West of Motor City, Coast Packing Poised for NMRA/NMCA All-American Nationals Aug. 26-30; Feeding Need for Speed, #FatMap269 Flags Lard/Tallow Take-Out & Delivery Spots

View Taste the Difference – Martin (Takeout) Edition in a full screen map

The dog days of summer may be here, but humidity won’t sap the energy at the Arrington Performance NMRA/NMCA All-American Nationals presented by Force Engineering at Michigan’s US 131 Motorsports Park Aug. 26-30, as Coast Packing Company’s CEO Eric R. “Goose” Gustafson and his ’69 Noonan Hemi ProCharger Pro Mod Camaro waves the banner of “Takeout or Delivery” #FatMap269.

The Fastest Track in Michigan, 131 Motorsports Park in Martin hosts the second-to-last stop of the NMRA and NMCA tours, with the turbocharged, supercharged, and nitrous packed VP Racing Fuels Xtreme Pro Mods blazing the eighth-mile at more than 200 mph.  The Arrington Performance NMRA/NMCA All-American Nationals presented by Force Engineering will be conducted under safety guidelines to ensure everyone’s safety and comfort.

For the occasion, Coast has again whipped up its special online gastronomic compendium of  local spots where fans can “Taste the Difference” that lard and beef tallow make in popular dishes – dishes available by delivery or on a take-out basis (explore the #FatMap).

The 45 Greater Detroit area locations across 31 cities on #FatMap269 all feature dishes prepared with lard and/or beef tallow.  Likewise, in and around Chicago, #FatMap269 includes 96 locations dispersed across 40 cities.

In and around Detroit, Mercury Burger & Bar fries its tater tots in lard, Prime + Proper cooks up loaded beef fatpotatoes, Savant features beef fat fries, and Taqueria El Rey’s makes its refried beans and carnitas in lard.  At Grange Kitchen & Bar in Ann Arbor, lard gets liquid in cocktails made with bacon-infused Four Roses Bourbon.  At Eat, dinerscan add pork confit to any dish, the better to accompany its lard crust pies.  In Lansing, Dagwood’s Tavern makes its fries in a lard blend, while Joebar in Hazel Park assembles a classic Cuban sandwich with pork confit brined for 24 hours, then slow-cooked in pork fat with spices.  Not to be outdone, Ackroyd’s Scottish Bakery in Redford Charter Township cooks up a traditional and savory haggis with a blend of steel-cut oats, suet, lamb rib meat, and more.

In Chicago, beef tallow fries are having quite a few moments, at spots like BoeufHaus, Au Cheval, DMK Burger Bar,PORTER Kitchen & Deck, Punch House, Range, Tack Room, and Top-Notch Beefburgers.  Big Jones bakes its skillet cornbread and fried chicken in bacon fat; Burger Bar Chicago’s Bacon brioche bun folds bacon fat inside the dough, while the Stan’s Donuts & Coffee chain uses lard in the dough of its conventional yeast-raised donuts.  Beef fat is the common theme for Small Cheval’s burger patties and Fry the Coop’s chicken and fries. Empire in Naperville stocks its fryers with beef fat, and Labriola Bakery & Café in Oak Brook prepares its roasted potatoes, chips and fries in, yes, beef fat.

Check the fryers at the chains Buffalo Wild Wings, Outback Steakhouse, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, and Portillo’s Hot Dogs — and you’ll find plenty of beef tallow there.  Ever true to pork, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store cooks with lard.