Show notes
Recorded live at the House of Suze during Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans 2026.
Why This Episode Matters
- Discover how the American beefsteak became a tool for political organizing in New York and New Jersey.
- Learn the feast’s essential rules: endless meat, bread as a plate and no concern for remaining clean.
- Hear how Prohibition and women’s suffrage changed public drinking—and the beefsteak itself.
- Find out how New Jersey preserved the tradition after it faded elsewhere.
The Conversation
Mark Pascal, Francis Schott and Sother Teague take the stage together to explore one of America’s messiest, and most political, dining traditions.
The American beefsteak began as a nineteenth-century feast where politicians served voters and ward leaders all the steak and beer they could handle. Matching aprons erased the appearance of social rank, and the room became a place to reward loyalty, recruit supporters and build political alliances.
The panel lays out the beefsteak’s non-negotiables: slices of beef served continuously on pieces of bread, no forks, no knives and traditionally no napkins. Diners eat the meat, stack the bread and use their aprons to wipe their hands. As Sother puts it, the guiding principle was “opulence over elegance.”
They trace the tradition through Tammany Hall, organized labor and the East Side–West Side beefsteak rivalry. They also examine how Prohibition and women’s suffrage helped transform the formerly all-male event into a more social and mixed-gender gathering.
When beefsteaks began disappearing after World War II, New Jersey butcher Garrett “Hap” Nightingale revived them as fundraisers for fire departments, churches, and community organizations. The conversation also compares the beefsteak with Southern pig pickin’s, crab boils, clambakes and pancake breakfasts.
Along the way, Sother recounts the six-plane journey that brought him to Tales, while Mark and Francis explain how they transported steaks, produce and Himalayan salt bricks from New Jersey to New Orleans.
The evening’s menu includes brisket, roast beef, Wagyu, house-made mozzarella and steaks finished on 500-degree salt bricks. Steak sauce is permitted, although putting it on the Wagyu may cause Francis emotional distress.
Guest Bio
Sother Teague is a bartender, hospitality professional and drinks historian best known for Amor y Amargo and Overthrow Hospitality. He is also a co-host of The Speakeasy and Sauced podcasts.
Timestamps
00:00 Live from the House of Suze at Tales of the Cocktail
02:15 What is an American beefsteak?
05:00 Tammany Hall, political organizing and “opulence over elegance”
10:00 Six planes, ten cooler bags and salt bricks on an airplane
13:00 Excess, Prohibition and the end of the all-male beefsteak
21:00 How New Jersey revived the tradition
23:00 Pig pickings and other regional communal feasts
25:00 Wagyu, salt bricks and the steak-sauce debate
Info
Sother Teague https://www.overthrowhospitality.com/team
Podcasts: The Speakeasy, Sauced
Recorded At
House of Suze
Tales of the Cocktail
New Orleans, Louisiana
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Suze and BCI
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