Monday, October 27, 2008

Another Five Guys Opens, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn



"HEY! You're OPEN!!" were the words out of the mouth of a very excited employee of nearby Chase Bank as he made his way to the counter. The best part was that he applauded loudly all the way from the front door to the counter as if he were trying to get the 'team' pumped up. This man was clearly excited about opening day.

And he should be. Craig Cohen has done it again and opened his third Five Guys franchise in Brooklyn in just over a year. The first was on Montague St., the second only steps from my apartment in Park Slope. Craig greeted me and expert burger taster Kris Brearton (pictured above) with big handshakes and told us that 2 more stores are in the works for Brooklyn, one in Cobble Hill, and one in MetroTech Center, north of the downtown Marriott.

Many set-in-their-ways locals peered in the window, squinted at the menu, and one skeptical woman even asked Kris, "Is it any good?" Amazingly, Craig has set up shop only a few feet from a Burger King and 4 doors down from the beloved Brooklyn time warp Hinch's Soda Fountain. If I were to guess, Burger King will suffer and Hinch's will be just fine. BK is the only one of the three using frozen patties.

Craig asked me if I needed anything and I told him that I've always wanted a close-up look at the famed proprietary burger smasher. The grill man took a 20 second break from the grill and I was rewarded with this excellent photo op. A unique solution to burger size management that produces the same perfect not-too-thin patty every time.


After eating my usual regular bacon cheeseburger (always a double) We skipped the free soda refill and headed down to Hinch's for a classic soda fountain chocolate malt. The perfect end to a well-balanced, high calorie lunch in Bay Ridge.  



4 comments:

Unknown said...

Five Guys is the best fast food style burger in NY. People need to give respect where its due. Unfortunately, when I try to sell it to people who are anti-well done burgers, I get a big groan and a look like I'm crazy. These people say why would I ever go for a well done burger when I can get one cooked the way I want. Any reccomendations for swaying these close minded individuals?

That milkshake looks excellent, job well done as usual Mr. Motz.

Hamburger America said...

Just tell the disbelievers that cooked thru at Five Guys is still moist and tasty, not dry and overcooked. It really is a great, fresh-ground, burger. I actually had one yesterday that was slightly pink!

That was a great shake, with actual malt powder. Yum. Hinch's makes their own ice cream too and my favorite flavor of theirs is banana.

Wauna-burger said...

I would have to agree. This burger is not a hockey puck, moist and tender. Every time I see George post about Five Guys I want to hop into my car and go to my local one!!

tim h said...

This place just opened around the corner from me, it's amazing. One of the better hamburgers in NYC, and I'm a hamburger snob. I just placed a pick up order, and found this site looking for the Five Guys Bay Ridge number. Nice site!