In July 2010 I traveled to Philadelphia for a weekend to meet friends, and made time to do another Dining With Strangers interview. Today’s throwback is to the 24th stranger; restaurant critic blogger and photographer Albert Yee. He moved to the city several years ago knowing little about it, but…

The 23rd Throwback Thursday is the second of two interviews from my July 2010 trip to California; this one with Winston Geiseke who at the time was managing editor of a blog for the gay porn publishing company Unzipped that produced magazines and more. We met at Dear John’s Restaurant in Culver…

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…

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…

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…

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…

The 18th Throwback Thursday is my April 2010 lunch in Providence, Rhode Island, with Mary Ann Sorrentino to talk about her many careers. She’s worked in medical care, been a local radio show host and columnist, and was an abortion rights advocate while serving as head of the state’s Planned…

The 17th Throwback Thursday is one of four dinners from an April 2010 weekend trip to Providence, Rhode Island. The first was at Camille’s Restaurant with Rhode Island School of Design student Robin Tafel, who was pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Looking back at this article, I realize…

The 16th dinner interview was my afternoon tea in December 2009 at Alice’s Tea Cup in Manhattan talking with New Yorker Teresa Suarez, learning about her side career selling sex toys and other adult products — just one of her three jobs. An unlikely setting for an adult-themed conversation, but…

Here’s the 15th Throwback Thursday: Dinner in New York at Tony’s DiNapoli with actor Jack Fry back in December 2009. Before we met, I saw his one-man show “They Call Me Mister Fry” which tells the true story about his first year as a teacher at a high school in…