Interviewing strangers over a meal since 2008 (as featured in the Washington Post)
Dean Gold is the owner and executive chef of Dino’s Grotto, an Italian-inspired restaurant in Washington, DC. It’s the second incarnation of his dream venue, after he had to close his bigger restaurant Dean in DC’s Cleveland Park due to a drop off in business. Having eaten at Dino’s with…
Jamila Robinson is a lifelong foodie, always eager to try new restaurants and also experiment with cooking at home. She’s taken that passion and used it to develop a career in media where, at several major newspapers, she’s edited features sections finding innovative ways to tell captivating stories about food,…
André Hueston Mack is a busy man. The sommelier turned wine company owner has a packed schedule that includes touring the country to visit the vineyards that supply his wine, giving motivational talks highlighting how he took chances to get to his current position, writing a memoir, and getting ready…
For 24 years, Mustafa Santiago Ali was an employee of the Environmental Protection Agency, working on environmental justice (EJ). Also known as environmental equity, EJ generally refers to addressing the disproportionate adverse impacts of industrial pollution on low-income and minority communities. It’s a cause that is personal for Mustafa, but…
At least 10 times a day, people stop Kurt Fuller to tell him they swear they’ve met before. What’s actually happening is that they’re recalling one of the almost 200 roles that Kurt, 64, has played in movies including massive hits like Ghostbusters II, Wayne’s World and Scary Movie or scene-stealing roles in television…
Jonathan Blum is a Washington, DC, born painter who now lives in New York and travels the world selling his unique paintings that feature an unusual roster of images: Rabbis, llamas, other animals, foreheads and more. “Most artists are pursuing a particular style and do different thing in their styles….
Earlier this month I was in New Orleans for a holiday, and I had to chance to dine with Frank Brigtsen. He’s the owner of the namesake restaurant Brigtsen’s, a local landmark that has been serving up his unique style of Creole and Cajun cooking for more then 30 years….
Here’s the 99th dinner interview with a stranger! It’s my lunch in Miami with Sebastian Arcos, associate director of Florida International University’s (FIU) Cuban Research Institute (CRI). Sebastian knows what he’s talking about — he was born and raised in Havana, grew disillusioned with the Castro regime in his teenage…
Dinner 98 is online! In late March I was in New York for the weekend and had the chance to interview actors Santino and Jessica Fontana. I’d read about their joint career in the arts in a great New York Times article about their wedding, and thought they’d have interesting…
“Love Wins” is the title of a book that Jim Obergefell wrote about his experiences being the lead named plaintiff in the Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges, about the landmark decision that held that the Constitution guarantees the right of same-sex couples to marry across the United States. Almost…