Five Questions With Blake Deadly, Cowgirl SeaHorse’s Fabulous Drag Brunch Host

The thing about Cowgirl SeaHorse (259 Front St.) is that the owners know how to pair food with fun. Over the years there’s always been something surprising to discover at their restaurants (RIP to Tortilla Flats and its beloved annual Ernest Borgnine lookalike contest), and the theatrics at Cowgirl are no exception. Diners can always rely on the Seaport operation’s down-home cooking as well as, at every first Saturday brunch, having their order of sausage and biscuits accompanied by resident drag queen Blake Deadly’s “Brunch Becomes Her” performances.

Deadly also plays host at Cowgirl’s “Drag Bingo,” which happens every third Sunday evening. (The next one is set for this Sunday, December 15, FYI!) The Downtown Alliance caught up with Deadly about how she got started at Cowgirl and how she ended up becoming — to her surprise — a fam-friendly drag queen.

When did you first take the stage and where? And how?

This February will be four years since I started showing up to Shequida’s weekly competition show Drag Wars at Pieces. On and off I’d been trying drag for a year and a half, but there was a moment when I decided I needed to commit to showing up to this competition every week — otherwise I’d never get better at this. From there I started guesting at other queens’ shows and doing my own shows. And here we are!

When did the drag brunches and bingos start at Cowgirl? 

“Brunch Becomes Her” started in March of 2017 — almost three years ago! And Cowgirl has basically let me do whatever I want for those three years. We started “Drag Bingo” in May of this year, which has a totally different vibe.

What are some of your favorite numbers when performing?

I’m a huge Celine Dion and Cher queen — both are far too underperformed by drag queens. Just doing my part.

What about the brunch crowd? It’s gotta be made up of such a diverse mixture of people.

Brunch is such a bizarre mix, which is why I love it. It’s mostly locals — a lot are regulars who come for the show; a lot of families with kids of all ages, who don’t always know there’s going to be a drag show; tourists, who usually end up loving it, and friends of the queens. I never planned on being a family-friendly queen, and I still don’t know how to talk to children, but if they tip well I can certainly try.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Blake Deadly (@blakedeadlynyc) on Apr 8, 2019 at 3:17pm PDT

Any funny reactions from diners recently?

I love when a table of straight men does their absolute best to completely ignore that I’m performing in front of them.

Don’t forget to check out Deadly’s “Drag Bingo” this Sunday, December 15, at 6p.