Wigs & Waffles Brunch: Drag’s Weekly Daytime Takeover at The Standard

As you should know, last month was LGBTQ Pride Month nationwide, and let’s face it, Los Angeles may be one of the best places in the country to celebrate. In search of festivities around town to explore, we came across two intrinsically influential individuals and perhaps one of the most exciting drag shows in LA -- Wigs & Waffles at The Standard Hotel. Before this dynamic duo formed just two years ago, Maebe A. Girl and Indica Sativa had both come to the city of angels to pave their paths and further pursue their separate creative endeavors.

Maebe moved from Chicago, IL in 2014 and began her drag career in Highland Park with a group called Exposure Drag. “When I started there it was like a very new baby party, all of us were baby drag queens.” says Maebe “The party really grew within the first year to two years and it’s a really popular night now. I truly owe my drag career to exposure drag because it really gave me the platform and the opportunity to perform and work on my craft week in and week out.” As for Indica Sativa, after moving from New Orleans to attend FIT in Manhattan, she made her move to the west coast to work as a stylist, instead finding drag to spark her creative fire, which moved her to hit the ground running upon arrival -- in stiletto thigh-high boots, of course. 

“I started my drag career at Green Eggs and Glam.” says Indica. “Green Eggs and Glam is my home, it’s my favorite place in the world and there’s really no where I’d rather be performing.” What Indica is referring to is not some flashy Dr Seuss sequel -- Green Eggs and Glam is a monthly drag brunch hosted at the Hyperion Lyrics Theatre in Silverlake where Indica and Mabe first joined forces in producing their own show. “She hit me up to perform in the show very early on.” says Maebe. “I really enjoyed working with her and I asked her if she wanted to do it weekly, and we’ve been the best of friends ever since. We’ve produced a number of shows together.“

As Indica Sativa’s style is very reminiscent of her home town New Orleans -- with bright colors and fun, flashy textures, Maebe’s drag is much more on the political side. “For me drag is tied in with my gender identity.” says Maebe. I identify as gender-fluid, I feel like a boy and a girl, so whenever I’m out in drag, it doesn’t feel like a costume to me, it’s just me expressing a different side of myself. I feel like my drag is funny, it’s political, but it’s also sexy and powerful.” Impersonating a lineup of right-wing villains such as  Kellyanne Conway, Melania Trump, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Betsy Devoss, she brings a comedic light to the stage while also exposing the more controversial side of our current administration. Since we’re talking politics, it’s rather important to note that Maebe A. Girl was recently elected as California’s first ever drag queen to be voted into public office, taking a chair on the Silverlake City Council in May. With issues at hand such as LGBTQIA homelessness, HIV outrage, and the dire need for preservation of a queer presence in Silverlake, Maebe has already been working closely with the homelessness comittee and is also implenting the formation of Silverlake’s LGBTQIA committee to tackle a variety of these very issues head on.

After producing and hosting a variety of drag shows together around town such as I Do What I Want at The Lash which is run monthly, and shows at both St. Felix of Hollywood and St. Felix of West Hollywood, Wigs & Waffles came to fruition. As you’ll catch numbers featuring Maebe strutting around bright yellow banquettes in pumps and a cheetah-print pencil dress to Shania Twain’s That Don’t Impress Me Much and Indica shaking it in a lime green bodysuit to Sigala’s Sweet Lovin’, with a broad range of enticing talent such as Serena Infiniti-Rose, Loris, and LaDon Amour Balmain, you get to enjoy an exuberant variety of local drag stars performing number after number of glamourous, gut-busting goodness -- all while you nosh on the most important meal of the day. Basically, for $45 a head, you get your choice of either bottomless mimosas or bloody marys, and an endless array of eggs, bacon, and yes, that’s right -- waffles. Of course vegan and non-alcoholic options are always available as well.

With Wigs & Waffles being hosted at The Standard every Saturday at noon, you have no excuse not to throw on your Saturday’s best and get your grub on this weekend. Walk-ins are always welcome, but we highly suggest reserving a seat in advance. Also if you don’t wish to opt for the all-you-can-eat option, you can always go a la carte while you throw your dollars in the air. On that note, pro tip: don’t forget to bring some cash to tip your lovely performers. What can’t Maebe A. Girl and Indica Sativa do when they put their perfectly teased heads together? The world shall never know for the saying, “Two is better than one” rings true in this instance. These two are taking over, and they’re sticking together like glue.

“We turned ourselves into the brunch queens. We run brunch in LA.” says Indica. “We firmly feel like that and we plan to get even bigger, but the great thing about Maebe and I’s relationship is, we’re best friends, but we’re not best friends that sit and gossip, we come up with ideas. It is always something strategic on how we can capitalize on everything and anything that we’re doing. That’s how you make drag a business.”

Wigs & Waffles | Every Saturday 12-3pm at the Standard

Written by Dakota Nate | Photography by Robiee Ziegler