Interviewing strangers over a meal since 2008 (as featured in the Washington Post)
Following on from yesterday’s Throwback Thursday article highlighting my dinner with the 97th stranger Jim Obergefell, there’s a related event coming up next month at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. David Danzmayr, music director of the Oregon Symphony, will conduct a concert by the National Orchestral Institute and Festival…
The 97th dinner with a stranger took place in February 2017 with Jim Obergefell. He was the lead named plaintiff in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that led to the 5-4 ruling in June 2015 finding the Constitution guarantees the right of same-sex couples to marry across the United…
For more than 20 years, Dani Lubnitzki – better known as Dani Luv – has played the piano and cracked Borscht Belt-style jokes for his many fans at the much-loved New York restaurant Sammy’s Roumanian Steakhouse. In the 135th dinner interview, Dani shares tales from his past, all with a…
Author Monika Pickett, the 128th stranger featured on this site, is hosting a talk and book signing, “If Only For One Night,” in Atlanta on Thursday May 22. It’s hosted by Mimi Faust, who was featured on “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta,” and in addition to Monika’s reading there will…
My 96th dinner interview took place on a cruise ship somewhere in the Caribbean back in January 2017. That’s when I met Matt Yee, who at the time was a mainstay on gay and straight cruises, and also in high demand on land, for his drag cabaret show. Over a…
Let’s get physical with the 134th interview with a stranger — my meal with personal trainer Raine Storm McKeython. A (mostly) lifelong resident of Washington, D.C., Raine grew up with a love and natural talent for basketball, with childhood dreams of playing in the NBA. He carried this through to…
Far too late with posting this news, but food critic and radio host Tom Fitzmorris died on February 12 in his beloved hometown of New Orleans, at the age of 74. It was due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease, NOLA.com reports. Tom was the 49th stranger interviewed for this site…
For the 95th dinner interview in December 2016, I met W. Ralph Eubanks. He’s a researcher, writer and more and a self-described “light-skinned” African American who spent his childhood growing up among the racial strife of the civil rights era in Mississippi. Since then, he’s had an extensive career both…
Writer Jonn Elledge, the utterly charming, smart and funny 131st dinner interviewee, was the first interview on this site in almost five years back in January. He discussed his book “A (Brief) History of the World in 47 Borders,” which at the time was only available in hardback or audiobook…
In September 2016, I offered dinner with me as a prize in a silent auction for a fundraiser, after being contacted by the organizers who were hosting the auction for charity. David Stivaletta, an accountant in Washington, DC, bid the winning amount. That’s how we came to meet for Italian…