By Alaina Loughridge and Tyler Marion Photos by Wen McNally
The Tybee Isnd Bacon Cb
For the last couple of years, I have been hearing snatches of conversation
about a secret club involving bacon. I kind of just blew it off because I could
not believe that such a unicorn existed. Much to my delight, the rumors
and eavesdropping all turned out to my benefit, and my cohort-in-crime and
head chef here at the Beachcomber HQ, C.J., and I were officially invited
to the February Tybee Island Bacon Club Meeting! The rules are you show
up with something that includes a minimum of one pound of bacon and
whatever you want to drink. Bloody’s and Mimosas are encouraged and at
8:30am, more than welcome! Well, I wasn’t going in without representing the
Beachcomber properly! C.J. and I had three weeks’ notice to get prepared.
We started out with a Bacon Mac & Cheese recipe in the slow cooker. It
was good, but it could have been better and the gut bomb of it all was just
too much. That led to a Bacon & Blackberry Preserve with Brie on Crunchy
Toast recipe, which was awesome! However, the transportation of it would
have been awkward and cold. Then we tried the Bacon and Beer Cupcakes!
That was just a sugar hell and I’m still cleaning frosting off the walls. Time
was running out when C.J. had an epiphany: How about a Beer & Bacon
Cake? It wasn’t pretty. At all. However, it did turn out really moist and yummy.
We were happy with it as long as you didn’t look at it. The day and the time
came and off we rolled …
Who would have thought that you could roll up to a party at 8:30 in the
morning? Kyle and Cindy were our hosts and a bunch of people were
already there. Food was everywhere and the champagne corks were
popping! Tyler Marion, the coordinator and bacon beast behind this idea,
introduced himself and his dish, Deep Fried Bacon Jalapeno Cheese Grits,
served topped off with Salsa Verde.
Other people started pouring in the door. Tommy Thompson brought
Bacon Wrapped Fig Newtons. Mary McLemore brought Bacon Wrapped
Dates Baked with Brie. Mike and Pam brought a big hit of the day: Gnocchi
with Sautéed Mushrooms, Italian Pancetta, all fried and cooked up with
a Romano topping and everyone was in raptures over that. Until Frank F ing
Harris showed up with his Crab, Shrimp and Cheese Stuffed Tenderloin
Wrapped in Candied Bacon! It was so good that a moment of silence was
held inside my head. There was also Buffalo Bacon Chicken Dip, Cupcakes
with Bacon, salads, cake (ours), Hanging Bacon Strips for any and all to
swipe, as well as a Bacon Chex Mix delight that was just an easy grab from
hand-to-mouth every time you walked by the table, which was often! Just
WOW!!
In between stuffing my face with bacon, I did manage to squeeze in a glass
of champagne with The Bacon Man, Tyler Marion. He is the one to thank
for this shindig and I wanted to know how it all came about and why, after a
couple of years, am I just hearing about this???
Tyler was living in Kansas City when he had an idea to get his neighborhood
together for good times and good eats. Make it easy and fun for everyone.
Rotate hosts, use local ingredients when possible, don’t talk about Fight
Club … er … Bacon Club. It’s a local thing. When Tyler moved to Tybee in
November of 2007, it was a natural progression to start a Fight Club here
too! Meet your new neighbors over food and drink. Everyone must bring
8 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | MARCH 2020
bacon. How difficult can that be?
Through all of the years that Tyler has been doing this, he has seen and
tasted some winners and losers. The Bacon Moonshine was not a winner.
Then there was Bacon Ice Cream, Bacon Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie, Bacon
Fire Works, that is made of chilled caramelized bacon, skewered and dipped
in pop rocks, Bacon Dipped in Chocolate, Bacon Wrapped Tater Tots with
Cheese and Jalapenos… you see where we are going with this? If there
is an imagination and a will to eat, then it can be accomplished! As Doug
Grunwald’s wife Mimi says, “You can put bacon on anything and its good.
It’s the South.
Not open to everyone, The Tybee Island Bacon Club is for Tybee residents.
If you are interested in checking it out, please contact Tyler Marion on
Facebook. For our visitors here that are just hanging out for a minute, think
about starting your own Bacon Club back home. It really is a no fail - there is
bacon, friends, neighbors and mimosas! This really is a terrific way to meet
other people over a shared love of food. I met several new people and also
hooked up with old friends.
In retrospect, I believe Tyler has found the secret to world peace: Bacon.