Smells Like Teen Stilton

Everybody has that good friend they go a while without seeing, a thousand reasons and excuses hanging up a connection. Work. Kids. Fear of the Philadelphia International Airport. You know, the usual. But when you finally get together, though, the conversation flows and it's as if you picked up right where you left off. Tria is like that, easy and comfortable as an old pair of jeans. We've been meaning to get back to the ferment-a-thon for a while now, and we figured we'd better do it before the cafe's sequel opens up on 12th Street. We're happy to report it's still a great spot, and even seems less scene-y than before. Not precious or pretentious, Tria equally fits the bill for a big date or an impromptu solo nibble and glass of wine. Bartenders are whizzes at pairing, cheese portions are ample, and baguette slices and fromage accouterments overfloweth. Need more? Just ask, or let the clairvoyant staff read your mind, which is exactly what happened to us today when, halfway through our creamy Robiola Rossa and wicked Persille de Malzieu, we found ourselves breadless. We'd describe the cheeses, sourced from Murray's in Manhattan, but couldn't put it as eloquently as Tria's wittily-worded menu:

"ROBIOLA ROSSA (Piedmont, Italy · Cow & Sheep-R) Silky, weeping round redolent of moist cherry, tobacco and earth"

"PERSILLÉ DE MALZIEU (Languedoc, France · Sheep-R) Roquefort gone wild: intense, wet stone and mushroom balanced only by perfect milk."

Kudos to their menu writer. Normally, wordy menus are the bane of our existence, but Tria's makes the required reading deliciously worthwhile. Evocative words like "lusty," "jammy," "slurpy," and "toasty" make the wine descriptions especially tantalizing, not to mention easy to understand. Lordean Gasparinni Prosecco, for example, is an "effervescent Venetian thirst quencher—sunny peach and nectarine flavors with a dry, nutty finish," while the "blockbuster" 2005 Bodegas Rejadorada Tempranillo offers "chewy flavors of black cherry and currant with licorice and cedar on finish." Tell us you don't wanna eat that menu.

Photo: Tria