That was cheap.
It was actually the teahouse at the Greater Boston Buddhist Cultural Center.
Bamboo mats and miniature statuettes greeted us at the door, followed by a Buddhist scholar who ushered us eagerly to a table. She had been studying before we arrived, and we felt bad interrupting her, but she seemed happy to have us.
The menu is short but unusual, fitting for a Buddhist teahouse. The tea selection literally takes up half the menu. We're all avid tea drinkers, and even we found some new flavors. The chrysanthemum high mountain tea was as good as it sounds, and the coconut milk tea (we made it bubble tea for 50 cents extra) balanced authenticity for the regulars with novelty for us newcomers. We also sampled a nice version of the more conventional pomegranate tea.
While not as expansive as the teas, the food choices are just as interesting, offering a small spread of appetizers and a lunch special. This all-vegetarian menu is only vaguely described. The lunch special, for instance, is simply listed as rice and four vegetarian sides prepared daily - but for only $6.50, it seemed too good to pass up. For three of us to split, we got two of the specials and the turnip cake.
After we put in our order, we had a chance to look around. Each of the tables had a printed card with its table number and a Buddhist proverb: "Narrow people boast and criticize. Open people praise and speak truth." Word.
We were tucked off to the side, but next to us was a glass display case of all the various Buddhist paraphernalia and prayer beads available to buy. Let's hear it for no material goods.
We spent the entire wait for our food playing musical chairs with our teas, passing them around until we'd each gotten a taste or two. When our complementary soups came, we played a second round, and by the time we'd finished, the rest of our food had arrived.
The waitress carefully explained to us that day's four mysterious vegetarian sides. We didn't need any help identifying the broccoli and cabbage, but we did with the spicy tofu mix and vegetarian duck. Vegetarian duck? We're thinking that this had to be the result of the language barrier. This turned out to be a sort of layered egg and cilantro blintz most aptly described as an "egg suspension dish." The tofu is pretty self-explanatory: spicy tofu. It's tasty and cheap, and it comes with peas.
If you're still reading, maybe you're interested in checking out the center. Take note: Twice a month, the GBBCC also hosts its appealingly-titled "Dinner with Dharma" on Friday evenings. While we haven't gone yet, it sounds like a serious deal. Arrive by 6:30 to be led in meditation followed by a 7:00 dinner, and reconvene for a 7:30 Dharma talk and discussion. With a college ID, it's just $5 (it's normally $10), and even though it's a "steal," the Buddhist discussions may help you get your repentance out of the way while you digest. The next one is Feb. 8.
By the way, Winston's the Jew, Charlotte's the agnostic, and just in case you thought we were narrow-minded:
Truth: The GBBCC can be found at 950 Mass. Ave.
Praise: Lunch is available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the Buddhist scholar who greeted us deserves accolades for getting up from her studies to seat us for lunch - at 5:30 no less - no questions asked.
Winston Berkman is a sophomore majoring in international relations; Charlotte Bourdillon is a sophomore who has not declared a major. They can be reached at Winston.Berkman@tufts.edu and Charlotte.Bourdillon@tufts.edu, respectively.
