Interviewing strangers over a meal since 2008 (as featured in the Washington Post)
Eleanor Clift is a famous liberal reporter, perhaps best known to many American television viewers as one of the pundits on the weekly political talk show The McLaughlin Group. Although she’s still busy reporting these days writing for The Daily Beast, she took a few hours out of her schedule…
Cheryl Kagan would love a private life — but that’s not possible right now. That’s because she’s the Maryland state senator for district 17, covering Gaithersburg and Rockville. As she told me during a dinner interview, it’s a non-stop job that involves a very public life. That makes it difficult…
Bill and Laura Johnson live on the road. They spend more than half the year traveling in their motor home to various states, motivated only by what they think might be interesting. The couple, both in their 60s, told me that they love the potential of going to new places…
Doug Schantz doesn’t care for sports and doesn’t cook — but that didn’t stop him from following through on his dream of opening a gay sports bar in Washington, DC. Nellie’s Sports Bar has been open since 2007 and remains incredibly popular with a mixed gay and straight crowd, with…
Here’s the last of three short restaurant reviews from my recent New York trip. On my last day I needed a quick but filling lunch. Looking around the neighborhood near my hotel in Queens, I found the well-rated Kanki Sushi. This Japanese kitchen offers fresh sushi as well as various…
During my New York trip I also discovered a great French restaurant in Long Island City. Cafe Henri, much like Balthazar, offers several dishes you’d expect at a decent bistro, including mussels with fries; hanger steak; croque monsieur and croque madame; and an impressive range of crepes with sweet fillings…
On a return trip to New York this week, I ate again at the restaurant Balthazar. Not that the recommendations of a random British guy might mean anything, but for anyone that is looking for somewhere to dine in Manhattan I strongly encourage a trip to this French bistro-style place….
Victor Pope Jr. can make you laugh in six seconds. That’s how long his comedy videos are on Vine, an app that lets users upload six-second clips of everything and anything from music performances to rants to comedy sketches. I met Victor for a late lunch in Arlington, Texas earlier…
Spent last weekend in Dallas, Texas, for the 86th dinner interview. Beyond chatting with a comedian (look for the article next week) I also got to explore the city. That included a wander around Dealey Plaza, the site of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. It was a weird experience. There’s…
Dave Hindman is a man of many careers. From the Air Force to work as a University of Maryland (UMD) lab technician, and from a stint teaching classes on car repair to his current work doing environmental permitting for federal agencies, major companies, and others, he has plenty of interesting…