I happened to turn onto a rerun of “Cheers” the other evening.  It caused me to think about whether I have a place where “everybody knows your name.” And I realized that my husband and I do. We have a favorite small restaurant that we often go to where they know us by name, have excellent and bountiful Italian food,  and will often make sure they have a table available for us. Villa Maria in East Rockaway is our “joint.”

Most Friday evenings, you can find my husband and I after work  at Villa Maria.  Villa Maria is owned by Maria, an Italian immigrant who takes tremendous pride in her cooking. My husband and I both feel comfortable there, my husband began frequenting Maria’s first restaurant in Bayside when he also lived in Bayside in the mid 1980’s. After he moved to Long Island in the 1990’s he was happy to see that Maria had also moved. When my husband and I got married twelve years ago, I quickly became part of Maria’s family.

When my husband and I walk into the restaurant almost all of the employees greet us. As we’re eating Maria and members of her family will  always come by to say hello and talk for a while. When we order in from Villa, Maria herself makes sure to take our phone order. We have never gotten a bad meal from Villa and it will continue to be our place.

What’s your favorite joint?