Brownie mission part I

I have a boyfriend who makes delicious chocolate brownies. He's coming to visit me in the coming months. I thought it would be a lovely surprise if I could find some good chocolate brownies in Lebanon and take him out on a little sweet treat. (Now I've killed the surprise, but it was just an excuse for me to eat a brownie yesterday anyway...)

The Met (Metropolitan Eatery) is a trendy place in the Beirut Souks, an outdoor mall in the city centre. I landed there by chance and thought it a good time to start my quest for the best brownies in town. It helped that they were the cheapest thing on the menu, alongside potato wedges - both LL8 500 (just over R40). Unfortunately the brownie, disguised by clouds of whipped can cream and two different ice creams and much too much plate-decorating sauce was such a disappointment that it wasn't even worth photographing.

The restaurant was, however, quite cool, and had a great energetic afternoon vibe about it. The menu is rather expensive though: LL22 500 (R110) for a calamari starter and LL18 250 (R90) for nachos, but I did like the idea of daily specials that are almost always Lebanese dishes, priced at LL19 000 (R95): kibbeh and yoghurt; stuffed squash and vine leaves; moghrabieh and chicken; and kibbeh and shiesh barrack in yoghurt.

It's also the first time I've seen a five-cheese pasta (LL18 500): roquefort, emmental, mozzarella, cheddar and Parmesan!

Result of brownie mission part I: failed miserably.