The scent of bacon that has been driving neighbors of the East Village IHOP to distraction may not be long for this world. The Times got Ed Scannapieco, that IHOP's owner, to slip out of an IHOP conference in D.C. to talk about the un-Kosher smell and he says he's got big, expensive plans to fix it!

According to Scannapieco, the IHOP will be installing a $40,000 smog-hog (or, in the Times parlance, a "Bacon Buster") that should clear up the smell. "It knocks down virtually all of the odor and almost all the noise," he promises (you'll recall the restaurant's existing air units are quite noisy). The new machine will require the 24-hour restaurant be closed for roughly 12 hours and may require a crane to be installed. "It’s a commitment," Sannepieco said. "And one that we’re glad to make."

Neighbors, meanwhile, aren't holding their breath. "I’m hoping that my skepticism is ill-placed," neigbhor Sandy Berger told the Times. "But you know, I’ll believe it when I see it—or, I’ll believe it when I don’t smell it anymore."

Still, if it does do the trick? That's okay! Unhappy neighbors can always complain about all those "loud, obnoxious, and dangerous looking customers" that the pancakery has apparently been attracting. And for those who miss the bacon air, well, there are always bacon coffins.