Parkway Bakery Shipping Poor Boys Nationwide

During the coronavirus pandemic, restaurants have grappled with how to adapt to a takeout or delivery focus rather than in-house dining — and many are struggling with whether they can stay afloat. I’ve written before about the different ways that chefs and restaurateurs that I’ve interviewed for Dining With Strangers…

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Throwback Thursday 72: In Christy’s Shoes

Here’s the 72nd Throwback Thursday: my March 2015 dinner at Bourbon Steak in DC to meet Jacki Barnett. She’s one of three co-founders of In Christy’s Shoes, an organization that hosts shoe fashion show fundraisers in memory of Jacki’s late friend Christy Levy Peters. During a very enjoyable meal, Jacki…

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Have Some Laughs With Alex English In DC

This is very short notice, but if you live in DC and want a good laugh, check out Alex English’s standup show on Saturday October 31. Alex, the 112th stranger featured on this site, will be performing an outdoors socially distanced set at 8pm, though doors open at 7.30pm. The…

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Sampson McCormick Heads Back To DC (Next Year)

Sampson McCormick, a comedian from DC now based in LA, is returning to his home city next June for two nights of standup performances (assuming social distancing and related restrictions have eased by then). He recently tweeted that he’ll be at the venue June 11-12, giving you plenty of advance…

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Throwback Thursday 70: Empire Of Sin

The 70th sequential Throwback Thursday feature is my dinner with New York Times best-selling author Gary Krist talking about his non-fiction book “Empire of Sin” that tells the story of New Orleans in the early 1900s. We met in January 2015 at the since-closed Acadiana in DC for an evening…

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Throwback Thursday 69: The Bee Lady

The 69th Throwback Thursday feature is my lunch interview with Jean Bishop, who for decades has worn a large bee costume to raise money for the charity Age UK, collecting more than £100k ($125k) since becoming The Bee Lady. She shared her life story when we met in Hull, England,…

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See Fred Melamed In ‘Shiva Baby’

Actor Fred Melamed, the 76th stranger featured on this site, is earning praise for his role in the new movie Shiva Baby which won rave reviews at the online South by Southwest film festival this year and from a screening at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. As described by the movie’s…

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Griefcat In The Park

This is short notice, but Griefcat — a fantastic DC-based singer/songwriter duo including former dining stranger Louisa Hall — will be performing a concert outdoors this weekend at Cherry Hill Park in Falls Church, Virginia. Here’s the relevant blurb from the event’s Facebook page: “On the evening of Saturday, September…

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