for red hook hungry customers, general ock hits the spot.
that’s the militaristic nickname of rahim mohamed, a 32-year-old warehouse manager who has become famous on tiktok for making wild sandwiches inside red hook food corp at 603 clinton st.
with a positive “if you want it, I’ll do it” attitude, mohamed (known on tiktok as @rah_money1) piles unusual items (pop-tarts, mozzarella sticks, cotton candy, rice krispies treats) onto hot sandwiches his method has been dubbed the “gross way” and he has amassed 2.4 million followers on the social media platform.
“for years, [I saw] people eat the same sandwiches and order all these things on the side. I thought, ‘why can’t I mix it all up?’” the Canarsie resident and father of four told the publication.
Mohamed’s nickname, General Ock, comes from the Americanized Arabic slang for “akhi,” which means “brother” in his native Yemen, where he immigrated from in 1999. In 2007, he took over the winery of his family and eventually started making crazy sandwiches. In June 2020, after a gentle push from several family members and clients, Mohamed shared his wild menu items online.
“Honestly, I’m not really a social media person,” he said from the back corner of his humble three-aisle bodega, which is situated among body shops in the shadow of the bqe. but “all you see on tiktok is dancing and silly stuff, so I saw an opportunity.”
thanks to the viral videos, customers new and old have embraced the ocky way, posting challenging and bizarre requests. some go so far as to grab items from the bodega shelves and ask that they be incorporated into sandwiches.
“I ask them what they want in it and how they feel about certain flavors and if they have allergies, then I go to work and surprise them with something new every time,” she said. “that’s the ‘weird way’. it’s an art.”
One ordered bacon, egg, and cheese between two danishes with worked cotton candy; another ordered the classic gummy worm breakfast sandwich.
on any given weekend, mohamed makes about 100 sandwiches the ocky way, and his winery has even become a tourist attraction. Earlier this week, a family from San Francisco visited to sample a breakfast of bacon, egg, and cheese mixed with “queso picado” (ground beef and cheese), mozzarella sticks, spinach, and tomato.
“My daughter found it on tiktok and said we had to go while we were in new york,” california mom iesha lee told the publication. “She was very nice and the sandwich is amazing. she would give it a 10.”
Although each ocky way meal is customized to order, Mohamed has a few basics to get you started, like a $15 grilled cheesesteak with bacon and mozzarella sticks; a $12 chopped cheese with mozzarella sticks, fries or hash browns between Jamaican beef patties; and a $15-$25 jumbo bacon, egg, and cheese with hash browns served in a large circular waffle.
mohamed’s latest (and possibly best) ocky item is “the new york post,” a tower of pastrami, grilled chicken, mozzarella sticks, swiss cheese, spinach, tomatoes, and sweet peppers sandwiched between cheeseburgers meat. at $15, it’s a hearty bargain.
the internet celebrity hopes to eventually open a store in manhattan. Until then, fans will have to walk all the way to Red Hook to pick up their sandwiches and the items of clothing it recently started selling. the cellar also has antacid, but mohamed insists that it is not necessary with his creations.
“Nope. you will never need any pepto for the ocky way,” she said. “I got you!”
