I love the Mezze style of meal because it lets you sample a variety of dishes instead of envying your friend’s order. Sharing food, passing it around, and enjoying a leisurely meal while chatting is something I really enjoy.

There’s the smooth hummus made from chickpeas, garlic, and tahini, the creamy aubergine puree called Moutabal, and the tabbouleh salad with bulgar wheat, parsley, and lemon. Then there are the little spicy sausages, flaky pastry fingers filled with salty cheese, and the Labbneh yogurt dip with lemon and mint. I enjoyed all these during my travels in Lebanon.

However, after a while, the Mezze started to feel a bit repetitive. Let me explain. Eating in a Lebanese home offers a diverse range of dishes and flavors, but in a typical local restaurant, the main offerings are Mezze, followed by various grilled meats, simply cooked fresh fish, and fruit for dessert.

Grilled dishes are nice, and the fish was delicious but often expensive. So, for a light lunch, we usually ended up with Mezze every day. I realized that whether you pay top prices in a city restaurant or go for a budget-friendly backstreet café, the Mezze is almost always good and fresh because it’s such a staple.

Let me share a couple of Mezze memories with you. After visiting Chateau Musar in the hills above Jounieh, the winemaker Tarek recommended a restaurant and even drove us there. It was set on a hill overlooking the sea, with a fantastic view from our table by the window, though slightly marred by a nearby building site. We joked that next time we visited, there would probably be a glitzy apartment block blocking the sea view. After enjoying the usual range of Mezze and some freshly grilled fish, the waiter brought us a huge selection of fresh fruit for dessert, a sort of fruit Mezze, which was wonderful.

My fondest Mezze moment was in the Souk at the coastal town of Sidon. We wandered through narrow streets with old buildings, small shops selling groceries, and street stands with sweet pastries. We spotted a small open café on the corner opposite the mosque, with just a couple of Formica tables. We sat down and pointed to the steaming vat of chickpeas ready to be served. We got our bowl of chickpeas with hummus on top and a drizzle of olive oil and sat down to enjoy our light lunch. Then the owner started bringing us other small dishes to accompany our chickpeas: black olives, fresh green salad, magenta pickled vegetables, and flatbread to scoop it all up. Suddenly, our simple bowl of chickpeas turned into a feast, with a prime view of Lebanese life passing by our table. We saw groups of head-scarfed girls chatting, teenage boys playing with their mobiles, and men streaming out of Friday prayers at the mosque opposite. When the bill came, we paid just a couple of dollars each. I finished off with some cakes from a vendor outside the mosque.

After our mini tour of the country, my friend and I returned to Beirut and headed to the buzzing Downtown area for a meal. By then, we were all Mezze’d out, so we chose a smart Italian restaurant with giant pepper grinders. At the time, I felt I’d had too many Mezzes, but now, after writing this, I’d be quite happy to have just one more Mezze. Wouldn’t you?