Dear reader,
There’s a universal phenomenon that has taken over humanity, and not enough research is being done on it. It’s this thing that happens when you’re eating alone. You can’t do it in silence; nobody can. The moment you sit down with a plate in front of you, a part of your brain just refuses to get past it. It needs something playing, a show, a movie, a background noise, anything.
I've been deep into Grey's Anatomy lately. And yes, I'm fully aware that watching an open heart surgery while cutting into a chicken breast is unhinged.
I promise, I can list a pro to this activity. You’ll eat more slowly, possibly pacing yourself with what you’re watching. That’s why I don’t recommend doomscrolling on social media. Putting on an actual show forces you to sit still instead of frying your brain on 10-second clips.
But to be fair, you might run into a major con of becoming a thoughtless couch potato. Now, every single time I have dinner or any meal, really, I have to watch something. It's a total trap where you look down, your plate is empty, and you didn't even taste the food because your brain was entirely turned off. You just sit there staring at a screen like a zombie while chewing, completely disconnected from reality.
And then there’s the pre-meal scroll. This is the real problem. Your food is hot and steamy, and you’re standing over it scrolling in full panic mode, not sure what to pick. And when you manage to pick something, your food is already cold.
Anyways, if you're stuck in that last dilemma, and you’d like to skip that drama altogether, I highly recommend adding this to your watchlist: Lebanon on the Edge. We hosted this panel with the Frontline Club in London, bringing together some incredible journalists and academics to break down the massive challenges reshaping Lebanon and the region right now.
It’s genuinely smart, engaging, and will make you think while you’re eating.
Melissa Manouchakian
Distribution editor
Openings in Lebanon
Restaurant-bar Mami opened its doors on April 3, in the middle of the war. Behind this project dedicated to contemporary Cantonese cuisine is restaurateur and project creator Mia Noun, who made a counterintuitive bet: opening an establishment specializing in dumplings and Chinese noodles at a time when war was driving away investors and customers.
Lebanese diaspora testimonies
They left Lebanon 10 years, three years, or just a few months ago. Here, they tell us how Lebanese cuisine — savoring it, but especially, making it — is a very particular experience, even a kind of therapy, when homesickness hits too hard.
Our favorites
One of the few Parisian street-food spots recognized by Gault & Millau, Ya Bayté is far from Carole and Imad Kanaan's first Parisian gastronomic experience. Meet a duo who left their very different world to create something closer to their origins.
