I've eaten at more gas station restaurants so far this year (two) than I have in my entire life. It's an unexpected New York City micro-trend that I fully support—in fact, I'd go so far as to say that gas stations in general should ditch their whole "fossil fuels" thing entirely and focus solely on feeding first-rate munchies to afternoon stoners and late-night fiends. The city would be a happier place.
The latest entrant into our Great Gas Station Restaurant Summer is a terrific new halal joint called Blue Hour, located inside the BP station at one of those chaotic three-way intersections along Myrtle Avenue in Bushwick. Drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians are all welcome; the actual entrance sits just off Grove Street and is readily accessible via the sidewalk.
Blue Hour's four owners—Ali Zaman, Mohamed Ghiasi, Devlin Claro, and Yusuf Zaman—are seasoned industry pros (Little Flower Cafe in Astoria and Dunya Kabab House in Kensington are among their various other establishments), and you get a level of hospitality here not usually seen in a space otherwise dominated by a lottery vending machine.
The Blue Hour menu is loaded with bangers. "It's just all our favorite foods," Zaman told Hell Gate. "Things we were craving ourselves. We took inspiration from late-night NYC cuisine. A lot of old-school businesses built the foundation, we're just building on top of it. We really wanted to turn it up a notch with high-quality ingredients—and we're all Muslim, so everything's halal."
There's a smashburger here, of course, available as a single or double, and a chicken parm, but I think the chopped cheese was probably my favorite sandwich of the bunch, a wonderfully sloppy version of the New York City deli stalwart—ground beef, shredded lettuce, onion, tomato, and tons of melted cheese, all on a soft roll that hangs in there the whole way through.
Also very good, and legitimately fiery, was the "Dragon Boy" hot chicken sandwich, which features an impressive slab of juicy meat and a nice amount of crunch from both the fried bird's breading and the purple cabbage slaw. The "Cwunch Wap Supweme," so named to protect Blue Hour from cease-and-desist orders, unfortunately lacked any of the promised crunch and was just kind of a mess.
The tater tots were first rate and generously proportioned (there's plenty for sharing), and I hear the thin-cut fries are equally satisfying. Chicken or lamb kebabs come three for $9, as do some craggy-looking chicken tenders.
The trickiest dish for the four Blue Hour owners was that iconic halal food cart offering, chicken over rice. "We were really scared of messing it up," said Zaman. "But since we charbroil our chicken, it has a smoky flavor—someone even said it tastes like jerk chicken—so we kind of made it our own."
The only Blue Hour beverage is a bright and tangy passion fruit lemonade, though the gas station snack shop, which shares the space, has dozens of options, many of them boozy. There's no official seating inside or out, but Zaman told us that the lottery table, where grim-faced gamblers make quick work of their scratchers, has been put to use by many diners. I personally hauled my feast a couple of blocks to one of the tables at the Myrtle/Wyckoff Plaza. Maria Hernandez Park, located a half mile or so down Irving Avenue, is an even better idea.
"The neighborhood's been really welcoming," said Zaman. "I'm having so much fun. I used to be a line cook back when I was 17, and I haven't been in the kitchen as much lately, but here I'm on the grill, I'm prepping, I'm making sauce, I'm taking orders...It's great. I'm really psyched about all this stuff."
Blue Hour is located at the BP station at 1525 Myrtle Avenue (the entrance is on Grove Street) and is currently open on Sunday through Thursday from noon to 10 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday from noon to 3 a.m.
