{"id":32709,"date":"2014-04-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beirut.com\/32709\/no-garlic-no-onions-dining-out-with-anthony-rahayel"},"modified":"2023-08-30T07:05:58","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T07:05:58","slug":"no-garlic-no-onions-dining-out-with-anthony-rahayel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beirut.com\/en\/32709\/no-garlic-no-onions-dining-out-with-anthony-rahayel\/","title":{"rendered":"No Garlic No Onions: Dining Out With Anthony Rahayel"},"content":{"rendered":" (Image via nogarlicnoonions.com<\/a>)

Food and happiness \u2013 that is Anthony Rahayel\u2019s ultimate philosophy on life.

Beirut.com sat down with Lebanon’s most famous food blogger – typing discreetly on his iPad in the corner of a new sandwich shop in Hamra called Minis<\/a> – to find out more about the man behind the blog. Rahayel says he prefers doing his reviews from the corner of a restaurant, where he can take photos and write down notes without bothering anyone or attracting much attention to himself.

From an early age, Rahayel says he was driven by an inexplicable desire to explore the hidden, dusty corners that life has to offer. And at 16, photography became the apparatus through which to explore. Today, he is a hardworking dentist (we\u2019re talking about a ten-hour daily work schedule), hypnotherapist, \u201c24-hour father and husband,” and he still manages to find time to explore his passion for food on his blog, No Garlic No Onions<\/a>. It is a site that has become the go-to directory for reading reviews about Lebanese restaurants.

So why the name, “No Garlic No Onions?” Rahayel tells Beirut.com, “I cannot understand a blog in the name of a person. Anthony’s Blog? No, thanks.\u201d Also, it’s just a flat-out explanation of the truth: Rahayel has an intolerance to garlic and onions.

The NGNO blogger says he doesn’t come to the table with any sort of culinary expertise, but focuses on giving readers his honest experience. \u201cI just compare things,” hey says, admitting, “I\u2019ve eaten a lot\u201d.

To help us better understand, he references the \u201cheavenly\u201d pizza he had at PZZA CO.<\/a> earlier in the day. “Alright,\u201d he chuckles. “PZZA Co is the best pizza in Lebanon because it is the only pizza that’s thirty centimeters round and has been prepared by hand. It has fantastic dough that’s not watery, and this is very important because when you eat it with your hands, the ingredients shouldn\u2019t fall out.\u201d

Rahayel continues talking, illustrating the importance of other details like the subtle crunchiness of the crust. It’s clear that while he remains humble about his passion, he has gained quite a bit of knowledge over the years, delineating his expertise in the field of food.

Despite all this, the blogger admits to Beirut.com that he’d rather eat food than cook it. But his wife, to this day, remains in his eyes “the best cook ever.” Yet if there’s one restaurant in Lebanon he would suggest you try, Rahayel says La Petite Maison<\/a> is the restaurant that makes him \u201cjump for joy.”

His other favorites? The Four Seasons Hotel<\/a> for its phenomenal brunch; OSLO<\/a> or Hanna Mitri<\/a> in Achrafieh for \u201corgasmic\u201d ice-cream; ” target=”_new”>Prune<\/a> for being the best French bistro; Sud<\/a> for its exquisite ambiance and relaxed atmosphere; Frosty Palace<\/a> for its \u201cmmmm… no words\u201d burger; Halabi<\/a> for Arabic fine dining and Nasma<\/a> or Al-Balad<\/a> for Arabic cuisine with a funky twist.

But the blogger astutely points out, “You cannot say there is ‘that one’ [best restaurant in Lebanon]… all restaurants are unique and have their own strengths and weaknesses.” His advice on writing up a proper review: never go in with preconceived notions about what it will be like.

He chuckles, and orders another round of sandwiches, adding \u201ceven airplane food is great! Take a deep breath; smell what you\u2019re eating; feel what you\u2019re eating. Realize you\u2019re on a plane with food that has been cooked six hours earlier.\u201d

Of course as any blogger knows, he’s run into situations where readers emphatically disagree with what he’s written. “At first, the hurtful criticism wasn\u2019t easy. But with time, you mature, and realize some things, and some people aren’t worth wasting a thought over,” he tells Beirut.com.

\u201cBut I cannot lie to people. If you don’t want to hear my opinion, don’t read my blog.”

His advice to budding bloggers? \u201cBuild something you believe in,” says Rahayel. Despite being filled to the brim with work (and food) every single day, he works hard to find a balance between dentistry, blogging, having a social life and family by making every second of his day count and also by not wasting his time on the things that don’t contribute positively to his life. “If you have a positive outlook on life, you can make anything happen.”

And it is through this positive thinking that Rahayel says he maintains his weight, despite the endless feasting (just check out his Instagram account<\/a> and you’ll see what we mean). He also focuses his palate on rich ingredients, flavors and dishes. Chips and chocolate bars are not calories worth indulging in, he says.

Incredibly, as Beirut.com conducted this interview, Anthony continued taking notes and pictures of the sandwiches we were gulping down, including the way it was being served, the ambiance of the restaurant and the taste of the bread.

Indeed, Anthony Rahayel is a man who makes every moment count.
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