Interviewing strangers over a meal since 2008 (as featured in the Washington Post)
Fans of the Rocky movies might enjoy the 39th Throwback Thursday — an afternoon with actor Burt Young (Paulie from the boxing film series) in Port Washington, New York, in October 2011. Burt talked about his lengthy acting career, but also discussed his other loves of painting and writing. Before…
Steve Hayes, the 117th dinner stranger and best known for his YouTube series “Tired Old Queen at the Movies,” knows how to tell a good story about Hollywood’s yesteryear. He’s also an accomplished actor, and will be putting both those skills to use in a one-night one-man show in New…
Here’s the 38th Throwback Thursday article; the time I got coffee and cupcakes with Ed Koch. I met Ed in October 2011 on a trip to New York, the city where he served as mayor for three terms in the 1970s and 1980s. In 2011 he was a partner at…
When NFL player Ryan O’Callaghan was at the top of his game, all he could think of was suicide. His working days in the league were spent as an offensive tackle for the New England Patriots and later the Kansas City Chiefs. But at other times all he could think…
Portrait painter (and 101st stranger featured on this site) Jonathan Blum has announced his travel plans for November and December, so if you’re looking to meet him and buy some of his unique art here’s your chance. He’ll be at festivals and other events in New York and Washington, DC….
Quick reminder to sign up for the Dining With Strangers mailing list and get notified every time I post a new dinner interview. To subscribe, just enter your email address in the box on the right column. Now back to the regularly scheduled Throwback Thursday. The 37th dinner with a…
After a summer hiatus from meeting strangers for meals, I’ve resumed Dining With Strangers and so here’s the 122nd interview: dinner with Jesse Rifkin, who performs twice a week singing and playing piano at a popular bar in DC. Jesse, a journalist by day, tickles the ivories at Mr. Smith’s…
Before getting into the 36th Throwback Thursday, a reminder to sign up for my mailing list to get notified when I post a new interview (including the 122nd, coming Monday). The subscription box is top of the right-hand column on the site’s main page. My 36th dinner was the second…
If you’ve ever wanted to see actor and writer Stephen Tobolowsky (the 66th dinner stranger) perform, you’ve got a great chance to do so next month in Los Angeles at one of his six performances in a play. Stephen, perhaps best known as insurance salesman Ned Ryerson in the movie…
Marijuana smuggling is a big focus of the 35th Throwback Thursday, my August 2011 dinner at since-closed Lana in Charleston, South Carolina, with author Jason Ryan. He told me about his book “Jackpot: High Times, High Seas and the Sting That Launched the War on Drugs,” a non-fiction account of…