Interviewing strangers over a meal since 2008 (as featured in the Washington Post)
Dean Gold, 60, is the executive chef and owner of Dino’s Grotto, an Italian-inspired restaurant in Washington, DC’s, Shaw neighborhood. It’s the second incarnation of the venue after he shuttered his prior restaurant Dino in the Cleveland Park neighborhood due to declining business after a several years-long run. Last week,…
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…
A short update to say thank you to Laura Hayes of the Washington City Paper for doing a feature on the almost-10 year anniversary of Dining With Strangers. It launched on November 25, 2008, when I posted the first interview, with my friend Joe Matar learning more about him and…
André Hueston Mack, 45, is a winemaker and former sommelier at some of the world’s top restaurants including French Laundry in Yountville, California, and its sister venue Per Se in New York City. He got into the wine industry after quitting a successful desk job in the financial investment sector,…
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….
In the almost 10 years I’ve been meeting strangers for a meal to interview them, I’ve engaged with a huge range of people that I’d never otherwise have had the honor of chatting with and learning about. For the holidays, I reached out to a handful of the people who…
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….