Throwback Thursday 119 (May 2019): "I wish somebody would have helped my ass."
Toyin Alli, chef-owner of Puddin', on rebuilding a $2,000 ice cream truck by hand and the mistake that became her best-selling bread pudding sauce.
diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
Throwback Thursday 118 (April 2019): "I almost lost my belief in the whole thing."
Mikko Kosonen, former resident chef to Finland's ambassador, on 170-person weddings, embassy dinners, and the Aquavit cocktail people always ask for at his restaurant diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
Got an interesting job, an odd hobby or a fascinating life story? Let me interview you about it over dinner. diningwithstrangers.com/2026…
"Don't just tell me it's good. Why is it good?"
For interview 146, math teacher and TikTok food reviewer Nick Sevilla talks eating his way across the DMV, a gaming account that hit 174K followers, and the scoring formula behind his account "Mr. 8 That." diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
Throwback Thursday 115 (December 2018): "Get the early show if you can – look at the state of me, I'm not even buying green bananas anymore."
Bernie Clifton talks making the Queen laugh, auditioning for The Voice at 79, and taking his ostrich to Vegas. diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
"I love funny. I love it. I just wanted to be a part of it."
In the 145th dinner interview, actor Pete Gardner talks Second City, manifestation, and decades of grinding through Hollywood to "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend." diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
Throwback Thursday 114 (December 2018): "Blizzards, hurricanes, floods, you name it, we were open. Even on 9/11, we delivered food to the Pentagon." Mike Curtin on running DC Central Kitchen's 30-year mission turning wasted food into meals and jobs diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
"To make something original you have to break the rules."
In the 144th dinner interview, Tom Marolda talks writing 8,000 songs, a Grammy nomination, stars like Cher and movies like "Stayin' Alive," and life as a behind-the-scenes Hollywood hitmaker. diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
Throwback Thursday 113 (November 2018): "You can't be all things to all people. Do one thing and do it well." Mark Bucher, the DC restaurateur who built an empire on a single menu – steak frites, one price, no decisions required. diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
Throwback Thursday 112 (October 2018): "This is why I love standup, it's allowed me to be the most myself I've ever been." – Comedian and former SNL writer Alex English on getting the last laugh diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
"I sometimes think, thank you Mr. Fayed — if it hadn't been for him, I would probably still be boring Mrs. MP."
In the 143rd dinner interview, Christine Hamilton talks scandal, bankruptcy, I'm a Celebrity, and contentment after chaos. diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
Throwback Thursday 110 (October 2018): A joke rap video made in college about their gay sex lives went viral. Then best friends Pierre Phipps and Terrance Wilson — aka the Freaky Boiz — turned that moment into a growing brand with big plans for the future. diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
Recap of the 12 brilliant strangers I dined with this year: @JonnElledge, @NaomiPaxton, @JoeHimali, Raine McKeython, Dani Luv, Doudgy Charmant, @MrBrianArya, @mkraju, Robert Factor, Bennet Rea, @JebBrooks and @SHESHEDANZ
diningwithstrangers.com/2025…
Interview 142: Singer and actor Azusa Sheshe Dance @SHESHEDANZ on finding her voice in Hairspray and other theater, leaving Tennessee for New York, and choosing the subway as another stage – with an audience of over 50,000 on TikTok diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
Throwback Thursday 109 (October 2018): At just 20, Demetrius Harmon turned fame on the short video app Vine into a 2M+ following, using it to talk openly about depression, hoping to help others feel less alone diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
Throwback Thursday 108 (September 2018): Lunch with Jay Nix, owner of New Orleans’ landmark Parkway Bakery & Tavern, serving up classic po’ boy (or poor boy, in Parkway-speak) sandwiches diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
Interview 141: I met globe-trotting YouTuber @JebBrooks at D.C.’s Filomena to talk about his hit travel channel Greener Grass, finding joy on planes, trains and buses — and whether the grass really is greener elsewhere diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
Throwback Thursday 107 (September 2018): Breakfast in Brooklyn with actor Erick Lopez. A high school injury ended his sports dreams, so he took up drama instead — now he’s acting in TV and film, including as Hector on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
Throwback Thursday 106 (May 2018): Dinner with Dean Gold, owner and executive chef of Dino’s Grotto, an Italian-inspired restaurant in D.C. He shared the ups and downs of the industry, as well as his life story that includes wine, economics, jazz and more. diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
Throwback Thursday 105 (April 2018): Dinner with Jamila Robinson at Elena in Washington, D.C., talking food, family, and shaping the future of storytelling through dining. diningwithstrangers.com/the-…
