Chef Angie Mar on the Rolex Her Dad Left Her, Vintage Shopping, and the Allure of Real Fur
On a trip to Paris, an 8-year-old Angie Mar ate a bowl of veal kidneys in a Cognac and cream sauce so delicious that she begged her parents to let her stay there. “I said to my father, ‘I love this food. I’ll go to boarding school and live here, and you can all go home,’ ” she recalls. She was eventually dragged back to her native Seattle.
Though her Chinese-immigrant family loved dining—her paternal aunt was the late Ruby Chow, the influential Northwestern restaurateur turned civic activist—they pushed Mar toward a career outside the kitchen. But it didn’t stick: After a brief stint in L.A.’s corporate real-estate world, she enrolled in New York City’s French Culinary Institute.
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Mar’s talent and discerning palate took her all over the Big Apple, including a stint as executive chef the West Village’s Beatrice Inn from 2013 to 2016—the year she bought the restaurant from Graydon Carter. Here, she bucked the plant-forward trend by serving unapologetically lavish cuts of meat, game, and poultry.
The restaurant closed in 2020, but the following year, in the space next door, Mar opened Le Trois Chevaux, which earned a Robb Report Best of the Best award in 2022. Mar is currently moving the concept uptown and has installed a new restaurant called Le B.—a 1980s-influenced reimagination of the Beatrice Inn—in the downtown space. Le B. claimed its own Best of the Best trophy earlier this year, making Mar, now 42, the only chef to win for two consecutive openings.
“So often, culinary arts get mistaken as just dinner,” she says. “I think we forget that this is, in itself, an art.”
First thing you do in the morning?
I’ve lived in the same apartment for over 20 years now, and I’m very fortunate that it overlooks Central Park. So the first thing that I do every morning is I open the shades completely, I look over the park, I make my coffee, collect my thoughts, and set my intentions for the day.
What apps do you use the most?
Most recently, [my publicist] has had me on a string of social engagements, and I consistently have nothing to wear. So I’ve been on the Net-a-Porter app more than I probably should.
What have you done recently for the first time?
I’m one of those nocturnal animals: I don’t really do dinner before 9:30 p.m. But the other day, I had dinner at five o’clock, and I was very surprised at how absolutely wonderful it was.
Do you have any personal rituals?
I very rarely see other people on Sundays. It’s the one day a week I have to actually be me—just me as a person, versus me as a businessperson.
What do you do that’s still analog?
I handwrite everything, but Post-its are hard for me, because I’m very sensitive to color. My office manager Jessica introduced me to these clear Post-it Notes, and I don’t know how I’ve been living my entire life without them.
What’s your favorite cocktail, and how do you make it?
I very rarely drink anymore, but I taste a lot, because it’s my job. On our menu right now is a smoked manhattan named after a very dear friend of mine, Antanas Samkus, who’s been my lead bartender for the last 10 years. It’s a Japanese single-malt whisky, which we’re doing with a little bit of shochu, and we’re smoking the glass with oolong tea.
What’s the most recent thing you’ve added to your collection?
I love, love, love, love fashion. And I recently acquired this really fabulous Gucci rose-colored fox jacket from the last collection when they were doing real fur.
The most recent thing you regret not buying?
I don’t think there’s anything that haunts us more than the vintage we don’t buy. For me, it’s Tom Ford—I think it was 2004—the satin “bondage” shoes with the bamboo heel, in green. I have them in nude. It still haunts me that I never purchased those shoes.
What’s the most impressive dish you cook?
I don’t do it very often, only for very special guests, but it’s a very proper French omelet with just a touch of caviar and fine herbs. It’s beautiful in its simplicity. What I find to be most impressive is a lack of ingredients and an excess of finesse.
Who is your dealer, and what do they source for you?
A wonderful, wonderful gentleman by the name of Joe Stern over at Olde Good Things in New York. When I was building Le Trois Chevaux and Le B., Joe was really my first call, because they have all of these amazing things from all over. They’re historians of our city, truly. The chandelier that hangs in my space now is from the ’80s, and it’s from the Grand Prospect Hall in Brooklyn.
What is your exercise routine, and how often do you do it?
I’m not gonna lie to you. It is nonexistent right now. I’m opening a restaurant!
What does success look like to you?
All we have is our time. And for me, success looks like not wasting time.
If you could learn a new skill, what would it be?
As creative and artistic as I am on the plate, I can’t draw. Like, for shit. So I suppose if I was going to learn something new, I would really love to learn how to draw and paint.
How much do you trust your gut instinct?
I go with everything by my gut. For me, it’s indispensable. Every time I haven’t trusted my gut, it’s bit me.
Drive or be driven?
Both. I quite love to drive, but I typically only drive on Sundays now, because it’s my only day off. The rest of the week, I am a very good customer of Uber.
Are you wearing a watch? How many do you own?
I have multiple watches in my collection, and they’re all Rolex. The one I’ve been wearing a lot lately is a Rolex Cellini from the late ’70s. It was my father’s watch that he passed down to me, and they don’t make them anymore. It’s my favorite watch in my collection for sure.
What’s your favorite hotel?
I love Le Bristol in Paris.
What’s worth paying for?
I will always spend money on a good meal. Always.
Last film you paid to see?
The Taste of Things.
Last boxset or Netflix binge?
I just binged the third season of The Bear.
What kind of music makes you happy?
I listen to everything—except for country. I can’t stand it.
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