Kosher classic consorts with the forbidden at Joe Dough. Photo: Lauren Bloomberg

       I did not grow up shunning bacon. No, it was never something that we had lying around the house nor was it something that made the house smell deliciously porky on a weekend morning. I was ambivalent about the meat, knew that as a conservative Jew that it was biblically a no-no, but didn’t think much if a slice was stuck in my grilled cheese or wrapped around an almond stuffed date.

        However, now if you tell me that a new sandwich shop has opened boasting a menu item titled The Conflicted Jew and you’ll have me trekking through the rain, umbrella-less, to have a bite. Who could resist with a name like that?

        Joe Dobias and his partner Jill Schulster are the peanut butter and jelly of the new East Village shop Joe Dough; a spin-off of their First Street restaurant Joe Doe which is known as much for taking Prune’s brunch overflow as it is for its interesting, globally inspired fare. Opened just this week the four-seater serves a roster of whimsical sandwiches with names like The Stoner’s Delight, After-School Special, and The Conflicted Jew.

        Chopped liver and softened onions (they’d be better caramelized) meet strips of bacon between two thick slices of eggy challah bread in this hefty un-kosher sandwich. Although it’s a monster, it’s almost too much of a good thing -- too much fat, too much bread, too much chopped liver busting out the sides of the sandwich and onto my shirt.

        There’s another new sandwich boasting bacon over at the new Torrisi oupost, Parm, on Mulberry Street. Parm has taken over all sandwich operations leaving Torrisi to focus their formula of Italian-American eats served in various tasting menu formats. The hotly anticipated new digs has a luncheonette feel replete with funky wallpaper, an open sandwich line, and Dr. Brown’s sodas.

Parm's sandwich oozes chips not chicken. Photo: Lauren Bloomberg

       I’m no fan of chicken salad, in fact I don’t believe I have ever eaten it by choice, but a visit to Parm warranted a sample of their Saratoga Club. The waitress proclaimed it the best sandwich on the menu and I’d previously tried the meatball (singular) sandwich at the Parm stand at Yankee stadium. I’m glad I tried something different.

        Three slices of toasted pullman bread, just on this side of charred, could barely contain layers of creamy (but not wet) chicken salad, tomato, shredded lettuce, potato chips, and bacon. But not just any ordinary strips of bacon. This pork fat is flavored with maple syrup and rosemary, the sweetness playing nicely in the sandbox with the tangy chicken salad and crunchy chips. Did I mention that there were potato chips on my sandwich? Genius.

        The whole mess is quartered (halved might be a little easier to eat) and skewered with the rainbow tinsel topped picks I remember my Grandparents stocking in their kitchen. At $12 it’s certainly not the cheapest sandwich in the city (Joe Dough’s are also up there at $10 a pop) but it is one that I would go back again to eat.