search citypaper.net
  


Curtain Up
La Viola's a pleasant refuge -- especially after the theater crowds thin out.
-Maxine Keyser

January 30-February 5, 2003

food

foodpick

Teresa's Buffet

An unusual thing has come to pass in the shopping plazas of the world. Like buttercups between slabs of sidewalk, authentic international restaurants have emerged between Pizza Huts and party goods stores.

In the Northeast, off of Aramingo Avenue, and on a strip of like commerce centers, is one of these shopping plaza delights. Teresa's Buffet is the old-world answer to Old Country. An unassuming storefront gives way to a good-sized dining room, dominated by two huge buffet tables, a glass-hooded salad bar and a beverage area.

While Teresa's food advertises itself as Polish-American, the food of choice is on the left side of the hyphen. The salad bar looked good enough, but when all the glorious starches of Polish cuisine are at your fingertips and your dollar stretches only as far as your stomach, it seems silly to fill up on iceberg.

Even with self-imposed limitations, the options were endless. Soups include any of a rotating cast of chicken, mushroom, borscht, split pea, barley and a pungent cream-based dill pickle. Sturdy pierogies are filled with finely ground meat, cheese or potato. The potato pierogies are echoed one table over in tiny potato dumplings (called "little hooves") that are white and lustrous as pearls.

Another permutation of the tuber, the potato pancake, was golden-fried, perfectly crisp and better than any latke I sampled over the last Hanukkah season. A hardy kielbasa appears alone in quarter slices, and again with beans and bacon drippings. Hunter's stew, or bigos, is sauerkraut usually cooked with beef; the night I visited, the meat was chicken and a tad dry.

A favorite was the golabki, or stuffed cabbage. Its delicate leafy shell was filled to bursting with finely chopped mushrooms, beef, pork and rice and doused in a sweet tomato sauce. I also enjoyed the sweet and sour meatballs that were more sweet than sour -- a needed respite from the sauerkraut and pickle flavors. Chicken giblets stewed with tomatoes and browned chicken livers and sautéed onions were both well-prepared innards.

On the dessert side, crispy apple "pancakes" looked more like bulbous fritters, dusted with powdered sugar. There were buttery cookies, sweet cheese-filled blintzes and poppyseed cake. You can bring your own wine or beer, and the latter would be the recommended choice. Tip back your lager and contemplate a future where the shopping plaza itself becomes a giant international buffet.

Teresa's Buffet2401 E. Venango St., 215-535-3511

Lunch, $6.50; dinner, $8.50-$9.50

Tue.-Fri., 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., noon-9 p.m.

Wheelchair accessible. Smoking is not permitted. All major credit cards.

-- Respond to this article in our Forums -- click to jump there
Recent Comments
Web Exclusives
Daedelus
Mon., Feb. 22, 8 p.m., $10, with Nosaj Thing and Jogger, Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 215-291-4919, kungfunecktie.com.
Fever Pitch
One Philly dance troupe lets imagination carry it to the farthest corners of reality.


search restaurants by name
search by neighborhood
Search
search by cuisine
title
theater

Search
search for:
within:   of  
more jobs
(use zip or city, state)
Search
"Great vision without great people is irrelevant."
—Jim Collins, Author,
"Good to Great"
In Partnership with JobCircle
start date / /  select date
end date / /  select date
category
keyword
Search Buy Concert Tickets
Category:
Keywords: Search

Search Real Estate

ALL | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN

or

LOCATION:

ADVERTISEMENT
auto car parts on
Irish for a day: St. Patty's Day events
`remanufactured engines, automatic transmissions, used parts, or new body part , engine repair parts, Thanks auto car parts` »
Koozies online on
REVIEW: Miro Dance Theatre, 1/30, Painted Bride
`It seem a combination of India and English!` »
baidu on
Eternal Teenager: RIP John Hughes, 1950-2009
`It was something for everyone. Even in Ferris Bueller` »
dmac on
NOW SEE THIS: Al Bundy shakes it to Major Lazer
`Molly, will you help me make a shot-by-shot remake of this scene?` »
Jesse D on
SXSW Day 2: The Labelmakers
`Kill Rock Stars, Merge, and Sub Pop showcases all on the same day. That is just awesome!` »
GODMAN ENZO ferrari, WE SAY JEWS ARE FRIENDS OF MUSLIMSBECAUSE HASRATH ALI WORKED WITH JEWS the holy quran with out rasool a khuda and his family, the book is only worth a car magzine on
SURPRISE!: Urban artists love Obama
`GODMAN ENZO WANTS TO THE THANK PHILADELPHIA'S CITY PAPER FOR GIVING US A CHANCE TO WRITE WHAT WE FELT, SOME VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE NORMAL COMMENTS RATHER ` »
Vincent Vanroro on
Blahg Humbug
`Maybe we should just offer critiques of the artblahg loser's work instead of pretending we don't know who he is. You can call me VINCENT and I'm just ` »
BC17603 on
BIG UPS: Local designers lovin' on their hometown
`And when you head west to Lancaster, be sure to check out BUiLDiNG CHARACTER, Downtown Lancaster's Creative Outlet with 30+ vendors selling architectural ` »
Passerby on
The Fall Guy
`KB, the reason that high school students are using interpreters is that many of them have lived in the US for only a few months. One thing that news ` »