Interviewing strangers over a meal since 2008 (as featured in the Washington Post)
On Wednesday, Brigham Young University’s radio show Constant Wonder interviewed me about Dining With Strangers. It’s hosted by Marcus Smith and is says it wants listeners to “discover, explore, and reengage with the wonders of the world around you” I had a fun chat with Marcus, who was curious about…
If you’ve not read it yet, the 116th dinner is online — it’s my lunch with actresses Jane Lynch and Kate Flannery. It took place last month in West Hollywood, California, and I discovered (and wrote) a lot, including to never sit Jane by a window without blinds, and that,…
Actresses Jane Lynch and Kate Flannery are perhaps best known to many from their comedic roles on the television shows Glee and The Office respectively, but for the last few years they’ve sold out venues with a series of music revues — their latest, Two Lost Souls, opened in September. Last month, on a trip…
My third dinner interview was in December 2008, my first time meeting Margarita Pracatan, a Cuban singer living in New York who found fame performing the closing numbers for the Clive James talk show in England back in the 1990s. After I started this site, I knew I wanted to…
Last month on a trip to Los Angeles I returned to The Musso & Frank Grill. It’s a Hollywood institution, in business since the days of Charlie Chaplin and over the years a prime spot to see celebrities dining out. In May 2015 I learned about the restaurant’s ups and…
For Dining With Strangers articles I try to avoid returning to the same dining establishments after featuring them — but on Wednesday I made an exception when I returned to the residence of Martin Dahinden, Swiss ambassador to the United States. Martin and I first had dinner at his residence…
Here’s the second Throwback Thursday; my November 2008 interview with actor and writer Jim Piddock. He’s well known for his role alongside comedy icon Fred Willard as the commentators at the dog show in Christopher Guest’s fake documentary Best In Show. But Jim’s career started many years before that role, as…
A few years ago I experimented with doing mini restaurant reviews in order to keep this site frequently updated between dinner interviews (which can range from every week to every few months). It fell by the wayside but I’m eager to post more than just the interviews, so I’m going…
Last January on the Dining With Strangers Facebook page and Twitter, I started posting the old dinner interviews in order every Thursday for (you’ve probably guessed) Throwback Thursday. To get the site itself updated more frequently, I’m starting the feature here. Click here for the very first meal, with my…
Bernie Clifton, 82, is a legendary British comedian and singer, perhaps best known for a slapstick routine running around on stage in a goofy ostrich costume while he cracks punny jokes. But I recently learned there’s much more to his life story, from his early handyman jobs through to recent…