. (And, like, 5 bucks for an egg sandwich? That’s kind of a lot. I’m happy to pay for quality, but… eh.) I’ll give The Shakin Bacon another try, but I won’t likely be having bacon, and I’ll also give them some time to adjust to turning out a higher volume of orders.

On very short notice, the Chef exceeded all expectations. Off site catering for 40 people has never been so easy. Highly recommend the chicken marsala and deli sliders.