Chez Maria, located on Hillcrest Avenue off Hope Road, does not only house the Hados' Lebanese/Italian restaurant. Maria and Nancy make it the home of us all. Their personal treatment of staff and customers is fair and friendly, and the food is made with all the love and care of your favourite relative.

There is no doubt that there is plenty of space in my stomach for the gourmet delights of New York, Rome or London - wild mushroom risotto with shaved truffles, foie-gras ravioli, lavender-infused panna cotta - but any time my mouth waters for some good home-made 'cucina italiana', I pop over there to satisfy my cravings. As for my lust for Lebanese (don't get the wrong idea now!), there is nowhere outside of Lebanon you can get Middle-Eastern food quite like this.

You simply can't go wrong with the salads and appetisers on the 'Syrian' side (I'm still trying to figure out why in Jamaica we refer to all those from that part of the world as Syrian - even the cuisine is quite different).

Anyway, from the exquisitely smoky flavour of the Baba Ghannouj - grilled eggplant blended with garlic, lime juice, olive oil and tahini sauce, to the fresh and crispy Fattoush salad - lettuce, tomato, parsley, cucumber, deep-fried pita bread and some secret dressing, I could eat, and eat, and eat.

Not quite up to standard

However, the antipasti are not quite up to the standard of the rest of the menu. The Bruschetta Calabrese could do with a little more anchovies, and a sprinkle of chopped basil would improve the plain one somewhat. And I have had better Calamari Fritti on the coast of Sicily, but I am sure that's dueto the fact that out here, you can't just run down to the sea and pick up a fresh catch from the fishermen.

Opening at midday for lunch, I'd highly recommend one of the typical 'street-food' sandwiches - a variety of fillings wrapped in pita bread into a large sausage shape. My two favourite are the Shawarma Djeij (tender slivers of chicken with French fries) and Falafel (fried chick pea balls with garlic and pepper sauces). Both come with a crunchy array of salad inside. Order their scrumptious Tabouleh to go with tomato, parsley, cracked wheat, green onions all mixed together with special lemon and olive oil vinaigrette.

There is not much to complain about the cold and hot meze (hor's d'oeuvres) offered here - more of the same wholesome goodness. The Kebbeh Nayeh is particularly interesting - not to everyone's taste with the raw mince, cracked wheat and seasonings all blended together, but certainly to a true-blue meat lover! If you can't handle that then try the pumpkin, beef or chicken Kebbeh - don't worry, these are all cooked.

And now, on to my absolute weakness - the culinary comforts of all times - pasta, pasta, pasta! The Penne Al Fueco, with marinated artichokes, hot pepper, tomato, garlic and onion, and the Pasta Delight, with zucchini, tomato and garlic, are two low-fat options which are certainly not low in taste. The subtle essence of both is completed by sprinkling freshly grated parmesan cheese on top.

Word of caution

Caution though, try these before the richer and more decadent ones pass your lips. It's hard to go back once you've tried the Fettucini Alfredo Shrimp. I can still feel the al dente pasta strips coated in a creamy cheese sauce nestled on my tongue, then sliding down my throat, touching the taste buds on the way, and my teeth sinking into those flawlessly cooked shrimps. The Spaghetti Bolognese, a traditional Italian meat sauce in every sense possible, is the one which will convince you that Chez Maria is in fact chez nous!

I surely can't leave you without mentioning the desserts, but I don't want to throw a negative light on a scrumptious night. Let's just say that a few home experiments need to be executed before I can place the crme caramel and tiramisu on the same pedestal as the rest of the fare!