With another year almost over, here’s a look back at the strangers I met in 2015.
For the second year in a row I managed to adhere to my self-imposed goal of meeting at least one stranger for a meal every month. This year also marked the first time that I’ve ever reunited (on the record) with any of the strangers, writing a two-part article about a luncheon to discuss the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with three New Orleans residents that I’d previously interviewed.
I’m incredibly grateful to each and every one of these people for taking a chance on dining with a random. Though I don’t stay in touch with every stranger that I meet, each one leaves me with lasting, fond memories. Here are the people I met this year:
- Stranger #70 (January 29): Started the new year with a fun interview — laced with several potent cocktails — with author Gary Krist. We raised a sazerac or two and enjoyed some Cajun food in the District as we discussed his book about the battle for modern New Orleans.
- Stranger #71 (February 25): Dr. David Sherer is an anesthesiologist by day trade, but also an avid writer as well as sometime inventor, and during dinner in Washington, DC, he told me about all three of his interests and which one he likes the most.
- Stranger #72 (March 19): A lengthy meal at a top-class steak restaurant in the District to meet with Jacki Barnett, one of the founders of the charity In Christy’s Shoes, which holds shoe fashion shows and fundraisers to help raise money for women in need.
- Stranger #73 (April 23): Craig Schattner told me all about his video series Dated, in which he explores the highs and lows of trying to date in DC.
- Stranger #74 (April 27): During a trip to Milan, Italy, I had dinner with local Federico Leidi, who told me about his hobby playing in a Beatles tribute band.
- Stranger #75 (May 21): Mark Echeverria, proprietor of the landmark Hollywood restaurant The Musso & Frank Grill, treated me to a great dinner and a tour of the place as he told me about how he revived the venue and his future plans.
- Stranger #76 (May 24): Dinner at the Palm steakhouse in Beverly Hills with actor Fred Melamed and his wife Leslee Spieler Melamed. In part one of the interview, they talked about Fred’s experiences with acting. In part two, they discussed other topics including Fred’s interesting life story and the Melamed family’s hobbies.
- Stranger #77 (June 25): DC-based public relations executive Jenny Wang told me about her journey from China to Washington, via an upbringing in rural Pennsylvania.
- Stranger #78 (July 30): Another dinner in the District, this time with Meredith Denbow. She’s bringing FuckUp Nights — seminars where people talk about their business failures — to the city.
- Stranger #79 (August 31): Barbara Crocker is a longtime Washington resident who told me over a meal of French food about how she stays young at heart with a host of activities including hiking major mountains and fundraising for her alma mater Georgetown University.
- Stranger #80 (September 5): A reunion with New Orleans residents Dr. Brobson Lutz, Mary Burns, and Buzzy “Beano” Langford to discuss the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. In part one of the interview the trio told me about their thoughts of the city a decade after the storm. In part two, they shared what they’ve been up to since I first met them.
- Stranger #82 (October 12): Vaughn Irving, creator of the Halloween attraction DC Dead (an interactive zombie hunting game) explained how he came up with the idea, and discussed his future goals.
- Stranger #83 (November 6): I was honored to spend an evening at the official residence of Ambassador of Switzerland to the United States of America Martin Dahinden, who talked about his role as a diplomat while also educating me on the importance of Swiss cuisine.
- Stranger #84 (December 2): Ines Verbeke is a blogger from Belgium who is cycling across the United States and writing about her experiences. While she was in DC, I got dinner with her to learn more about her interesting project.
I’m meeting one more stranger in December during my ongoing holiday back in England, but that interview won’t be online until next year.
On the off-chance that any of the strangers featured on this site are reading this — regardless of when we met — thank you so much for the wonderful experience of meeting you, and here’s to another year of random dinners in 2016.