Looks like we made iiiiiittttt…

…to the third and final installment of the Bean Post Pub. This one has been a heck of a ride. If you haven’t yet read up on all the wings we tried here, check out Part 1 and Part 2, or just read this one where it gets the final measuring up.

On this final visit, suffice it to say the jig was up for me and my merry misfit WingSquad, and it seems we’d taken a bit of a celebrity role for our prior wreviews. The bartender gave us a round on the house and we ended up getting an additional order of wings on the house as well (they were ones we had tried previously) but despite all this, I will continue to remain neutral and unswervingly unbiased in my judgement.

That stuff out of the way, let’s talk one last time about…

Bean Post Pub

7525 5th Avenue, Brooklyn (Bay Ridge)

Recent Bean Post Wreview alums Vicki Crosson, Jeremy Frank, and Janna Cisterno came back for this one, joined also by WingSquad veterans Michael David and Ben Schaefer, who brought his wife Morgann along for the festivities.

What We Ordered

This visit was mostly cleaning up for us. We actually didn’t really dive into the spiced wings, as most of them were variants on flavors we’d already tried, so if there’s a glowing spot missing from our times here, it’s that section. Instead, we tried out the Ranch, Owner’s Favorite, and Insane wings, and also threw on top an order of the Hot wings “stripped” (wrapped in Bacon.)

The Sauces

Ranch:

“Crunchy [and] perfect. No sauce or dressing need apply,” decided MS of this Ranch dry rub. MD thought the flavor was “eggy and rich,” adding “I hate ranch, I love these!” BS said they “needed more dust, but the flavor was nice.” Honestly, between this and some of the other dry rubs I’ve had throughout the past few months, I think I need to give dry rubs a fair shake, because these suckers were amazing. We actually probably wouldn’t have tried these if our server hadn’t recommended them so heavily, but I’m glad we did. I did wish they were a bit more coated, but the tasty ranch powder and the nice crunchy skin led to a juicy and flavorful wing, one I can’t wait until I can eat again. Another 5/5 for Bean Post Pub’s flavors. 

Owner’s Favorite:

By way of explanation, this sauce is BBQ (I believe smokehouse, I could be wrong) topped with crumbled bacon and sprinkled with mozzarella cheese. VC actually likened these to “the meat on a stick from a Chinese restaurant; very sweet.” JC “liked the wing and the sauce, but didn’t notice the cheese.” JF was pretty sure he understood why these were the Owner’s Favorite, “crisp skin, sweet, delicious sauce. Didn’t get much cheese…but a damn good wing.” So, we actually got into a heated debate around the table about the merits (or lack thereof) of BBQ sauces in general, one that led me to shout out (perhaps a little too loud and too emphatically) that “BBQ IS JUST SWEET KETCHUP.” And while I do have strong opinions on BBQ sauce as readers may well be aware, I did actually like these wings. For what it’s worth, my wing had several shreds of cheese and bacon on it, and I found them to be a pretty decent balance to the sweetness of the BBQ sauce, which was a tad on the sweet side. I would liken it to the dish that almost every chain restaurant has where the protein is a chicken breast smothered in BBQ and topped with bacon and cheese, but in chicken wing form. I guess that’s not so much an opinion as it is just literally stating exactly what the wing is without adding any new information. I mean, if it’s a popular enough flavor to be in basically every American restaurant, it’s there for a reason. If you’ve never had the flavor combo I don’t know what to tell you, except that if it sounds good to you, you’ll like this wing. I think I lost the thread somewhere a few sentences ago, but as far as BBQ’s go, this is one worth checking out. 4/5.

Hot (Stripped):

So, in lieu of retreading a sauce we’ve tried before, all I’ll add here is that while the Hot sauce is delicious, if you’re getting buffalo wings here go for the Buffalo Combo, as that dry rub really kicks the flavor up a ton. I was in these solely for the Bacon, and they delivered on their promise. This is a legitimate probably 6-inch strip of bacon wrapped around these wings and fried to chewy perfection (I’m guessing if you want them crispier they would oblige, but only if you hate bacon.) The strip really locks the juiciness of the meat inside, and is mouth-watering and astounding. I can’t really rate these since they aren’t a sauce, but I will say if the idea of a bacon-wrapped wing intrigues you, get yourself an order of these, you won’t be disappointed. 

Insane:

MD warns that these have a “crazy slow build” and “solid, high, nostril dripping heat,” and VC was “impressed how long the heat lasts.” JF thought it was the “perfect amount of heat: mild and tasty going down, grows just [to the] edge of suffering after.” I was actually the last one of the bunch to try these, and got to watch the back and forth as husband-wife team of BS and MS went back and forth on how hot these were, the former almost in tears from the heat while the latter was nothing but enthusiastic about the heat, and was even wishing they were a bit hotter. These wings are not “meet-your-maker” hot for sure, but they pack a hell of a punch. When I bit into these, there was not a whole lot of initial fire, but I could tell from the flavor alone that they had a lot more in store for me. In my excitement I forgot to get my stopwatch going, but as best as I could tell the heat really only gets going about 45 seconds in and builds to a pretty high plateau around 4 minutes, where you’ll be stuck for a while. I spent a good portion of this time pacing around the room sucking air as much as I could, and talking very loud and breathily whenever anybody asked me anything. My nose was running and my eyes were teary, but somehow it managed to stay just this side of unbearable. The flavor was the same classic Buffalo flavor that you really can’t go wrong with, and BS even thought it had a bit of sweetness that was going well for it. These are not the best “hottest” wing I’ve ever had but they are definitely in the top 10. They do a great job of not sacrificing flavor for heat, making them perfect for ravenous heat-seekers and part-time heat-enjoyers to have a great compromise, and they’re tasty to boot, which I’d call on the high end of 4/5.

The overall sauces here are an easy 4/5 from me. There were some great highs and some less-than-great lows, but hopefully my three-part wreview will steer you in the right directions.

The Wing

Jeez Louise have I had a ton of these wings at this point and if there’s two things I can say about them happily, it is that they are delicious, and more importantly consistent. While we did have run-ins with some sogginess, that was more sauce-dependent than anything else. If you’re out for a crunchy wing you’ll want to stick to the sugary sauces and the dry rubs. Another check in my own personal column is that overall we seemed to get more flats than drumettes. I know that doesn’t strike everyone’s fancy but I’m always a fan of that sort of distribution. The size is decent, and to the last one they were unerringly juicy and bursting with flavor, and if you add in the incredibly reasonable price you’ll pay for them, it’s pretty hard to find anything to complain about. A perfect wing they are not, but you’ll be hard pressed to find anything better for the price, (for real, if you can find a regular priced wing that is competitive to these, EMAIL ME) and while these earn a 4/5 from me, know that it’s an emphatically strong one. 

The Hot Take

If there’s one thing that might tip you off, it’s that I went here three separate times to get the full scoop. If the wings here had been bad or even mediocre, I don’t know that I would have made the effort, but between the wings, the staff, and the atmosphere, Bean Post is very definitely going to be worth the trip every time. The wings are some of the best in the city and the prices are unbeatable. I wish I could give them a perfect score, but there are just a couple of shortcomings stopping me. However, don’t think for a moment that you’re not getting yourself into something good if you pull up a stool here. The trip to Bay Ridge may be a hike for some, but it’s one you’ll be glad you made once you get to the Bean Post. 4/5.

Additional Info

Whew! That was a long one. I would like to thank the owners and staff of the Bean Post for their hospitality and friendship, and do hope that any criticisms we made while here aren’t taken too poorly, because even before they knew who we were they were overwhelmingly friendly, attentive, and helpful.

I know we’ve had a lot more people jump into the MaxFun NYC group, and if eating chicken wings around the city sounds like fin to you, shoot us an email (or send me a message on FaceBook) and I’ll be more than happy to keep you in the loop!

As always, the Weekly Wing Wreview and MaxFun.nyc are not affiliated with Maximum Fun or its associated products or brands. But we’re pretty big fans.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Recommendations? Want to join the elites of the WingSquad and eat wings all over NYC? Send an email to wings@maxfun.nyc

Ryan Alexander