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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Jim Obergefell Joins Family Equality

Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the U.S. Supreme Court case from 2015 that backed same-sex marriages, has joined the organization Family Equality which provides legal support and other assistance to LGBTQ+ families across the United States. According to a recent press release from the group, “Obergefell will be lending…

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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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Throwback Thursday 67: Brobson’s Big Easy

The 67th Throwback Thursday is my October 2014 dinner with decades-long French Quarter resident Dr. Brobson Lutz at the landmark Galatoire’s Restaurant in New Orleans talking about the city’s history, his medical career, Hurricane Katrina, being a graphic novel character and much more. I’m still in touch with Brobson and…

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Help Mark Bucher Fill The Fridge

Mark Bucher, one of the founders of DC-based steak frites restaurant chain Medium Rare and a former Dining With Strangers interviewee, is launching a new campaign called Fill The Fridge to provide school lunches to communities throughout the District. “We will be providing 1000’s of refrigerators filled daily with fresh…

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