Teresa’s Caffe

Last month, CT & I returned to Princeton with ML & TL to help go through their old things being stored at their Parents’ house. They are going to be moving soon, so it was time to bite the bullet and decide what goes back to NYC or gets tossed. Before getting started, we needed some fuel so we stopped at a local Italian restaurant called Teresa’s Caffe. It has been a favorite of theirs since moving to Princeton and also got a good review from our friend, Hungry from Tasty Eating.

We arrived right during the thick of a busy weekend lunch service, so there was a bit of a wait for a table. Fortunately, there was plenty of room for us to hang out at the bar for a drink. We decided to share the Salumi e Formaggi platter ($13) to tide us over until the table was ready.
According to the menu; the salumi was coto, chorizo seco, soppressata picante and the formaggi was pecorino brillo, fontina, manchego. There was also some olives, fruit spead (fig?) and walnuts. It was all very good with the chorizo being my favorite. Only CT’s Mom and I had the olives and they were quite good and had a fair amount of chili flake mixed in. Everyone else’s loss, hahaha. This definitely kept our stomachs at bay until we could have our lunch.

As Teresa’s is well known for their pizza, a couple of us tried them.

TL got the Bistecca Pizzette ($15). It had fontina, organic eggs, skirt steak, potatoes and mushrooms. This was quite the perfect brunch pizza. He made a comment that the mushrooms were especially good.

CT ordered the Quattro Formaggi Teresa ($16). It had ricotta, gorgonzola, fontina, fresh mozzarella, organic pork sausage and caramelized onion. She had trouble deciding which pizza to get but once TL ordered his she figured she would order the other pizza she was interested in. Fortunately, TL is not shy about sharing. I believe she liked her pizza a lot. Good quality ingredients = good pizza!

Since CT believes a pizza must have tomato sauce in order to be properly classified as a pizza, not a flatbread, she got a small bowl of marinara sauce on the side. She mentioned that it was very good sauce that was jazzed up with too many ingredients. The chef just let the tomatoes shine.

I order the special pizza of the day, the Pizzette ($16). It had ground plum tomatoes, pineapple, prosciutto cotto, jalapeno and gorgonzola. I definitely got my fill of ham between the starter we had at the bar and now this pizza. While I was taking a risk with the pineapple, since the beginning of April isn’t exactly the season for it, most of the pieces were ripe and juicy. There was a lot going on flavor-wise, but it worked. I don’t usually eat gorgonzola on its on, but the funkiness of the cheese worked well against the salty ham, sweet pineapple and tomatoes. While I wouldn’t have been offended if there were more jalapenos, they brought just a touch of heat to wake up my taste buds.

As you can see from the upskirt, there was a little bit of char, which I always like on my pizzas.

ML got the Insalata ($15). It had green leaf lettuce, tilapia, hearts of palm, orange supreme. red onions, goat cheese, pistachio and white balsamic dressing. She seemed quite happy to have a “lighter” lunch.

CT’s Mom asked our friendly waitress if they had any of their famous lasagna prepared since it wasn’t on the lunch menu. They did so she ordered that for lunch. She remarked that one of the reasons she liked Teresa’s so much is that they are almost always very accommodating like that.

All in all, Teresa’s Caffe was an excellent choice for a leisurely Italian lunch. Everyone was quite happy with their choices and we all left stuffed! Although there is a good chance I will never go back since CT’s Parents are moving, if I find myself in Princeton and hungry I know where to go now.