Interviewing strangers over a meal since 2008 (as featured in the Washington Post)
Sad news courtesy of the Washington City Paper’s Laura Hayes, who reports that Dean Gold will soon close his DC Italian-inspired restaurant Dino’s Grotto. In May 2018 I met Dean for dinner at his restaurant for the 106th Dining With Strangers interview. It was his second attempt at making a…
Throwback Thursday 22 is one of the most-read interviews on my site; lunch in Los Angeles with gay for pay porn actor and escort Malachi Marx (not his real name) back in July 2010. The original version of the article on the old Dining With Strangers site had a lot…
Visiting New York for World Pride? Want something fun to do on Friday June 28? Buy a ticket for the one man show “Steve Hayes Is So Inclined,” taking place at 7pm. Steve, the 117th stranger featured on this site, is the host of the YouTube series “Tired Old Queen…
In the decade-plus that I’ve been doing Dining With Strangers, I’ve had a handful of interviews that justified splitting into two parts. My May 2015 dinner in Beverly Hills with actor Fred Melamed (A Serious Man, Girls, Curb Your Enthusiasm) and his wife Leslee Spieler Melamed was one of those….
The 21st Throwback Thursday is my May 2010 lunch at Muriel’s in New Orleans with voodoo queen Mary Millan. A very easygoing and interesting person, she dispelled some myths about the religion of voodoo and also had plenty to say about life in the Big Easy. In addition to my…
Toyin Alli is the chef-owner of Puddin’, specializing in Cajun and Creole comfort food operating in DC out of a food truck and a stand at Union Market. On a recent weeknight I met Toyin for the 119th dinner interview; a chat about what got her started in the food…
Throwback Thursday 20 is the fourth and final interview from a weekend in Providence, Rhode Island, in April 2010. Local photographer Amy Messere reached out to do an interview, saying she wanted to talk about her art but also her work as a waitress in a strip club. Amy was…
Congratulations to Santino Fontana for winning Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical at the Tony Awards for his role in Tootsie The Musical! I met Santino and his wife Jessica (also an actor and singer) for a lunch interview in March 2017. They talked about what’s it…
Throwback Thursday 19 is the third of four meals with strangers in Providence, Rhode Island back in April 2010. This time it was dinner with local realtor Bob Black at Greek restaurant Andrea’s, talking about his (sadly now defunct) blog extolling the benefits of living in Rhode Island. You know…
Chef Mikko Kosonnen, owner of namesake Nordic restaurant Mikko in DC, will be hosting a party for the city’s annual Capital Pride parade on Saturday June 8. His restaurant is right by the parade route, offering a prime spot to check it out from the comfort of his welcoming patio…