Bacon lovers throughout the community who just can’t seem to get enough of those crispy strips will be happy to know that downtown Turlock can’t seem to get enough either.

During the first ever Downtown Turlock Bacon Week, the Turlock Downtown Property Owners Association will be promoting local restaurants and bars, which will be featuring bacon or pork bellies on their menus throughout the week.  

As a promotional event, Downtown Turlock Bacon Week is not only aimed at encouraging local and out-of-town residents to eat and drink in downtown Turlock, but also to benefit local charities through the sale of T-shirts available at booster.com/turlockbaconweek for $20. 

The four charities that will benefit during the week are Turlock Gospel Mission, Jessica’s House, Friends of the Turlock Animal Shelter, and the Alzheimer’s Aid Society of Northern California.

“These are charities that are near and dear to some of the restaurant owners,” said TDPOA Director Gina Loretelli.

For Downtown Turlock Bacon Week, Dust Bowl Brewing Company will be starting off each diner’s bacon adventure with “Bacon on a Stick” appetizers featuring thick-cut bacon that has been dusted and roasted with brown sugar, cumin, cayenne, and thyme.

As soon as each stick has been nibbled clean, bacon lovers will only have to wait for the next course to take a bite out of three pork belly sliders that have been made with roasted pork belly seasoned with sesame seed oil, a salt and pepper rub and topped with fresh radish, cucumber, carrots, and cilantro, and drizzled with an Asian apple cider sauce.

Both the bacon and pork belly are locally sourced from National Market in Turlock. Those of legal age will also be able to complete their meal with a 12 oz. house beer of their choice.

“Dust Bowl Brewing Company wanted to be part of an effort to bring our community downtown,” said Dust Bowl owner Brett Honore. “We thought the theme was fun—everyone loves bacon!”

“The spirit of the event brings our downtown restaurants and bars together in a way that has not been done before. Each establishment gets to put their own twist on the same ingredient, which makes it engaging to our local diners. We’re excited to see where this event will lead us in the future,” continued Honore.

Just down Main Street, 10 EAST Kitchen & Tap House will also be participating in Downtown Turlock Bacon Week. Over the course of the four-day event, hungry customers will be able to dig in to pork belly and waffles topped with a Dust Bowl Scotch Ale maple reduction.

To accompany the main dish, 10 EAST will be serving a Rush Hour Bacon Breakfast Stout from Tioga Sequoia Craft Brewery and each meal will be delightfully completed with double dark chocolate candied bacon ice cream from Oak Barrel Ice & Creamery.

“I hope the community gets a chance to go to all of the restaurants who are participating in Downtown Turlock Bacon Week,” said Titus Striplin, consulting partner at 10 EAST. “We built the event for four days with the hope that people will check out what everybody is doing.”

“The most important thing about this week is building a sense of community in the downtown dining district and bringing the restaurants together for a unified dining scene,” continued Striplin.

Bistro 234 will also be participating in Downtown Turlock Bacon Week, with plans to delight bacon fanatics with a crispy maple bacon appetizer topped with fig jam, apricot brandy pork belly entree, and vanilla maple bacon ice cream.

“Other than the obvious reasons of benefitting the numerous charities involved, this event allows everyone to come together and show the value of downtown Turlock,” said Bistro 234 executive chef Leroy Walker. “I’ve lived in Turlock my whole life and it surprises me that there is still a portion of Turlock that has no idea that Main Street exists.”

“We need to show them what Main Street has to offer. There is something genuinely good going on in downtown Turlock,” continued Walker.

Dust Bowl Brewing Company, 10 EAST Kitchen & Tap House, and Bistro 234 also report that they will all be offering their bacon-infused meals for $20.90 as a nod to the “209” local community.

Red Brick Bar & Grill will also feature bacon on its menu throughout the week, with culinary items that will wow local bacon lovers, such as bacon wrapped sirloin served with the restaurant’s signature sautéed vegetable medley and a choice of starch.

Red Brick customers can also choose to indulge in grilled bacon wrapped shrimp drizzled with a sweet Hawaiian glaze or the restaurant’s signature Western burger, which is an 8 oz patty piled high with grilled onions, mushrooms, bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, cheddar cheese and onion rings.

Other restaurants that will be participating in Downtown Turlock Bacon Week include Main Street Footers, which will be serving their surprisingly delicious Peanut Butter and Jelly Footer, a regular menu item topped with grape jelly, peanut butter, bacon, and cheese; Ju Ju Thai Cuisine, which will be serving a bacon wrap filled with cucumbers, cilantro, carrots, bell peppers, avocados, and bacon, that has been marinated with a special sauce and served with a side of peanut sauce; and Memo’s Cocina and Tequila Bar, which will be serving pork belly and sweet roasted potatoes.

The bar scene is also set to incorporate bacon during Downtown Turlock Bacon Week, as both The Udder Place and Staley’s Club will be serving Bloody Mary’s with bacon in them.

“I am always happy to participate in these types of events because the city needs to continue promoting things that affect downtown Turlock,” said Staley’s Club owner Alice Rebensdorf.

According to Loretelli, customers who fill out a punch card detailing their visits to at least four restaurants during Downtown Turlock Bacon Week will also be entered in to a raffle. Customers can drop of their finished cards at any participating establishment.

Downtown Turlock Bacon week will take place from Wednesday to Saturday. For more information, visit turlockbaconweek.com.

“I think an event like this will offer the community a great sense of pride in their downtown, not only that Turlock has some wonderful establishments with unique flavors, but also pride that everyone really cares for the success of others and wants everyone to do well,” said Loretelli.