Open as of today — and it’s a great day to eat in the plaza — Joey Bats, the purveyor of Portuguese pastries who has cafes around the city, and El Sazón R.D., the Dominican burger joint in Chinatown that went viral this year with the help of influencers, are serving out of the kiosk in Bogardus Plaza. I ordered one of everything and can tell you that they are clearly pros.

Don’t go if you are counting calories: the Dominican smashburger, which I got as a double with bacon, is *the* order and it packs a punch. There’s one literal secret sauce and another figurative: the chimi sauce, applied lightly, is mayo and ketchup combined and not to be left off. The other is the square, thick slice of Dominican cheese — queso de freir Tropical, fried warm and golden under the potato bun. There are pickles. And the bun is super soft, so it ends up being nice and thin.

(That’s Ari Valerio, the chef for El Sazon, on the left below.)

The loaded fries means more fried cheese, in this variation more like cheese curds, for you French Canadians out there, plus little wedges of salami, more chimi sauce and flakes of cilantro.

Now to the pasteis de nata, which is how this all started, they are a flaky, croissant-like crust wrapped around an egg custard, which is finished with a flame, similar to crème brûlée. The chocolate version has an added layer of dark chocolate. I would get these frozen next time and serve at a dinner party or brunch — would be a huge hit. They are delicious, and very light.

There’s a silver-lining-covid story behind how this all came together, which I learned today from owner Joey Batista, above with his sister Suzette Batista:

I’ve known the guys who started El Sazon for years, way before they opened in Chinatown. I had three cafes, and during covid I had to shut them all down. I lost a ton of money, and was trying to figure out how to save the business. The cafe on Allen Street had a window onto the sidewalk, so I said to my mother [who developed the recipes for the natas], ‘While everyone is being paid not to work, it’s you and me in the kitchen.’

So we worked out of the window, and it was kind of a hit, so we put chairs out on the sidewalk. Then when winter came around I had to address the cold, so I built a shed for the sidewalk — I think it was one of the first in the city. And then I asked comedians to come by to the shed, and we had huge names — the comics had no where to perform. That’s where I met the guys from El Sazon. We became friends to the point where I go to the DR all the time with them.

When Tory Weil contacted me about this opportunity, I came over and hung out in the plaza and I loved it. I put up a camera so I could check out the traffic and knew it would work. The kiosk is a great size for me — I’m used to selling from carts. But when I saw that there was a hood inside, I thought we should cook.

I brought these guys in as my friends and now partners — they have the savory side and I have the sweet side.

I love their food, so really, this is the perfect marriage.

Stop by!

Joey Bats & El Sazón
Bogardus Plaza Kiosk
5 Hudson at Chambers
Daily, 11a to 8p