BY: BILL WALLIS
Ho Ho Ho, Terp fam! Christmas is only a couple days away, so you know what that means! Santa is stuck in traffic on the BQE and will be here when he can. In the meantime, grab a blanket, pour yourself a nice hot cup of cocoa, and get ready to jot down some of these amazing suggestions for how to spend your week leading up to the new year! As always, we’re back like every Tuesday with another list of new products on the shelves here at Terp Bros, as well as local restaurants for holiday get-together meals and even some fun holiday things to do with friends and family! In case you’re in search of that perfect last-minute gift for your stoney friends and family, we have everything you need, and we’re even open (with limited hours) on Christmas Eve, so mega procrastinators rejoice!
1. Ayrloom Edibles Drinks & Gummies (Assorted Effects & Flavors)
Let’s face it. The weather outside is frightful, and if you’ve got a fireplace in your apartment, we bet that fire is so delightful. Just in case you’ve got no place to go (other than home), then grab yourself a can of Ayrloom THC seltzer or a bag of their infused gummies and stay inside! Watch the snow (or rain, sleet, etc.) fall through the window from the comfort of your own living room. Stay toasty warm and toasted at the same time with Ayrloom! They also make for great last-minute stocking stuffers for your friends that like to get high but don’t like to smoke. With so many flavors to choose from and different strengths and THC/CBD ratios to choose from, there’s something for everyone!
2. Pre-Roll Packs (Assorted Brands, Strains, & Strengths)
Your fingers are frozen. We understand. Ours are too. In fact, we’re not even typing this. We’re using the voice dictation feature. Thank Goofy it’s 2025 and the technology is basically foolproof. Regardless of the level of frostbite your fingers currently have, we have the solution to skip the roll-up process and jump straight to the good part. We have pre-rolls available in singles, but while it’s a frozen tundra out, we recommend stocking up with a pack and leave rolling in the past. We offer packs of two, five, six, seven, ten, and twenty pre-rolls, so no matter how much you smoke, we have your bulk pre-roll needs covered here at Terp Bros!
3. Concentrates from NYCE (Assorted Strains)
It’s winter. The air is crisp, the wind is painful, and the puddles on every corner have devolved into grey, street-flavored slushies. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year! One thing about the winter is it never seems to take the same amount to get us high. Maybe it’s the cold or the darker days; we’re not entirely sure. However, if you happen to be a part of the group that needs a little extra to get where they want to go, don’t stress. Terp Bros carries a number of concentrate options, none of which shine quite as bright as those from the NYCE brand. Their terps are on point, the highs are long-lasting, and scooping a gram or two won’t completely screw up your last-minute gift ideas. Whether you or your loved ones are strictly sativa or indefinitely indica, NYCE has the rosin for you. Also, the jars are small (while the flavors remain BIG), meaning you can stuff a stocking with a ton of these things. Just saying. Stay high all the way until the next Santa fly-by with premium hash rosin from NYCE!
WEEKLY MUNCHIES HIGHLIGHT – TOURMALINE, FOREST HILLS
While most of our restaurant suggestions lean toward more wallet-friendly options, it doesn’t hurt to treat yourself to a luxury meal from time to time. Especially around the holidays! If you just so happen to be in the mood for such a meal, we suggest you check out Tourmaline in Forest Hills. This classy French bistro offers elegant dishes, fantastic service, and an attention to detail that is tough to match, let alone beat. From the moment you walk through the door, you’re transported to a French countryside restaurant with smells of duck, fresh herbs, and roasted vegetables (with lots of butter on everything) filling your nostrils and activating your salivary glands. You will immediately be sure you made the right decision. Here is how to make the best of your night out at Tourmaline.
First off, go hungry. You’re going to want to order a lot of things, and we recommend you do so. To start your meal, we suggest the Premium Bread Service along with the Artisanal Cheese Cart (the five-cheese option). Sure, they have more exciting appetizer options, but their bread is fantastic, and the seasonal butter it’s served with (as well as crudités) is worth making the trip itself. The cheeses attack your palate in the best possible way, preparing it for an onslaught of richness that is soon to follow. If you’re with a larger group and want to order something to share, order the Eggs In a Nest, which is a nest of crispy kataifi over a creamy eggplant caponata with a runny quail egg nestled in the center. It isn’t a huge portion, but it’s perfect for everyone to get a delicious extra bite.
If you aren’t feeling too hungry but still want to have some more, their salad and pasta selection is amazing. For salads, we like the chopped kale with roasted pumpkin seeds, dried sour cherries, and balsamic vinaigrette. As for pasta, the Lamb Lasagna with lamb shank ragu and a house side salad is a feast for the soul with richness and deep, layered flavor in every bite. The goat cheese ravioli with butternut squash sauce, browned butter, and roasted hazelnuts is out of this world. They also have a wild mushroom and truffle pappardelle and a Maine lobster cappellacci that are both guaranteed to make you close your eyes and smile with every bite. You can’t go wrong with any of their pasta or salad options.
Why don’t we get right into the main courses, better known as the reason we’re suggesting you eat at this restaurant in the first place? While their starters, salads, and pastas are all delicious and worth trying, their main dishes are the reason we suggest you come hungry. Their Poulet Farcie is a free-range, roasted chicken served with au jus, parsnip puree, and blistered Brussels sprouts. It is quite possibly the best chicken we have ever had. Like flashbacks of growing up in a rural countryside village you’ve actually never been to—kind of good. Next up, their Poisson Du Jour. Roasted purple cauliflower with blistered fingerling potatoes and butternut squash. Their steak is fantastic! A 12 oz. ribeye served with cheesy potatoes aligot and burnt onion tartine with bordelaise sauce. Next level delicious. They also serve a crispy pernil with Sevilla sour orange and pomegranate chicory salad. A true festival of flavor.
Finally, the reason this restaurant highlight happens to be five paragraphs long. Their Duck A La Presse. If you aren’t familiar, this dish is a true classic French delicacy that you can get right here in Queens! This dish needs to be ordered one week in advance and costs two hundred and fifty dollars, but let us be the first to tell you that you will be glad you spent each and every one of those dollars. The duck is roasted and confited in its own fat, along with luxurious French red wine and sweet and sour oranges. Bathed in its own broth as it cooks to retain all that flavorful fat. Then, the real reason this dish is so expensive and delicious. The delicate and most juicy meat from the duck is carved and plated, while the remainder of the duck, along with all of that fatty, delicious wine, herb, and orange sauce that has been reduced to a sticky, flavorful glaze that permeates through every inch of the remaining meat on the carcass. The duck is then put into a handmade machine that is cranked tableside to crush all of the remaining fat and juices from the bird, which are then used to create a sauce and plated alongside the meat that was carved moments prior. It’s a meal and a show, and if you’re going with a bigger group, it’s worth splitting the cost for the experience alone. When it comes to flavor, bring a Kleenex because you may just cry. Yeah. It’s that good.
WHAT TO DO IN QUEENS THIS WEEK
This is normally the part of the newsletter where we tell you what to do in Queens this week. It’s usually a few fun activities that can be enjoyed with friends, family, or on your own. The next couple of weeks, however, we want to take the time to remind you of what’s truly important this time of year. Loved ones, good food, and togetherness. The holidays only come once a year, and, even if you’re lucky, you only get a handful of those. So, this year, take the time to remember and celebrate what’s really important. That can be different for everybody. For some, it’s picking out the perfect gifts to put smiles on the faces of their friends and loved ones. For others, it’s donating time, money, food, toys, and more to people less fortunate in their community. Maybe what is important to you this holiday season is just getting through it. Trust us, we understand. Regardless of what is important to you this holiday season, take some time to do it. Make those smiles happen. Donate to help others enjoy their holidays more than they otherwise would have. Just breathe and remember that the holidays, like everything, will also pass. In a few short months we’ll have stopped complaining about how cold it is and started complaining about how hot it is again. The important part is that you do what you need to do to not only survive, but thrive this holiday season. The gifts don’t matter as much as it feels like they do. The people who love you love you for who you are, not what you buy them. Try to remember that.
Well, Ho Ho here we are again, folks. The end of another Terp Bros Newsletter and the time when we have to say goodbye for the next six days. No worries, though! Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, so Santa will soon be overhead with a bag full of “presents” for all the loyal members of our happy little Terp Fam. Take some time to spend with friends and family and be thankful for the year you’ve had. The good, the bad, the absolute dank! You’ve almost made it through another year, and we can’t wait to make more memories with you after the new year as well. You better not pout; we’re telling you why. Because before then, we’ll be back next Tuesday with another list of fire and fun things to do and eat right here in Queens (and NYC at large). As always, if you have suggestions for restaurants, events, or products you’d like to see shouted out in an upcoming newsletter, shoot us a DM on Instagram and we’ll try to make it happen! Merry Christmas, Terp Bros family!
