"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.
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.
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 Saturday Night Live writer Alex English on getting the last laugh
"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.
Throwback Thursday 110 (October 2018): A joke rap video made in college about their gay sex lives went viral overnight. Now best friends Pierre Phipps and Terrance Wilson — aka the Freaky Boiz — have turned that moment into a growing brand with ambitious plans for the future.
Recap of 12 brilliant strangers I dined with this year: @jonnelledge.bsky.social, @naomipaxton.bsky.social, Joe Himali, Raine McKeython, Dani Luv, Doudgy Charmant, Brian Acosta Arya, @mkraju.bsky.social, Robert Factor, @cookinwithcongress.bsky.social, @jebbrooks.bsky.social and Azusa Sheshe Dance
Interview 142: Singer and actor Azusa Sheshe Dance 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
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.
Throwback Thursday 108 (September 2018): Lunch with Jay Nix, owner of New Orleans’ Parkway Bakery & Tavern. He swears by one management rule: “Don’t be an asshole.” Judging by the success of his place, serving up the classic po’ boy (or poor boy, in Parkway-speak), it works.
Interview 141: I met globe-trotting YouTuber Jeb Brooks 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
New interviews coming soon. For today, here's 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.
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 colorful life that includes wine, economics, jazz and more.
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.
Interview 140: Dinner with Bennett Rea, creator of the viral online series Cookin’ With Congress, where he recreates the bizarre recipes of politicians and others. We talked possum, Taft’s legendary appetite, George Santos’ carbonara, and how politics and food collide.
Throwback Thursday 104 (April 2018): I met André Hueston Mack for supper in New York. He's an ex-banker turned award-winning sommelier, the first African-American to win Best Young Sommelier in America. André had just launched his own label and was planning his first wine bar.
Interview 139: When I was 10, I saw actor Robert Factor in the cult comedy film Ninja Academy. A few weeks ago, at 45, I had lunch with him in Glendale, California, to hear his story: juvenile hall, acting, writing, grief and reinvention.
Dinner 138: Meeting CNN’s @mkraju.bsky.social at Pascual in DC to talk scoops, his journey to top Capitol Hill reporter, being yelled at on live TV, and balancing journalism with family life.
Throwback Thursday 102: January 2018 dinner with actor Kurt Fuller. He gets approached 10 times a day by people who swear they’ve met him before, they just can’t remember from where. But it’s really because he’s “that guy,” the character actor from movies (Ghostbusters II) and TV shows (Psych).
Brian 'The Motel Guy' @mrbrianarya.bsky.social didn’t set out to become TikTok-famous — but his heartfelt videos about life at his family’s New Jersey motel struck a chord with 1M+ followers.
We met over Korean BBQ to talk storytelling, failure and success, and life at the Lincoln Tunnel Motel.
Throwback Thursday 101: Portraits of rabbis blessing basketballs. Llamas with fruit on their heads. Foreheads — just foreheads — painted alongside strange, thoughtful objects. Welcome to the wonderfully weird world of artist Jonathan Blum, and my December 2017 dinner with him.
Dinner 136 is with Doudgy “Dew” Charmant, a D.C. artist painting joy, love, and legacy in bold color. We talked art, faith, and how he got in trouble with his uncle for tracing a picture of 50 Cent.
Dining With Strangers is now on Substack if you'd like to subscribe and get notified when I post new interviews (I am really not good as this self-promotion thing)
Interview 135: Dining with Dani Luv, the in-house singer at landmark New York steakhouse Sammy's Roumanian. For more than 20 years he's played the piano and cracked Borscht Belt-style jokes for generations of loyal diners.
Interview 134: My lunch the other week in DC with personal trainer Raine Storm McKeython. He's a former college basketball player who switched to launching his quickly growing personal training brand "The Team"
Not, surprisingly, an April fool:
Waterstones have announced A History of the World in 47 Borders as their non-fiction book of the month. Bit chuffed by that, ngl.
Off to Edinburgh for the weekend as my comedy/cabaret alter ego is hosting three shows at The Stand 😃
Interview 133 is here! Lunch with real estate agent
Joe Himali (@bestaddress.bsky.social) who has found fame on TikTok and other social media sharing his decades of knowledge about Washington, DC’s architectural history.
why not come see me talk to @knoxharrington.bsky.social off the Anfield Wrap in Liverpool next month
