Interviewing strangers over a meal since 2008 (as featured in the Washington Post)
Artist Leslee Melamed, who was the 76th dinner stranger along with her husband actor Fred Melamed, has launched a website featuring some of her work. Here’s how she describes it: “On canvas, she is associated with the bold use of texture and judicious color. Early influences were Mark Rothko and…
Throwback Thursday 12 is my August 2009 dinner with Jerry Gandolfo, owner of the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum, at The Court of Two Sisters in the French Quarter. We had a interesting talk about how Jerry got involved in preserving voodoo’s story, even though he’s not a practicioner. You…
You can now watch Dean Gold, owner of DC restaurant Dino’s Grotto, online. He’s launched a YouTube channel for the Italian-inspired venue, and although he’s just getting started there are already several clips that should appeal to food lovers. His first is a three-video step-by-step guide to making a rissoto,…
The wonderful show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend finished last week. I had the honor of interviewing a few cast members for Dining With Strangers during the last few years, so for Throwback Thursday here’s an ICYMI list of breakfasts and lunches with them. Back to the sequential TBTs next week! The first…
It’s another Thursday and another throwback — the 11th dinner with a stranger took place in August 2009 in Brooklyn, where I interviewed photographer Lars Stephan about his work. Originally from Germany, Lars is for now living in Brooklyn and building on a career launched online with self-portraits that, more…
Steve Hayes, the 117th dinner interviewee and host of YouTube classic film review series “Tired Old Queen at the Movies,” will be sharing stories about his show and his performing past in New York on April 7. You can buy tickets in advance online for his one-man show, “Steve Hayes:…
Every month on the YouTube series “Tired Old Queen at the Movies” actor Steve Hayes shares his love for old movies with five-to-10 minute videos adlibbing about classic features. He covers everything from the characters to the stories of the actors playing them, from the social themes in the plot…
It’s Thursday, so here’s the next in the throwback interview series. The 10th interview took place in August 2009, and was my lunch in New York with actor Cecil Baldwin, who went on to great success with the Welcome to Night Vale podcast. And I’m happy to report he remains…
There’s an organization in Washington, DC, called FuckUp Nights that features people sharing their stories of business failures. Back in July 2015 I had dinner with the group’s Meredith Denbow who talked about the benefits of openly talking about personal catastrophes. And now they’re looking for speakers for their next…
Throwback Thursday number nine is my May 2009 lunch in Columbia Heights, DC, with Mike Wilkinson and Alicia Wilkinson-Mehr — two of the founders of local pizza chain Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza. In the years since the interview, Pete’s has expanded to several more locations around the city, although…