Chester Francis-Jackson, Contributor

Picture shows (from left), Chris Nakash, Donnovan Lewis, John Issa, Omar Shoucair and Andrew Alexander. - Contributed

My daahlings, at first mention of the name, some quizzical eyebrows are raised as indeed, a name like Truck Stop, y'all know, conjures up images of the hurly-burly and/or rough-and-tumble, mostly beer-drinking crowd, not necessarily to be found on this here fabulous island, but across the United States of America. But it is one of Kingston's hottest restaurants/night spots in the making.

And so it was my dears, that for a number of weeks now, the buzz in the upper echelons of the chic and the party hearty, was about the impending opening of what promised to be a fab new addition to the city's list of hot spots.

Well, y'all know you have a good thing in the making if on the night you have your soft opening among those guesting, are the esteemed social icons and international hotel mogul John Issa and his charmingly lovely wife Aida Issa, of the SuperClubs chain of fine resorts, along with their daughters, Muna Issa and Zein Issa-Nakash and her husband, businessman Chris Nakash.

They gathered last Friday night on West Kings House Road at the Truck Stop, owned and managed by the innovative Omar Shoucair and Andrew Alexander.

Official opening

The official opening is scheduled for mid-December. Among those out were businessman the eminent Donnovan Lewis and his wife Andrea; Dr Michael Banbury; Ian and Brenda Wong; Newton Forest; Kamal and Carmela Azan; Oliver Magnus; noted attorney Lance Clarke; Douglas Sinclair and Marilyn Mongue; Aswad Morgan; Mark and Wendy Fletcher; the beautiful Anuschka-Mae Walton; Abe Barakatt; Howard McKenzie; Christina Clough; AIC's Roshan Sapra; the lovely Juline Dixon and her equally lovely sister Juli-Ann Dixon; plus a number of others.

Truck Stop is quite the hip and very chic brainchild of Shoucair, who originated the idea of a hip and chic restaurant/party venue in Florida, where he first introduced the concept, and then partnered with Andrew Alexander to take it to Kingston.

Easy and laid-back atmosphere

Luvs, we are talking a very easy and laid-back atmosphere made that much more so by an open-air café vibe, done up to urban style chíc, using barrels as cocktail tables and a kind of an old-school-style seating over a kind of pebble flooring; with its magic being it managed to capture the mood of the out and about crowd, without being intimidating.

And with a menu boasting traditional Jamaican party foods such as jerk, fried-fish, and a number of other dishes and soups, y'all know we are talking easy dining but fabulous-tasting food here!

And speaking of fabulous outings, come next weekend my dears it's all about the sixth staging of the annual Nature's Paradise Christmas Bazaar and Funfest at 107 Old Hope Road, the headquarters of Guardsman Limited.

Bigger and better

It promises to be even bigger and better than previous year's staging as director Sheila Benjamin McNeill is promising a family-oriented package that will include a bounce-about and ferris wheel for the children, plus lots more fun and games. Not to mention, a host of participating vendors with their traditional offerings of curried goat, Hellshire-style fried fish, oxtail and pan-roasted chicken.

But dears, it's the art, craft, jewellery, plants, and not to mention those diet-busting pastries and other goodies, that does it for this here scribe. Dears, simply put, it is one of the best places to source Christmas presents.

And then my dears, if y'all missed the grand dame of Caribbean cuisine, Norma Shirley, she will be the chef in residence this weekend - Friday and Saturday - at the très chic Wine With Me, wine bar and restaurant on Montego Bay's Hip Strip in the upper lobby of the Altamont West Hotel. The two-night affair begins on Friday night, with the theme, 'Our Blessed Land', with an encore on Saturday with the theme, 'Norma's Night of Love and Light'.

'Well, y'all know you have a good thing in the making if on the night you have your soft opening among those guesting are the esteemed social icons and international hotel mogul John Issa and his charmingly lovely wife Aida Issa.'