Interviewing strangers over a meal since 2008 (as featured in the Washington Post)
Rayceen Pendarvis is an instantly recognizable face for many people living in Washington, DC. For several decades Rayceen has worked as an activist on issues including homelessness, HIV, gentrification, and transgender rights. And recent work also includes being an emcee and finding success as the host of a popular music,…
The 45th Throwback Thursday feature contains some rather adult language, because’s it my interview with gay porn performer Antonio Biaggi. I wrote this July 2012 article as a counterpoint to my July 2010 meal with gay for pay porn performer Malachi Marx (the 22nd stranger). While Malachi (not his real…
Lorraine Bowen, the hilariously eccentric singer-songwriter I met for an interview way back in January 2013, is hoping to get her festive song “Christmas Crumble” to 100,000 views before the end of the year, so get clicking and help her reach her goal. Lorraine found fame in the UK when…
The 44th stranger I interviewed over dinner, back in May 2012, was with someone who really didn’t want to meet me. Kay Cameron was a part-time volunteer with the Washington Literacy Center, which teaches literacy skills to adults in the District of Columbia who read below a fifth grade level….
Here’s the 125th dinner interview! A few years ago, chef Brandon Williams was at a cookout and trying to think of something to make for his pescatarian mother. Instead of doing the typical baked or fried fish, he decided to turn high quality fish into patties and serve them up…
For the 43rd dinner interview, I traveled to Baltimore in April 2012 to have lunch with Ben Claassen III. He’s the charming creator of the comic strip DIRTFARM. He’s also the guy responsible for the illustrations that ran alongside Baggage Check — the advice column in DC’s now-defunct Express newspaper that…
In a few weeks’ time I’ll be back in England for Christmas and staying through to early 2020 — and while I’m back I’m eager to do some Dining With Strangers interviews. If you live anywhere in England (ideally London or East Yorkshire, although I’m open to traveling to other…
The 42nd Throwback Thursday is my February 2012 meal at Bangkok Joe’s in Georgetown with experienced marketing communications executive Rozanne Weissman. She talked about her volunteer work, life in public relations, and shared the best way to crash parties in the District.
Christmas comes early for the 41st Throwback Thursday — my December 2011 dinner in Silver Spring, Maryland, with Ed Downey. At the time, he’d performed as Santa Claus for 29 years. Over a meal at Red Lobster he explained how a globetrotting past led to his current festive role.
Sampson McCormick is a 33-year-old gay black comedian who doesn’t like being told what he can and can’t say. Born in Washington, DC, he bombed at his first few gigs using routines that relied on tired, unfunny jokes. Then he shifted to talking about finding the humor in bad experiences,…