Bill and Laura Johnson spend at least half of every year traveling the United States in their motor home. In April 2016, they were passing through Nashville, Tennessee, while I was visiting the city, so we met for the 88th dinner interview. During our lunch meeting the couple told me…

In 2007, Doug Schantz achieved his dream of owning a gay sports bar in Washington, DC, when he opened Nellie’s. Since then, the bar has become a fixture in its neighborhood. In March 2016, for the 87th interview I dined with Doug at the venue to talk about its history,…

By 2016, Victor Pope Jr. had amassed more than one million followers on Vine, a now-defunct phone app where he performed six-second comedy skits with his offbeat humor. When we met for the 86th dinner interview in February that year, Victor told me his real passion was for standup comedy….

Back in January 2016, I met Dave Hindman for the 85th dinner with a stranger. During our meal at Ledo in College Park, Maryland, Air Force veteran Dave shared his experiences during “Black September,” a tumultuous time in the Middle East in the 1970s. He said he was planning to…

The 84th dinner interview took place on December 29, 2015, with Michael Wood in Willerby, England. He’s an award-winning town crier who loves his work. Although Michael keeps the ancient art of town crying alive and well in his community, it’s just one of many unusual careers he’s enjoyed. During…

Ines Verbeke was born in the United States but raised in Belgium, and has always wanted to visit the country of her birth. So at the age of 25 she has launched an ambitious effort to cycle across America, starting in the Northeast. During a brief stop in Washington, DC,…

In 2015, Martin Dahinden was the Ambassador of Switzerland to the United States. He was also the 83rd stranger to dine with me. His staff at the Swiss Embassy were incredibly generous to arrange an evening of a special menu for the two of us, taking place at the gorgeous Swiss…

Where were we? As I slowly get this site back up and running ahead of hopefully resuming dinner interviews later this year, one regular feature that’s returning is Throwback Thursday — a sequential look back at past dinners. The previous throwback update was in March 2021(!) when I shared memories…

The 79th Throwback Thursday dinner happened in August 2015, when I met Barbara Crocker at the French restaurant Le Diplomate in DC. Barbara had just celebrated her 62nd birthday that month, but during the interview she told me she feels like she’s getting younger every year with her busy schedule…

Here’s the 78th Throwback Thursday interview: July 2015 dinner with Meredith Denbow at Jyoti Indian Cuisine in DC. Since moving to Washington, DC, a few years ago, Meredith has been working to grow a local branch of Fuckup Nights. The unusually named organization hosts seminars across the globe where people…