Since day one, Teresa’s Prime has held a reputation as a place to get a great cut of meat—perfectly prepared, butchered in house, and generously portioned with two sides included. And the slow-roasted bacon appetizer has a cult following among those in the know—three thick slabs of meltingly rich pork belly, glazed with bourbon.
Five years in, the father-son team of Nick Yebba Sr. and Nick Yebba Jr. decided to shake up the concept just a bit. All the classics remain, but some new additions to the menu now offer a nod to the family’s Italian roots—and their popular Middleton restaurant Teresa’s Italian Eatery.
Photo by Joe Ferraro
“We wanted to have a little crossover for our customers who enjoy both places,” says Nick Jr., who oversees the kitchen. “Sometimes someone wants a steak and someone wants shrimp scampi, so now we try to cover all the bases.”
Can’t go wrong either way—the new shrimp scampi starts with fresh light fusilli pasta, made in house daily, tossed with a subtly buttery lemon-garlic-wine sauce and spinach, then topped with crazy large shrimp. Way beyond jumbo, the actual technical term for them is colossal shrimp—just six to eight of them per pound.
“We like to think of it as Italian on steroids,” Nick Junior says with a laugh. Indeed, the flavors are intense, and the portions are generous—the new veal chop Parmigiano is a full pound of meat, topped with sauce, fresh mozzarella, and served with a side of house-made pasta.
The menu was already pretty diverse for a steak house, with eight or nine fish options, from the hugely popular salmon to diver scallops. There are so many options, it’s hard to decide. And some people can’t—splitting one of the pasta courses before having a pair of entrees is a popular choice for diners who would like to try a bit of everything.
Don’t be confused by the entrance—Teresa’s Prime is housed in a former country club, complete with a seasonal pool and plenty of function space. But it is not a private club. As Nick Jr. says, “We’re open to anyone who wants to eat good food.”
20 Elm Street (Rte. 62), N. Reading, 978-276-0044, teresaseatery.com/prime