It looks like Variety Cafe (the giant generic Midtown Deli on 48th btw. 5+6th) has been closed by the department of health for the second time in 3 years. According to somebody on the scene they hung a sign in the window claiming the infractions were minor (like “leaving the cap off the orange juice”.) The sign had already been taken down by the time I got there.

In a stroke of brilliant marketing though, Channel Four (the pub next door that is famous for selling the “bacon explosion”) put one of their young lasses in front to hand out Channel Four flyers to all the confused Variety Cafe fans. You know it’s all fun and games until the DOH comes after you…

Related:
Tale of Two Signs: Variety Cafe Closes for “Repairs”
Original Variety Cafe Post (6/27/2006)

There’s a reason that most Midtown pubs are not considered Midtown Lunches.  First off, few serve lunch for under $10.  Tack on tax and tip, and you’re usually spending a ton of money for food that is fine by Midtown standards… but kind of boring.  And not better than what you can get for less at a real “Midtown Lunch” spot.  Sure, there is the added bonus of beer and TV during your lunch… but is that really worth paying $4 for a soda?  Yeah, that’s right… Channel Four (on 48th btw. 5+6th) charges $4 for a soda.  I know it’s expensive to run a restaurant in Midtown, and I won’t pretend to understand the financial difficulties of being in this high rent part of town. But $4 for a soda?  That says one thing to me… tourist trap. (Or, rich lawyer happy hour spot.) Either way it’s unforgivable.

But I’ll give credit where credit is due.  Channel Four stepped to the plate with this bacon explosion thing.  If you haven’t heard of the bacon explosion, it was one of those gross food sensations that hit the internets earlier in the year. Essentially a bacon wrapped, ground pork roll covered in BBQ sauce, Channel Four decided to recreate it for consumption in Midtown. (Amazing, right?)  Even more than that, they were willing to turn it into a sandwich (called the “Bacon Implosion”) and charge under $10 for it as part of our Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge.  So I swallowed my cheap bastard, Midtown Lunch’ing standards and stepped into Channel Four yesterday for a taste.

Be prepared to be rocked by the “Implosion” after the jump…

Yeah, I was a little disappointed too.  Not by the taste but by the look.  If something is called the “Bacon Implosion” it should be… well… I don’t know… grosser looking.  If the bacon implosion sounds good to you, and you like bar food- you’ll probably enjoy the sandwich.  The bread is what you would expect, and the most prominent flavor is less the bacon than the sweet and smokey BBQ sauce it’s covered in.  It’s moderately fatty, and overall pretty tasty… although I would have liked it to have more meat (surprise surprise.)  I’m sure they use quality ingredients, and good bacon and pork is not super cheap… so I won’t question.  But there is no doubt this sandwich would be 10 times better with 10 times the meat. (Hell, even twice the meat.)  Of course then it wouldn’t be under $10.

All in all it was a good BBQ bacon/pork sandwich, and the fresh fried potato chips and pickle make the whole thing worth the $9.95.  But it wasn’t the explosion of grossness I think a lot of people will be hoping for. Not enough pork, too much BBQ sauce flavor. If there is a ton of meat, the BBQ sauce flavor is perfectly fine. But if using high quality ingredients means the sandwich has less meat, I think I’d prefer the BBQ sauce flavor to be dialed back a bit- so we can taste the quality meat.

In the end if you normally like bar food, and bacon and pork, I would definitely recommend trying it at least once… but real Midtown Lunchers should take it to go.  If not, you may end up paying $4 for a soda!

Channel Four, 58 W. 48th St. (btw. 5+6th), 212-819-0095

GS also admits to being sarcastic about ordering it a day in advance… apparently it’s “tastefully served” as two thin slices inside a slider bun. Slider? You mean… a sandwich!  If this thing is under $10,  it would be perfect for the Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge!

I called Channel Four this morning, and found out that the chef changes it up every day depending on how he feels.  Sometimes as a slider, sometimes over toast… sometimes it comes with tater tots, and sometimes with corn pudding.  All depends on the day. The good news… it’s $9.95!  The bad news… they were pretty clear it was more of a snack than a meal.  That’s kind of disappointing.  Maybe the chef will create a $10 sandwich version for Midtown Lunchers.  Can you say Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge?!?!  C’mon Channel Four, let’s make this happen…

Related:
Channel Four is Serving the Bacon Explosion

I wonder if they’ll do it for lunch… because this needs to be tried, like- now.