Well this site has certainly not achieved anything resembling regular updates this year. Whoops. Efforts to correct that are underway, with a possible interview this weekend in Chicago and a definite interview later this month in New Orleans. If you live in either city and are interested in an interview,…
The Windy City
I’m kind of obsessed with the New Orleans-set 1980s movie The Big Easy, featuring Dennis Quaid as a cop with an atrociously stereotypical N’awlins accent (think lots of use of the word “cher” to end every sentence, for example). So I was surprised to read online that it was originally…
Interview 48: A Matter Of Life O’Death
Last weekend I was in New York and had an enjoyable lunch with David Rogers-Berry, the drummer for the band O’Death. Over plates of Mexican food in Brooklyn, he told me about how he got into music from an early age and his goals for the band. There’s much more…
Horsing Around
A quick update to give a shout-out to British musician Lorraine Bowen (interview #47) who has updated her website with all kinds of bells and whistles. Give it a visit and listen to some of her quirky and catchy tunes. I can highly recommend a listen to “The Burger Song”…
Rest In Peace Ed Koch
Sad news out of New York City: former Mayor Ed Koch has died. In October 2011, I spent an hour or so with Mr. Koch in his corner-room office at the law firm where he worked each day. We shared coffee and cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery, and I quizzed him…
Interview 47: The Mistress Of Melody
Earlier this month I was back in England to visit my family. On the way back to the States, I managed to sneak in a dinner with singer and songwriter Lorraine Bowen. Lorraine is a charming, funny and outgoing woman who writes quirky songs about offbeat subjects, including what goes…
New Year’s Resolutions
A new year has started and my resolutions success rate is already spotty at best. I’ve already done one dinner interview in 2013, part of what I hope will be a fulfilled goal of completing more than the five interviews from 2012. But I’ve also not started on transcribing it…
Here Comes Santa Claus
Merry Christmas to this site’s handful of readers! I’m flying back to England for the holidays and won’t be updating Dining With Strangers until early next year. So you can stop feverishly clicking “refresh” in the hope that a new interview will suddenly appear. That’s my festive gift to you….
Good Taste & Gatherings Launches
A few months ago I mentioned a fundraising project for “Good Taste & Gatherings,” a web-based documentary series bringing people who like good food together to share a meal. Sadly, the organizers never reached their target. However, they pushed ahead with the project and yesterday released the first pilot video…
Year In Review
2012 was what I will generously describe as a year of sporadic updates for Dining With Strangers. I went several months between some interviews. Despite the infrequent articles, it was an interesting year and I got to meet some people and learn about careers I’d never otherwise have experienced. Presented…