One of the very best parts of being a food blogger is constantly meeting new people both online and in person. Some of my favorite friendships that I’ve made here in Los Angeles were solidified over meals, like when I met my girl Diana at Ludo Bites 3.0 and my boy Danny at STK. Sharing food and drink is a wonderful way to bring people together, and I want to share that opportunity with y’all!
Grubwithus, a community where friends and future friends create and join group meals, is teaming up with gas•tron•o•my to give away $100 in dining credit. Through the service, grubbers can browse and reserve meals online, and then meet, socialize, and build relationships over great food. Meals typically cost between $28 to $34, which includes a family-style meal, tax, and tip. Paying in advance eliminates the awkward check-splitting that often occurs at large group meals. Whew!
“$100 Dining Credit with Grubwithus” Giveaway
I have $100 in Grubwithus dining credit to give away to ONE lucky gas•tron•o•my reader. To qualify for the giveaway, please leave a comment with your name and email address in the appropriate fields, and your answer to the following question: Dinner for three. Anybody in history dead or alive. Who are your guests?
I’ll be selecting the winner based on the sheer awesomeness of his or her response. All entries must be received by Monday, November 5, 2012 at midnight PST. Good luck!
Really random, but I choose. Justin Timberlake, Anthony Bourdain & Stephen Colbert
Graham Norton, Gilda Radnor and and Jim Henson! <3
Mark Twain and Cleopatra
Nigella Lawson, Oprah Winfrey, and my father (who recently passed away)
Dinner for 3, not including me, would also include…
My grandmother
I would invite Stephen Fry and Freddie Mercury!
Socrates, the Buddha and Bob Dylan. Imagine the conversations.
thanks for holding this awesome giveaway! my picks would have to include:
Julia Childs, there’s no way I can pass up the chance to hear her talk about food in person
Haruki Marukami, who always writes so beautifully and simply about food
Ruth Wakefield, simply because chocolate chip cookies are still my favorite dessert of all times and she just seemed like this incredible inventor and entrepreneur
I would invite George Washington (for my husband’s benefit), Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Diana
me, my mom and my sister !
jane austen and anne bancroft
Me, Jim Morrison and Taylor Swift. We eat, drink, somke. Morrison hopelessly hits on Swift. I laugh. Somehow she finds a song in all of this.
Iron Chef style:
Jacques Pepin vs. Bobby Flay … and I get to be the third and judge!
Oprah, Obama, and Audrey Hepburn.
Anderson Cooper, Kobe Bryant, and Paula Deen
Banksy, the Dalai Lama, and Salvador Dali
Me, Michelle Obama and Barack Obama!
Jane Austin, Freddy Mercury. and if the third is not me: Any of the Rothschild (as long as they have a good story!)
Dr. Stephen Hawking, Socrates & the Dalai Lama.
I would go with.. You! Anthony Bourdain and Ludo Lefebvre! I did meet you once, but I didn’t know who you were until after 🙁
Walt Disney, Christopher Walken and Tina Fey….what a crazy conversation that would be!
If It’s me and two others:
(1) My best friend, who passed away three years ago today, so that we could have one last good conversation with dinner and fine wine (and because I owe her a fantastic dinner for the birthday gift she sent me before she died).
(2) Sappho, because she was one of my best friend’s fave poets, which means not only could we dine & discuss her life, but she could also drop some mad lyrics for entertainment. We could hear her as she was meant to be heard while enjoying dessert and post-meal coffee. Plus we could swap ancient foodie suggestions for contemporary tips.
If it’s me and three others:
(3) Bill Murray. That way when he says “no one will ever believe you,” I can say “The Gastronomer will.” (Context: http://www.billmurraystory.com/) Plus I’d love to hear the conversation that arises between him, Sappho, and my bestie. While we all swirl our drinks and enjoy an amuse bouche or two. Maybe he’ll swap recitations and monologues with Sappho while Linds and I savor the tastes and sounds of our last shared moment. The sort of last memory she deserved.
Dinner for three….would be my mother, father, and me. I haven’t been financially blessed with many opportunities to treat my parents to a nice meal as often as I would like to. I will always remember how my parents expressed their selfless and unconditional love for me through food. Growing up, weddings (especially Chinese weddings), were such a treat! It was only during weddings that my family were able to enjoy the finer foods beyond our budget. I especially loved eating my way through the 10-course Chinese banquets as a child. My parents, on the other hand, would sacrifice their serving portion of each course for me….they let me eat the best foods to show how much they loved me. I remember how my father would always give up his bowl of shark fin soup, so that I may have two bowls of the precious broth. My mother would give up her share of scallops, lobster, and other good things in each dish, so that I can eat till my heart’s/stomach’s content. My parents deserve a good meal, and I hope I can have that with them.
I would invite David Letterman and Sarah Palin. I can’t think of two people who could liven up a dinner party more than those two being at the same table! It would be hysterical listening to Sarah Palin defend herself against David Letterman.
As we ladle out stew from the dutch cast iron swinging over the fire, Johnny Cash describes his childhood in Arkansas. His voice is low as he explains how working in the cotton fields with only five years upon his head and the death of his brother changed him. Richard Feynman listens quietly to Cash’s tales, while I contemplate how my own path would have turned under such circumstances. I wonder if Feynman is thinking about the same thing.
As sparks crackle from the fire, Cash remarks on their fleeting brilliant beauty. Out loud, Feynman starts calculating the expected lifetime of a spark. Cash asks him why. “Just to know, but then also maybe we can extend their lives.” Crumbling cornbread, Feynman tells how he always pushed himself because of an unquenchable desire to be able to understand, explain, and predict all that he sees, touches, and feels. I ask how problems feel to him; if he can explain some of his famous ability to cut issues to the quick so that the solution, or at least the path to, is clear. With a grin, he tells me to ask Johnny how he writes a great song. These two heroes of mine start to reminisce about the endless sources of inspiration they’ve had.
After we polish off the s’mores, Feynman looks sheepishly at Cash, breaks out his Bongo drums, and starts tapping out beat after rhythmic beat.
Lorraine Bracco, Terry A. Anderson and Bubba (AKA Bill Clinton).
Oops- dinner FOR three. Lorraine Braco and Bubba would be my two. Sorry, Terry:(
Georges Danton: key figure in the French Revolution. Legendary orator, lived and died in epochal times. Brought down the French monarchy, stewarded the birth of the republic, and was brought down by Robespierre. Plus he was a French guy with an appetite, so, you know, do the math.
Richard Pryor: one of the funniest and sharpest comedians I’ve ever seen. I seriously about had a hernia watching Live in Concert. The way he could get this unstoppable momentum going on stories that were both hilarious and packed with critical insight was pretty amazing.
I think that’d make for a pretty good dinner party. It’d definitely go into the wee small hours, I tell you that much.
Bill and Hillary Clinton – with me. Imagine hearing about how a vegan lifestyle led to Bill looking as good as he does while still eating well. And just how does one travel so extensively and remain energetic?
Dinner for three. I would like to have it with Ho Chi Minh and Ngo Dinh Diem. I want to know what happened in 1956 when the elections scheduled for that year in South Vietnam for the reunification of Vietnam were canceled. That is the event that led to the bloody war that killed many of our people.
Marc Antony (the general, not the singer), Mahatma Gandhi, and Geronimo the freedom fighter.
Hmmz my three would be…
1. Takeshi Kitano- He is a true Renaissance man and one of my favorite film directors. Although my Japanese is decent I am going to assume a translator is included.
2. Marcelo Garcia- Arguably the world’s greatest Brazilian Jiu-jitsu middleweights and my idol. I’d love to talk to him about all of his famous matches; maybe try to get a couple tips too.
3. Walt Disney- I was raised on everything Disney and I love Disneyland. I would probably ask him what else he had planned for the park before he died (hopefully he can get over the fact that he’s dead).
I think it’s most valuable to have conversation with people you don’t agree with. My first guest would be CHristopher Columbus, because I think he made a number of brutal and hugely impactful errors. I would love to hear from his pont of view the context of his moral choices. I would love the chance to show him from the future how his actions have had consequences for the world!
Of course, I would be able to make my own case better with some other folks with salient perspectives. Karl Marx is a pretty articulate dude and might have some interesting points on the futility and inhumanity of pursuing of gold at the expense of human life.
Lastly, Steven Barahirwa, a living Batwa man who, in his lifetime, went from being a hunter gather to working for someone else and is, consequently, in his own words “an unhappy man”.
I would love to join in conversation with these folks on the subject of the value of land, how to respect it, and what leads to true happiness.
Congrats to Alexander Sonn! Your words moved me. Thanks for entering the contest and enjoy your Grubwithus feasts!