Archive for "restaurant review"
Food for Thought: Teresa’s in Brooklyn Heights
Where: 80 Montague Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 (map)
As law students we tend to look for three things when it comes to food: cheap, delicious and close. Teresa’s on Montague satisfies all three of those requirements. Nestled amongst the scattering of restaurants on that busy street, Teresa’s is home to many hearty Polish dishes at a wonderful price.
As this week was cold and rainy, I felt like some hearty food was in order. My boyfriend did a little research and found this gem right up the street from the law school, and since Polish always equals hearty, I knew it was exactly what was needed.
The interior of Teresa’s reminds you of your grandmother’s house. Really. It’s not fancy but very cozy; it feels like it should be in the middle of the old country instead of posh Brooklyn Heights. The staff is friendly, their speech is accented with a Slavic lilt, and we were seated quickly.
The menu is impressive — it ranges from perogies to a whole half of a roast chicken, to blintzes, cream soups and various cabbage dishes. Everything is within the 3-to-20-dollar range, and trust me you get A LOT of food for the price. As the day was dreary I opted for the cabbage soup ($4.95) and 4 boiled perogies (meat, cheese, potato and mushroom/sauerkraut) ($4.95). My dining partner opted for three potato pancakes ($4.95).
Teresa's cabbage soup
The cabbage soup came out first. Look, I know that cabbage soup sounds a bit disgusting, like the kind Charlie Bucket ate before he got to the chocolate factory. This soup, despite its reputation, was very hearty, with cabbage, large chunks of potatoes, bits
Introducing “Food for Thought”
The Oxford American dictionary defines “eat” as “put food into the mouth, chew it and swallow it up” (it also offered many other definitions, which are less than appropriate for my column). This is such a simple definition. Eating is so much more than that. It is an experience that involves all senses: you smell the food, you of course taste it, you touch the food with your hands and the vibrant (or not) colors of the food draw your eyes. Eating is one of life’s great pleasures. It draws people together. It can make a bad day good. It allows you to experience culture.
We’re in law school. Somehow, amongst all of the studying, cramming, internships and schmoozing, we’ve lost what it means to eat good food- good not only in taste, but for the body as well. Coffee becomes a food group. Fries at McDonalds are justified as “healthy” because they are fast and are made of potatoes. A bag of chips sneakily consumed at the library constitutes a whole day’s sustenance. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. You can still enjoy eating. You can still fit into your interview suit after exams.
The area around BLS is FULL of good restaurants, cheap (and sometimes even healthy) food, and exotic food that you may want to experience only once. Just because we are in law school, doesn’t mean we have to lose the “joy of eating.”
You may not know where to start. That’s OK. That’s where I come in. I love food, I know food, and I cook food. My family used to plan our vacations around food (seriously my parents would review all of the restaurants in the area before making the final decision). I am not afraid of strange food. Since you’re going to be reading this fabulous paper to catch up on school news anyways, why not read about food? Maybe some restaurant or bar will catch your eye. Maybe you can make something I’ve made to impress your girlfriend/boyfriend/professor/dog. The point is that being in law school does not mean we have to give up eating food that tastes good and is good for our bodies.
So starting next week, my Food for Thought column will dive into the depths of local restaurants, grocery stores and watering holes around BLS. My goal is to make eating fun again, to make you all realize that fries are probably not a food group. I am really open for ideas as well. So if you know a restaurant or place I should go, let me know.