Philadelphia: Tria

123 S 18th St
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone: (215) 972-8742

Sorry I haven't updated in a while: I've been on Spring Break! But you can expect a steady stream of "in retrospect" reviews. I'll try to limit myself to comestibles and potables, since I had so many fun experiences in two short days visiting my brother in Philadelphia that I'm not sure I'll be able to restrain myself from giving a detailed play-by-play otherwise.

Even before my sister and I had arrived in Philadelphia, plans were afoot to go at least once to Tria, which is basically my idea of heaven. Tria is a sophisticated little bar that offers wines, cheeses, and beers (and some food, too). But not just any wines, beers, and cheeses! Tria prides itself on offering the off-the-beaten path experience, and at very fair prices, I am happy to say.

I loved the atmosphere. If you go to their website, they have a lovely photo that really captures it. Smooth lines but not a lot of space: it feels like what I think a "European" wine bar would be like (I haven't had the pleasure of that experience yet). It's pleasantly cramped in both the bar and table areas, which somehow just makes the whole experience more charming.

We went on a Sunday evening (in order to take advantage of their "Sunday School" half-off special, featuring a Greek red wine ($5.50/glass), a Gorgonzola ($3 for 3 oz.), and a Victory Brewing Co. beer (though I can't recall the name of it) ($2.50)). The lighting was a little dim, but not too dark so as to make it difficult to appreciate the color of our beverages (color is important in wine and beer!).

It took me about 15 minutes to finish perusing the menu for what I wanted. We opted not to try the Sunday School specials, at least not right away. The Greek red wine ran out, sadly, so the special changed to a Carmenere, which I tried later on. We tried so many wonderful wines, cheeses and beers (for under $100 between the four of us, not including tip!). Unfortunately, I didn't take notes while there, so I'm not going to try to recall all the beautiful things I smelled and tasted. But seriously, you have to visit this place to believe it! Below are a few of the things I remember trying; the menu changes often, so some of the things I had are no longer available online for me to refresh my memory!

I only wish that I could remember what the red wine from Cahors, France, was that Jeremy ordered: that wine was so perfect! I miss it.

One last note: Tria serves each 5 oz. serving of wine in simple, classic crystal Bordeaux-style stemware. Thank you for caring about the swirling and the sniffing, Tria!!!

Things I remember trying (and loving!):
1. Chinon Les Graves Gasnier (2006) from the Loire Valley, France [Cabernet Franc]: $8.50

2. Viogner, Renwood (2005) from Lodi, California [Viogner]: $7.50/glass

3. Tete De Moine (Cow cheese from Switzerland): $6 for 3 oz., served shaved (and shaped into a carnation!!) with hot pepper jelly

4. Cashel Blue (Cow cheese from County Tipperary, Ireland): $7 for 3 oz. served with chocolate pate

5. Allagash White (Belgian style wheat beer from Portland, Maine) $5 for 16 oz. draft

6. Reed’s Spiced Apple Ginger Brew: $2.50/bottle

Pittsburgh Coffee Crawl: Oh Yeah! Part III

Yes, I know, this is the third time I'm reviewing Oh Yeah! But I've gotten different ice cream every time I've gone. And it's good every time! So I've just gotta tell you about it!

Last night, not many of the crew made it out for coffee, but Lauren and Ruchi needed to nail down details of Oh Yeah!'s donations to the Pittsburgh Legal Income Sharing Foundation's annual Auction fundraiser. Oh Yeah! is donating a bunch of artwork and several tubs of their delicious ice cream to be scooped out for auction patrons. So awesome!! I'll be one of the lovely handmaidens distributing that delicious treat.

So, last night, Karl and I were on our own for about a half an hour before Lauren and Ruchi showed up. We enjoyed Blackberry Chip ice cream (a delicious blackberry ice cream with dark chocolate chips all through) and Pinot Noir ice cream. We didn't get carded for the Pinot Noir ice cream, though the sign does say "adults only." I guess we just don't look young enough anymore!

Blackberry chip is pretty self-explanatory. It didn't change my life, but it was very good ice cream. The Pinot Noir ice cream was a little wilder: it's not every day you have wine-flavored ice cream!

Right off the bat you notice that the ice cream smells "wine-y," as if there is some yeast in it. The taste is so strange that I'm not sure I can describe it other than to say it's addictive. It has some wine-esque elements, but if it weren't called "Pinot Noir" ice cream, you probably wouldn't guess that wine was an ingredient. It's a very complex ice cream!

We played with Coop (the resident boxer/Great Dane mix I may have mentioned in a previous post) while we ate our ice cream and drank some of the nicest espresso I've had in Pittsburgh.

Oh Yeah! looks like a keeper to me!

Pittsburgh Coffee Crawl: Enrico's Tazza D'Oro

Enrico's Tazza D'Oro Cafe and Espresso Bar
1125 N. Highland Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
Phone: 412.362.3676

For some reason, I thought I had already reviewed Tazza D'Oro in a previous post, but I guess I didn't! Weird.

Anyway, a contingent of the Tuesday Night Crew crawled back to Tazza D'Oro for the second time, since last time, the baristas were busy training and rehearsing for some National competition in Washington, D.C., and thus, no espresso drinks were available.

That's right: the Tazza D'Oro baristas are all certified. That means they can make pretty leaves and hearts in your latte. I like that. Except for the part where it makes me buy a latte instead of a regular coffee, triggering an urge to spend even more because you HAVE to tip when a barrista makes a heart in your latte! Anyway, it's all very reasonably priced. I think it's about $2.25 for a small latte (still a dollar less than a comparable beverage at Starbucks!).

The cafe is set up on the first floor of a house in a very residential little neighborhood. It's easy to drive right by Tazza D'Oro because it blends right in. Inside, it's not terribly well-lit, but that's somehow ok. It's nice and quiet (no loud elevator music), except when the espresso machine is going, of course. All tables and chairs are wood, I think, and it just seems very brown inside. None of this is bad. It has a very organic feel to it.

Tazza D'Oro is probably not my favorite cafe ever, but I do like it. They have a quite extensive tea menu that I would like to sample from some time in the future. When you order tea, they wrap up the loose tea leaves (and, if applicable, other components) in what looks like a tiny mesh "tortilla". The finished "log" looks like a mini spring roll (or, as Karl put it, an owl pellet).

Check it out!

Pittsburgh Coffee Crawl: Oh Yeah! Part II

Oh Yeah! Ice Cream Bar and Coffee Pub
232 S. Highland Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
Phone: 412-253-0955

This week, the Tuesday nighters braved the "freezing rain" that was forecast after our morning mini-blizzards and forged ahead in our Coffee Crawl. Except we found ourselves back at Oh Yeah! for more ice cream and good coffee.

This time, Karl and I split a scoop of the Mint Tea Cream, probably one of the most delicious ice creams I've ever had. The peppermint refreshes the palate with a fresh burst while the subtleties effervesce up into your nose. Absolutely delicious. We didn't get a mix-in this time, but I can think of a number of things that would have been delicious mixed into this one.

We also had a coffee, which was really nice and well-balanced (despite our mixing half decaf and half dark roast).

Did I mention last time that there is a delightful (leashed) dog on the premises? Depending on your love of canines, this may or may not be a selling point for you. The dog is very friendly, a large-ish black boxer mix. No barking has been heard up to this point, but the dog is very desirous of playtime, even with fairly new-found friends. Don't be surprised if you find his head in your lap with a ball while you're sipping your coffee!

Another bonus: clearly marked recycling receptacles for of all plastic utensils and cups. Yay! The more I got to Oh Yeah!, the more I like it.

Pittsburgh Coffee Crawl: Oh Yeah!

Oh Yeah! Ice Cream Bar and Coffee Pub
232 S. Highland Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
Phone: 412-253-0955

Last night, the Tuesday crew chose the new Oh Yeah! Ice Cream Bar and Coffee Pub as the destination for mid-week merriment and de-stressification from the arduous life of law school.

Oh Yeah! is in a two story house (it's situated on the first floor). You walk up the stairs to the porch and into the wide-open door (it was warm last night). The walls are covered in burlap coffee sacks, hung like artwork, with a smattering of paintings. Its somewhat tropical ambience is supported by the patio tables, complete with open umbrellas, that are the only source of seating other than the retro bar stools near the espresso bar. I also liked that Oh Yeah! supplies a few rows (and stacks) of well-loved books for cafe reading, from Simpsons comic books to Jonathan Swift and John Steinbeck to Gilbert & Sullivan's (opera libretti!)! A rather eclectic selection to choose from.

The main draw of this place is that they tout the use of almost exclusively local and organic products. They serve a variety of ice creams (with vegan options) with a TON of available mix-ins. The ice creams are products of Woo City, an Ohio company that makes hand-packed ice creams, sorbets, and frozen tofus (or "woo fu" as they call it) using all organic ingredients. The cream used to make the ice cream comes from grass-fed Amish cows, making it, supposedly, a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids. Great! Ice cream is now healthy! Ice cream flavor choices included Amaretto Peach, Guinness and Bass flavors, and Grasshopper, among others.

The coffee, though obviously not locally grown, is locally roasted at La Prima in Pittsburgh. The cafe also sells baked goods and other products of local businesses. Pretty cool, in my opinion.

In the interests of giving Oh Yeah! the proper review, Karl and I were forced to try the ice cream, though the rest of our group stuck to the coffees and teas. I got a small scoop of the Malted Vanilla Woo Fu (which was, I learned later, a frozen tofu -- NOT ice cream!) blended with habenero pepper powder. The scoop + blend costs $2.75 (a bit pricey, if you ask me, but probably worth it considering the organic ingredients and hand-packing). To create my blend, the barrista scooped the ice cream into a cup, sprinkled the powder on it, and then used a Matrix-like drill to blend it: this is not your average Blizzard machine!!!

I know, I picked a strange combination, but sweet and spicy is probably one of the more overlooked taste combinations. In retrospect, I should have mixed the habanero with either the regular (albeit sugar-free) vanilla ice cream, or possibly the 5-star Chocolate ice cream. It was still pretty delicious, and I didn't even notice that I wasn't eating ice cream (which is kind of incredible).

Karl got the Caramel Bourbon Vanilla ice cream blended with candied ginger. I'm sure it was delicious, but for some reason, the taste of my ice cream made the Caramel Bourbon Vanilla taste like dish detergent. Karl verified the effect after tasting mine, so I know the ice cream doesn't actually taste like dish detergent. Just be forewarned in the highly unlikely event you try to have both at the same time...

We also tried the espresso ($1.85), which was really pleasant, even as it cooled. The acidity factor was pretty low, but the espresso was dark and rich and really well-balanced. This was no stomach-eating Starbucks espresso, that's for sure.

One weird quirk: the bathroom door is a one-way mirror. So you can't see into the bathroom, but you can watch everyone while you go! I have severely mixed feelings about this, but I applaud Oh Yeah!'s attempt to liberate its customers a little.

I'll definitely be going back, especially once it warms up a little bit.

Coffee Crawl in Pittsburgh: Tango Cafe

Tango Cafe
5806 Forward Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Phone: (412) 421-1390
www.tangocafepgh.com

The Tuesday night crew continued its search for the perfect Pittsburgh cafe with a visit to the Tango Cafe in Squirrel Hill. Boasting an authentic Argentinian menu of pastries and coffees, this unassuming little cafe packs a serious punch.

Our group of seven arrived around 9 p.m. (the cafe closes at 10 p.m.). Immediately when you walk in the door, your eyes (if they are dessert-seeking like mine) will be drawn to the small pastry case containing Argentinian pastries and cookies. Karl and I decided we had to split a Merengue ($1.99), which consisted of sweet, thick and delicious dulce de leche sandwiched between two perfectly baked merengue cookies drizzled with chocolate: the yum-factor was strong in these cookies.

I also ordered a cafe con leche ($2.10), although I really had my eye on the Tango Submarino, which the barrista informed me in her lilting Spanish accent was a bar of dark chocolate submerged in a mug of steamed milk ($3.10). I'll definitely be trying that next time!

I'm enjoying trying out different coffee shops. It's a shame that last year's regular Tuesday night meeting place, Make Your Mark Artspace and Coffehouse, is no longer open until 10 p.m. on Tuesdays, but at least we are getting to try out some of the other great locally owned cafes in our area. I wonder where we'll end up next Tuesday...?

If there is a limit to all things and a measure
And a last time and nothing more and forgetfulness,
Who will tell us to whom in this house
We without knowing it have said farewell?

from "Limits" by Jorge Luis Borges of Argentina (1899-1986)