Messy and Picky

Picky had a day off from his busy work schedule so he headed over to see Messy by her Rittenhouse office and we treated ourselves to lunch at Tria. Messy had been there once before for a business lunch, and she had thoroughly enjoyed her sandwich on that occassion. We arrived towards the end of the lunch rush and sat by the window awaiting a table to open up (this place is always busy during peak hours). Tria is a well known spot to get some fine wines, they even have a fermentation school, but neither of us are too knowledgable on that particular subject. Knowing that good wines are wasted on us (particularly Messy, who enjoys wine that comes with plastic twisty-tops or in boxes or gallon jugs), we drank water.

We were seated along the pale green wall by the west-facing windows. The top portion of the walls used to be smoke stained from the tall candles which formerly occupied the decorative shelves. The candles have been replaced by decorative pieces and the walls repainted a uniform pastel which makes for a pretty hip, minimalist decor.

Picky had a Joe's Smoked Mozzarella Sandwich (with crispy prosciutto, tomato, arugula and garlic vinaigrette) for $7.50. There was nothing spectacular about the sandwich, but then again, nothing has to be spectacular with prosciutto — when it's good, it's just good. And this was good. Unfortunately, it wasn't as big as Picky normally likes his sandwiches. Perhaps he's been spoiled by Philly's gigantic "half" hoagie servings.

Messy had the three cheese and tomato panino, which was very large and very delicious ($7). We had wanted to try an appetizer (Tria has a great selection of bruschetta on the menu), but our waitress must have forgotten or not heard us. (We didn't bother to complain or press the issue - it was really loud in there.) All in all, we were quite satisfied with our tasty lunch.

Messy ****
Picky ***

The final word: Delicious simple snacks and sandwiches, even for the wine-ignorant.

Tria Cafe
123 S. 18th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 972-TRIA
Mon - Fri: Noon - Late Night
Sat: 4:00 pm - Late Night
Sun: 4:00 pm - 12:30 am