Ines Verbeke is cycling through America. She was born in America but raised in Belgium, and long yearned to explore her country of birth. Taking a break from her career, she’s finally getting to see the States. Earlier this year, she flew across the Atlantic with a vague plan of…
Interview 82: The Swiss Ambassador
Martin Dahinden is the Ambassador of Switzerland to the United States. He’s also the 83rd stranger to dine with me for this site. His staff at the Swiss Embassy were incredibly generous to arrange an evening meal last week for Martin and me, taking place at the gorgeous Swiss Residence…
Interview 81: Night Of The DC Dead
Vaughn Irving wants to scare you senseless. He’s one of the creative minds behind DC Dead, a temporary attraction for Halloween. Groups of people sign up to enter an abandoned building and must attack — or in my case, more likely run screaming from — hordes of zombies that have…
Interview 80: After The Storm — Part II
Sometimes I stay in touch with the strangers I meet. During the Labor Day weekend, I traveled to New Orleans to reconnect with three former strangers to find out what they’ve been up to since we dined together. Zydeco dancer teacher Mary Burns, cover band member Buzzy “Beano” Langford and…
Interview 80: After The Storm — Part I
Last week I was back in New Orleans for the Labor Day weekend. On that Saturday, I was honored to get the chance to reunite with three people who have in recent years featured on Dining With Strangers. We gathered at the fine dining restaurant Antoine’s — which has been…
Interview 79: Young At Heart
Barbara Crocker knows how to stay young at heart. She recently turned 62 and told me during dinner at Le Diplomate in Washington, DC, that she feels younger than ever. Her life is packed with activities ranging from fundraising for Georgetown University to trekking to the top of some of…
Interview 78: FuckUp Nights In The District
Apologies for the swear word in this post’s title, but FuckUp Nights is the name of an organization that brings entrepreneurs together to share stories of business failures, discuss what they learned from the bad experiences, and provide insight that might help them and others in the future. The group…
Interview 77: A Meal At Marrakech
Late last month I had dinner with DC resident Jenny Wang. She works in public relations in the District, and has fallen in love with the city. Jenny said life in Washington is a big contrast from the rural Pennsylvania town where she grew up, and also shared tales about…
Interview 76: Meeting Mr. Melamed — Part II
Last week I uploaded part one of my interview with actor Fred Melamed. As promised, one week later I’m uploading part two. In this installment, Fred talks more about being adopted as a baby; his experiences meeting his birth mother and father; moving from New York to Los Angeles; his…
Interview 76: Meeting Mr. Melamed — Part I
Today marks only the third time I’ve had a two-part interview on the site. The reason for today’s two-parter is because Hollywood actor Fred Melamed had so many interesting things to say about his life that breaking our almost four-hour dinner into two segments is the only way I can…