Magic happens when strangers gather around a table.
As chef and owner of The Beatrice Inn, a modern chophouse located in New York City’s West Village, Angie Mar knows her meat. In her cozy, subterranean restaurant, Mar serves beef dry-aged in-house and opulent seafood towers. Her elegantly extravagant approach to carnivorous cooking at The Beatrice is the focus of her recently released cookbook, Butcher and Beast: Mastering the Art of Meat. The recipes are all culled from the restaurant's menus present and past, but the book isn’t just about the dishes. “We [Mar and co-author Jamie Feldman] wanted to write a book that chronicled not just the food that is served at our tables, but also the lives that are lived around them,” Mar explains.
On most nights, The Beatrice feels like a lavish party, with local chefs and industry insiders in attendance. For special occasions, the nightly festivities come with a theme. At the end of the month, Mar and her team are throwing a dinner for the Day of the Dead, or Día de Muertos, the Mexican holiday that fêtes family and friends who have died.
Mar will hand over the reins to her sous chefs, many of whom are of Mexican origin, to create the menu and design an evening that celebrates their culture and heritage. Here's what it will look like:
On the menu
“I always say that when I die, I want to be surrounded by dead animals and Mexican food, so the menu that my kitchen is creating is a bit of a 'Last Supper' dream come true for me. There will be venison tamales and smoked wild boar flautas, suckling pig carved tableside, duck mole, and mezcal pairings.”
What we’re drinking
“Mezcal, of course.”
The decor
“The Day of the Dead is about culture and celebrating it. The dinner’s aesthetic will be traditional, I am a purist.”
The guest list
“I love the magic that happens when you get people who may not know each other in a room together. If it's curated well, there are new friendships formed and memories made. Some of my best experiences, friendships, and memories have started around a dinner table.”
What we’re listening to
“The Beatrice Inn playlist is a mix of the best music from the ‘80s and ‘90s, with a ton of British new wave, punk, and pop.”