DAPHNE'S DINNER DATES: CARNAGE

Carnival has been and gone for another year, and the time for abstaining from meat is behind us. Vegetarians scroll on, nothing to see here. Meat is indeed the new black. When it's very well done. Otherwise it's red. Or pink. Vegetarians and (shudder) vegans are slinking back into the shadows, and carnivores are daring to bare their teeth again.

Brussels is not vegetarian-friendly. They like their meat here. They like it raw, stewed, braised, grilled, skewered, bleeding or barbecued (as you will know if you live within sniffing distance of a garden at this time of year). Steak frites. Hachis américain (steak tartare to you, Jean-Jacques). Carbonnades à la flamande. They can't get enough of it. Hence any new take on carnivorous catering is welcome in Brussels.

Sad however to report the departure from Brussels of Irish butcher Jack O'Shea, who due to a series of unfortunate events has neither his butchery shops nor his steak house. UPDATE 2018: BUT a new French temple of the flesh has opened on rue Jean Stas just off Avenue Louise, called Colonel. It's not cheap, I grant you, but you'll find Black Angus prime rib (70 euros for two), venison fillet and even marrowbone on the menu.

Pampas, a Brazilian rodizio with two restaurants in place Sainte Catherine and Place Jourdan, and others in Antwerp and Gent, offers an all-you-can-eat 30 euro menu of Brazilian-style barbecued meat and fish, or a fish-only or veggie menu for 18 euros. Good choice for an office night out.

The courageously named Balls and Glory has two restaurants in Brusssels, in the rue de Laeken and at the Bourse, as well as a few others dotted across Flanders, and serves one dish: meatballs. No Ikea kottballen these, however, They are handmade giant meatballs coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried, with pork, chicken or veggie fillings, more like Scotch eggs without the eggs, if you follow. Served with good old Belgian stoemp, and sauce or salad for 12.50. Beer, wine and homemade lemonade is on the drinks menu and no sodas.

For the third time in nine years, I recently revisited Meet Meat, an upmarket Argentinian steakhouse in the Schuman area, and was delighted to find the steaks still of a very high standard, both in terms of meat quality and cooking. The Argentinian vibe has gone since the first time I reviewed it nine years ago. The music is no longer Piazzolla but generic jazz fusion. The only improvement I would suggest to Meet Meat is (a) bring back the mural of Carlos Gardel, and (b) change your name to something like Tango! or Pampa! or maybe The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe.It's a simple menu, steaks and chips or baked potato with salads on the side. But I have not enjoyed a meal as much in ages. Aunty Em and I both had the ribeye steak, medium, with chips and churrascara hot sauce (her) and baked jacket potato with beurre maitre-d'hotel (me). The service is efficient and the waiting staff are young and friendly. I am no longer the young hothead who sang God Save The Queen in an Argentinian churrasqueria in Paris during the Falklands War. I can appreciate that Argentina is a highly civilized and cultured country with a fine culinary tradition.

250g Ribeye steak cooked medium, with baked potato and sour cream, beurre maitre d'hotel and salad garnish. Simple but perfect.

Dessert: Copa Argentina - a dollop of dulce de leche ice cream in a bed of dulce de leche, with a shot of Diplomatico rum on the side. I moaned, audibly. It was almost a When Harry Met Sally moment.

I have posted twice in the past couple of years about the gourmet burger invasion of Belgium (which hit other major European cities ten years ago). Only last week when one of my colleagues suggested going to a burger restaurant for someone's birthday did I realize the extent of the takeover. There is almost nothing else to write about in a Brussels food blog.

Ellis Gourmet Burger are now an established chain, with three restaurants in Brussels, seven more in other Belgian cities, not to mention three in Paris and four in the Netherlands . In one way I'm happy to see the end of the tired old 1960s style Belgian cafés with their formica tables and weak apology for coffee. It's time this town kicked it up a notch, and I'm gradually noticing a modernisation of the food scene here, although it's a bit like one of those builders who comes and paints one wall, then goes away for a couple of months, then comes back and sands a floor down, then goes away again for six months .... welcome to Belgium, quoi. The renewed spirit of eating out even seems to have spawned a new generation of serving staff with the superpower of being able to see customers and get their food to them while it's still hot. If I stick around long enough, this town might end up challenging Paris or London as a cool place to go out to eat, although by that time I'll have no teeth to chew with.

Green Mango in trendy Ixelles is burger-fusion with Thai soups and a vast selection of burgers.

Berlin Fabrik at place de la Chapelle 17 down in the Marolles has taken over the corner site which used to be Resto Sol, and offers a selection of burgers on German themes, such as a Kraftwerk burger, Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin Wall and, er, Uber Alles. Still in the Marolles, Chaff on place du Jeu de Balle 21 offers a Burger Rossini as well as an inventive veggie platter for your sad friend.

Brewdog Brussels is a relative newcomer on the scene, the website shows a fair selection of quality burgers, although no prices. Still, it's the beer you go for, right? Nice big terrace in summer.

Scott's Bar is an old favourite at no.2 Rue Montagne aux Herbes Potagers, or the much more concise in Dutch Warmoesberg, a couple of minutes' walk from Place de Brouckère. Its website says it is 'recently opened' although it seems to have been here at least as long as me. It has a selection of enticing burgers including one with the house Jack Daniels sauce.

De Belmonte at Place St Gery 29 is in the swinging trendy hipster heart of Brussels. They offer a range of burgers and calorie-laden desserts.

L'Affranchi, in the wannabe up and coming area around the Gare du Nord, has quite a glossy website which makes a rather outrageous claim to do with the year 1921, which, if you read the blurb explaining the history of the hamburger (fairly accurate), refers to the date of establishment of the first hamburger restaurant chain, White Castle, in the US. Tenuous, but then for less than 10 euros a burger, and in this part of town, don't expect miracles. As yet sight unseen but to be tried soon.

If you're in that area (Gare du Nord/Rogier) and fancy a burger, I would suggest you rather visit Brussels Grill which has a 70's vibe about it, but the steaks, burgers and salads are more than acceptable. They've opened a couple of spinoff restaurants called the Boston Steak House which are apparently overpriced and overhyped, of which there is one next to the entrance of the former Sheraton on place Rogier, now an empty shell due to chronic mismanagement. Regeneration is a nice concept in Dr Who, but some parts of town are more difficult than others.

The Old Wild West Steak House is, as can be imagined, a themed restaurant on place Henri Maus, by the side of the Bourse, serving their idea of American and Tex Mex dishes (if you accept that a ladle full of chilli sauce on a plate of tacos is Tex Mex). To be avoided, in my humble opinion. The website alone is less than appetizing. Better to go next door to Manhattn's Burgers which consistently features in every list of the 10 best burgers in Brussels.

Le Corbeau on Rue St Michel, just off place de Brouckère, is one of my favourite Brussels bars. It does the ultimate hangover cure, a stoemp with sausage, bacon and egg, but also will do you a 250g BBB (Bleu-Blanc-Belge) steak and a mind-boggling choice of beers to go with it. If the stories about dancing on the tables are anything to go by, it's worth staying late on a Friday or Saturday night.

Enough burgers, enough steaks. The cow is getting all the attention here, at the expense of the humble pig. Amadeo on rue Sainte Catherine has been there for ever, and is famous for its all-you-can-eat pork spare ribs. Despite the Italian name, it is resolutely Flemish, and the Brussels restaurant is the only one in the chain of 10 not in Flanders. Skip dessert and have their legendary Irish coffee while you peruse a volume from the book-lined walls.

Black listed

Meet Me, boulevard Adolphe Max 96, Brussels - no relation to Meet Meat, and nowhere near the same level of food or service. Restaurant of the Marivaux Hotel. While we're on terrible puns on the word meat, Meat'ing Room at rue d'Arenberg 46 near Gare Centrale is mostly an Italian restaurant, but made it into The Fork's 10 best burgers in Brussels list.

I reprise below my list of steakhouses and burger joints for those of a carniverous disposition.

Steak
Meet Meat
Brussels Grill
Boston Steak House
Meet Me, boulevard Adolphe Max 96, Brussels - no relation to Meet Meat, and not the same level of food or service. Restaurant of the Marivaux Hotel.

Pork ribs:
Amadeo

Burgers:

B34 Steak and Burger House, Rue St Boniface 34, Ixelles

Burger Republic, Chaussée de Vleurgat 7 (off Flagey)

Café Gudule (owned by Super Filles du Tram), rue du Gentilhomme 11-13 - weekdays only 12h-15h

Chez Rachel rue du Marché au Charbon 100

Chicago (owned by Houtsiplou), rue de Flandre 45

Cool Bun Place Stephanie and Schuman

Cowfish Burgers, rue de Pépin 48 (Porte de Namur)

Delecta 2 rue Lannoy, 1050 Ixelles (off Flagey)

Green Mango, Chaussée de Vleurgat 142, Ixelles

Hard Rock Cafe, Grand'Place
Ellis Gourmet Burger Place Sainte Catherine, Place Jourdan and Place Flagey

Houtsiplou Place Rouppe

King Kong, chaussée de Charleroi 227, St Gilles