The Thyme Machine | Zaatar Truck

I have always been amazed by Food Trucks. A truck is made to move people or things from point A to point B, so everytime I see a truck producing food, I think, Woah, this is magical. Just like a child, I get excited and remember my childhood in Beirut and Bkaatouta in my home country of Lebanon. A white and blue ice cream truck would pass by my grandmother’s house to sell bread, ice cream, and cotton candy. I would hear the tune of the truck from miles away, and instantly, my salivary glands would go in overdrive. That’s the Pavlov effect! I would rush to my grandmother, Marie, to ask her for some Lebanese Pounds (Lira — currently called #Lollar by Dani IC) and affix myself to the window so I can spot and run to the truck at the right time!

That’s Teta Marie — I miss her a lot. We say Teta in Lebanese and it stands for Grandmother.

Now, after being in the United States for a medical career, and establishing a few successful businesses in this great country, I wanted to create something amazing. Magical enough to spark people’s imagination. A special connection to my Lebanese roots that shows the hospitality and the goodness of the Lebanese people to the world. So where do I start?

It all started at 6:30 AM. On a beautiful bike ride to the sunrise from Brickell to South Beach Miami. A bike ride I incorporated into my daily morning routine. After a 12-mile ride, I’d sit and stare at the ocean and the slow sunbeams emerging from under the seas magically lighting up the skies. I started calling this: The most expensive show on earth. And, it truly was. It took a lot of effort and determination to wake up early every morning, put on the biking gear, and bike those miles to witness 5 minutes of pure bliss, a view worth the morning struggle. That is why I still do it every time I am in Miami. These 5 minutes allow me the freedom to meditate, to dive deeper into my goals and my purpose, and to decide what legacy I want to leave behind. That freedom allowed me to open my mind to an introspective analysis of who I was as a person, my identity, my values, and my aspirations. I got to ask myself many questions, but the answers were never obvious nor fixed. They kept changing on a daily basis. But my daily routine did not. Upon my return from my morning workout sessions, I would have a small coffee while I spoke to my parents back home, and got ready to work. Every day, my mom reminds me to eat some Zaatar (Also known as Thyme), because according…