Beacon Hill's Inay's Is Closing—Tomorrow Is Your Last Chance for Dinner and a Drag Show

People came to Inay's for Filipino food—and stayed for the drag show. Malcolm Smith

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Inay's Asian Pacific Cuisine, a fixture in the Beacon Hill and Filipino communities, will close permanently tomorrow, Friday, January 29. Owner Ernie Rios named the restaurant after his beloved mother and, since 2007, has used her recipes to make classic Filipino dishes such as chicken adobo, beef caldereta, and diniguan. Inay's will serve its last meals, including filling silog breakfasts made with various cured meats, garlic fried rice, and fried eggs, tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

While Inay's is beloved for its food and family atmosphere, it's also known for its Friday night dinner shows hosted by server/drag queen extraordinaire Atasha Manila. I couldn't even begin to describe the scene at Inay's on a Friday night better than the great David Schmader did a few years ago:

Surprise drag at 7:00 p.m. in a fully lit restaurant sounds like a recipe for disaster, but Atasha Makes It Work. Singing in full voice along with the recording, Atasha lords over the crowd, locking eyes with audience members, pawing herself in mock horniness, and punctuating a song's climax by ripping off her wig. One number follows another, interrupted only by costume and wig changes (four in an hour!) and the call of food service. By the time Atasha gets to her unhinged rendition of RuPaul's "Tranny Chaser"—the refrain of which ("Just because you want me, that don't make you gay!") she barks at point-blank range at a presumably heterosexual male diner, causing his date to howl into her napkin—the crowd is beside itself with glee. Somehow, the overhead lighting, the Filipino kitchen smells, and Atasha's ferociously deadpan divahood combine to create a perfect storm of hilarity. Around the room, diners are wiping away tears. A bell rings, Atasha crows, "That means I gotta get the food!" and, spinning on her platform heel, she's off to the kitchen.

For Inay's final dinner service tomorrow night, Atasha Manila will be serving dinner, along with some of her favorite songs and performances from over the years. Call ahead to make sure you can get a table.

Farewell and thank you, Inay's. You will always be, in Schmader's words, "one of the city's most magical outposts of awesomeness."