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Everything’s Pastarific at Chez Maria

Published:Thursday | September 19, 2019 | 12:00 AMJessica Harrison - Gleaner Writer
Spaghetti Bolognese with home-made garlic bread
Penne Valentino is a meat lover’s delight.
Vegetarian pasta just levelled up with Chez Maria.
The scrumptious Fettuccine Alfredo chicken and shrimp
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Every fine dining restaurant’s menu has a wide array of pastas. But Chez Maria, a family owned restaurant located at 80 Lady Musgrave Road in Kingston. takes these dishes up a notch by giving you an authentic taste of Italy.

 

Serving up delicious Lebanese and Italian dishes in the corporate area, the 15 year old establishment has earned the hearts of many local gastronomes for having the best pasta. So, Food decided to make a quick stop by Chez Maria to test the theory and truly, we were not disappointed.

 

Four Different Pastas

 

One by one, each pasta dish was brought out to make a beautiful buffet spread in front of us. We could not wait to dive in!

 

Meat lovers tend to shy away from vegetarians dishes because life seems a whole lot more pleasurable with the ‘desire of the flesh’. However, Chez Maria managed to create an excellent vegetarian option that goes by the name ‘Penne al Fuoco’. Made with peppered artichoke, tomato, garlic, onion, black olives, capers, basil and oregano, this pasta dish has absolutely no sauce but still has a burst of heavenly flavour with every italian bite. Each penne is evenly cooked and no one ingredient overpowers the other. We were pleasantly surprised and we know your tastebuds will be blessed having experienced the vegetarian wonders of Italy, without having to book a flight.

 

Next, we had the ‘Penne Valentino’. People, to call this a ‘pleasant delight’ would be an understatement and to undersell the dish would be a great injustice. The average Jamaican has only ever had pepperoni on pizza but, mixed with chicken, hot pepper, mushrooms and garlic in a pink sauce, hear us well, it is glorious. The mushrooms add texture and when the various italian spices meet the olive oil along with the other ingredients, it promises to add zest to your life and keep you coming back for more.

 

The ‘Spaghetti Bolognese’. At first we just thought it was a regular mince and spaghetti dish but then we wheeled our forks on our spoons like pasta-eating professionals, adding the meat sauce to the fork roll; and, with one bite, our eyes widened with disbelief that the dish tasted nothing like what we had imagined. “It is a homemade meat sauce made with onion, garlic, basil, olive oil and other luxurious herbs and spices,” said Nancy Hado, Chef and Manager of the family business. This dish is popular with the children and we recommend taking you little ones with you.

 

Lastly, everybody’s cheesy favourite, ‘Fettuccine Alfredo Chicken and Shrimp’. Cubes of chicken breasts, juicy shrimps from the deep blue sea, resting easily in a creamy sauce and parmesan cheese. Even the lactose-intolerant who sat among us were enticed to try the dish because of how the great aroma danced through our nostrils.

 

To enjoy Chez Maria’s scrumptious pastariffic meals, visit them Monday to Saturday between the hours of 11:30am and 10:00pm, Sundays, 12:00pm-9:00pm. Not in the mood to dine? simply call to place your order at 876-927-8078. IG: @chezmariajm

 

jessica.harrison@gleanerjm.com