For years, Bac-Os have been the cool friend salad gets to hang out with, so naturally, it's a beloved name in food. This week we try a different sort of Bacos — that's what Chicago's Saucy Porka restaurant calls its bao-taco hybrids.
Ian: This does pretty well even in the most competitive food category: things that start with b-a-c-o-.
Peter: This is much more convenient than what I used to do, which was trying to breed takeout from Wao Bao and Taco Bell.
![One of Peter's eyebrows enjoys the taco side while the other enjoys the bao side.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2deffca/2147483647/strip/true/crop/582x436+0+0/resize/880x659!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2014%2F11%2F03%2Fimg_0050-4ecaf5d51ad828d5d5660a98e93a1373acb7cc81.jpg)
Miles: This is my favorite Mexican/Asian hybrid since the Oscar-winning film Y Tu Godzilla Tambien.
Ann: This is my favorite Latin/Asian hybrid since Alberto Fujimori. Just kidding. He was a mean dictator.
Peter: These are good, but I'm concerned about the trend of combining national cuisines. If this continues, every restaurant will be serving the same food: an enormous bucket of everything.
![Here's what happened: I was trying to take a photo of the Bacos, and God himself reached down from the heavens and stole one.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ca9e182/2147483647/strip/true/crop/636x477+0+0/resize/880x660!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2014%2F11%2F03%2Fimg_0046-8373d60b740dda74121b51ad3ff9c362a932918e.jpg)
Miles: It's traditional to pick up Bacos with one hand and one chopstick.
Peter: The bao bun is like a soft, comfy pillow. It's as if they wanted the fillings to have a nice nap.
Eva: A bun filled with pork carnitas is a beautiful analogy for each of us after lunch.
Peter: I'm glad we have the word "fusion," otherwise we'd be calling these things "conjoined cuisine."
![Ann wonders: Why do we always stop at two cuisines with fusion food. What about a gefiltebacoguettezzabangeroutine?](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f53605b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/638x478+0+0/resize/880x659!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2014%2F11%2F03%2Fimg_0056-d854108914d4795d6de9bf4caa2091bbac149a55.jpg)
Ian: I'm all for fusion food, but when will scientists finally achieve fission food?
Peter: Yeah, I hate it when it gets cold and it's cold fusion food.
[The verdict: fantastic. And it's amazing that 2 million years after we first started using tools, we're still using food to pick up other food.]
Sandwich Monday is a satirical feature from the humorists at Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me!
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