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Gallery
November 8, 2015

Inside Mission Chinese Food’s Brisket-and-Dumplings Dinner Party for the

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Photo: Dina Litovsky

The Sunday matinée of Hamilton was over by 5:50 p.m.; the audience at the Richard Rodgers was clearing out; and Angela Dimayuga, executive chef of Mission Chinese Food, had just an hour to set up her buffet. The challenge: Create a pop-up restaurant in a theater foyer to feed a starving ensemble — and crew and everyone’s guests — in a manner befitting the years-long hype of her and Danny Bowien’s bicoastal restaurant sensation. “We normally have more time to serve buffet style,” she said. “And we had to wait until the foyer was empty before anything could happen.” So at 6:45 p.m., Dimayuga climbed the stairs to the top of the theater to offer an appetizer — Little Gem-lettuce cups with beef tartare and salmon roe — to the ensemble. Their plates were clean in seconds. One level down, the chef entered the dressing rooms of Renée Elise Goldsberry, who plays Angelica Schuyler, and Daveed Diggs, who plays the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson. “Dancers do not eat beforehand,” said Goldsberry. “So they are like animals ripping into the food.” She took a plate of dumplings in tuiles with a chile-vinegar dipping sauce.

“We’re not supposed to eat in costume, but you have to do what you have to do,” said Diggs.

Down in the foyer, the food was ready, and the crowd was, too. “It’s a nicer version of what you can get at a buffet steam table,” Dimayuga explained, meaning: tea-fragrance rice, black kale with umeboshi, stir-fried cellophane noodles with pancit flavors, and 14-hour beef brisket with broccoli. Dimayuga carved the 15-pound hickory-smoked prime rib on a sanitized piece of shelf — the carving board had gone missing — and the meat disappeared in ten minutes. Leslie Odom Jr., who plays Aaron Burr and must shoot and kill the musical’s young, scrappy, and hungry protagonist show after show, found solace in his plate of stir-fried noodles. “I feel bad about it every night,” Odom said. “You can wait your whole life for a show like this. I get back what I put in — with interest.”

As the party started to wind down, ­Okieriete Onaodowan, who plays Hercules Mulligan and James Madison, filled up two Chinese-takeout boxes with rice and noodles. “I just hope I don’t get it on my costume,” he said.

The Menu
Dumplings in Tuiles
Lettuce Cups
Tea-Fragrance Rice
Black Kale With Umeboshi
Stir-Fried Cellophane Noodles With Pancit Flavors
Broccoli Beef Brisket
Hickory-Smoked Prime Rib
Chocolate Fountain With Fruit
Coconut Blue Punch

*This article appears in the November 9, 2015 issue of New York Magazine.

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1 / 10 Photos
Daveed Diggs, who plays the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson, changing out of his costume to eat. Daveed Diggs, who plays the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson, changing out of his costume to eat.

Daveed Diggs, who plays the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson, changing out of his costume to eat.

Photo: Dina Litovsky
Angela Dimayuga on her way to the dressing rooms. Angela Dimayuga on her way to the dressing rooms.

Angela Dimayuga on her way to the dressing rooms.

Photo: Dina Litovsky
Photo: Dina Litovsky
Chocolate fountain and coconut blue punch. Guests dipped the fruit in the chocolate. Chocolate fountain and coconut blue punch. Guests dipped the fruit in the chocolate.

Chocolate fountain and coconut blue punch. Guests dipped the fruit in the chocolate.

Photo: Dina Litovsky
Little Gem–lettuce cups with beef tartare were served as an appetizer. Little Gem–lettuce cups with beef tartare were served as an appetizer.

Little Gem–lettuce cups with beef tartare were served as an appetizer.

Photo: Dina Litovsky
Dimayuga cutting into the smoked prime rib. Dimayuga cutting into the smoked prime rib.

Dimayuga cutting into the smoked prime rib.

Photo: Dina Litovsky
Producer Jeffrey Seller joining cast members. Producer Jeffrey Seller joining cast members.

Producer Jeffrey Seller joining cast members.

Photo: Dina Litovsky
Carleigh Bettiol, left, and Seth Stewart, both of the ensemble. Carleigh Bettiol, left, and Seth Stewart, both of the ensemble.

Carleigh Bettiol, left, and Seth Stewart, both of the ensemble.

Photo: Dina Litovsky
Kamille Upshaw, left, swing cast member. Kamille Upshaw, left, swing cast member.

Kamille Upshaw, left, swing cast member.

Photo: Dina Litovsky
“It was a celebration,” Dimayuga said. “I didn’t see any dainty portions.” “It was a celebration,” Dimayuga said. “I didn’t see any dainty portions.”

“It was a celebration,” Dimayuga said. “I didn’t see any dainty portions.”

Photo: Dina Litovsky
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Tags:

  • gallery
  • angela dimayuga
  • dinner parties
  • hamilton
  • holiday dining 2015
  • mission chinese food
  • slideshow
  • gallery
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