Tria

[KatieLoeb]

I think they are open for lunch Monday - Friday. Maybe they're giving their staff a bit of a break since Saturdays would probably be their busiest night. Maybe they don't think they serve "brunch" (by their own definition) and have chosen not to open early Saturday and Sunday for that reason.

[mrbigjas]

wait, you guys realize i wasn't seriously complaining, right? i mean, i don't expect every restaurant to be open upon my every whim.

well, except maybe a vietnamese restaurant or two.

[Andrew Fenton]

Well, I realized that.

But I was serious about calling them lying bastards.

Okay, not really.

[herbacidal]

You know that I was joking too, right?

[mrbigjas]

yeah it was mainly katie i wanted to reassure.

[KatieLoeb]

yeah it was mainly katie i wanted to reassure.

I'm fine with that.

[Andrew Fenton]

On a warm spring evening like yesterday, Tria is pretty close to my ideal of where I want to be. I met a couple of friends there, and we just sat outside for an hour or two, hanging out and enjoying some wine and cheese. It was entirely mellow, and just great.

(What did I have? Let's see, a glass of the Cortese Bianco, a nice, bright Pinot Grigio: very refreshing warm-weather wine, and another of Insolia. This was a little more aggressive, but it went reasonably well with the Humboldt Fog and the pecorino we'd ordered.)

[mrbigjas]

ok this topic hasn't been posted to in a year and a half. weird.

anyway, a friend of mine just pointed me to tria's fermentation school:

http://www.triacafe.com/fermentation_school/

and i'm wondering if anyone else has been to anything. it looks like they have some interesting topics coming up--wine & cheese of portugal, the wines of austria, a course on 'navigating the PLCB' to get the best deals, etc. and the classes are generally like $40 which seems totally reasonable.

so, anyone been to any? worth it?

[Diann]

ok this topic hasn't been posted to in a year and a half.  weird.

anyway, a friend of mine just pointed me to tria's fermentation school:

http://www.triacafe.com/fermentation_school/

and i'm wondering if anyone else has been to anything.  it looks like they have some interesting topics coming up--wine & cheese of portugal, the wines of austria, a course on 'navigating the PLCB' to get the best deals, etc.  and the classes are generally like $40 which seems totally reasonable.

so, anyone been to any?  worth it?

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haven't been, but I want to do the wine of Germany or Austria classes - anyone wanna come with me?

[ColleenD]

I just bought two tickets to the Cheese by Hand class for my parents for Christmas...I'm thinking of calling back, though, because I think they may need some supervision! It's not til 1/26, but I'll post their thoughts afterwards. Cheers!

[mrbigjas]

well, a couple of us stopped by the tria school last night for their class on austrian wines. and i don't know what happened after i left, but while i was there it was highly enjoyable.

it was in essence a standard wine class--speaking about the different cultivation techniques, soil composition, what to look for in various grape types and whatnot. but it was pretty focused (in this case, on austrian wines, obviously) and only $40--the kind of thing you don't see a ton of around here.

unfortunately i had eaten something bad earlier that day so i had to bail from the class early to go home and puke for a while. so i don't know if there was anything more to the class than just the standard stuff. but it was fun! i know these sell out quickly, so i'll be keeping an eye on the schedule and doing it again.

[mrbigjas]

ok i realize i've been out of the going out loop for a while, but when did tria get SO EFFIN' POPULAR?

with someone watching the boy for a while, we stopped by on friday evening thinking we'd get a nice glass or two -- and the wait for a seat of any sort was 50-60 minutes. uh, i don't think so. but dang, no wonder they're opening a second one.

[herbacidal]

I've passed by often enough on different nights, and it's always been packed. The most recent time I actually stopped in was late Wednesday night of week before last and it was at full capacity, no people waiting but no additional room for anyone if anyone did show up.

[Lisa1349]

but dang, no wonder they're opening a second one.

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Any word where the second will be?

[mrbigjas]

13th street somewhere.

[herbacidal]

I thought it was NE corner 12th and Spruce, where the laundromat used to be.

The sign there does say "tenant obtained".

Can anyone break the tie?

[Diann]

I thought it was NE corner 12th and Spruce, where the laundromat used to be.

The sign there does say "tenant obtained".

Can anyone break the tie?

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Foobooz will: It's 12th and Spruce. I think Michael Klein reported this too, but you can go dig up that link if you like.

Edited March 15, 2007 by Diann (log)

[Natasha]

The location is also noted on their webpage as Washington Square West, 12th & Spruce opening Spring 2007.

[Jack Sprat]

I've been to one class in the fermentation school. They have a nice room in the Med arts building just north of walnut on 17th.

Russian river beer class was fantastic. After class started the owner/brewmaster of russian river just sort of went into a 2 hour monologue, telling stories about each of the ten different beers we were served. Because it was a small class, we were also given the chance to sample a few things that won't make it out here for mass (even small masses) consumption. The best was a pizza port imperial stout aged in whiskey casks.

Tried to sign up for the garrett oliver class but it was sold out by the time I got around to it. Will definitely go back to school though.

[MarketStEl]

Reviving this thread to note that the 12th and Spruce location has been a hit since Day One.

Never have I walked past the place in the early evening and not found it at least nearly packed. And on the nights when the weather is good and they open the big folding doors on the 12th Street side, the buzz extends almost all the way to Camac Street, it's that lively.

I think the secret to Tria's popularity, now that I've been there, is threefold: One, they offer a lot of handholding for those who might be intimidated when it comes to pairing wine or beer with cheese or other light fare; two, they combine upscale taste with a casual attitude in their decor (and this goes for the staff as well, not to mention the menu copy ["Remember, the glass isn't two-thirds empty, it's one-third full"]); three, everything's priced and sized so that you can eat (and spend) a little or a lot as you see fit.

IOW, this is a most versatile restaurant, suitable for just about any informal occasion or anytime you want to meet friends for something more than a drink (though you can have that too) but less than a meal (though you can make one of those out of their fare as well). It's a great addition to the neighborhood.

Edited to add: Of course I signed up for their e-mail list: "Not Spam. More like Prosciutto di Parma."

Edited August 16, 2007 by MarketStEl (log)

[RobinQ]

Just been to Tria, as is usual when I am around on Sunday, to enjoy Sunday School. Really enjoyed the Berlin-style Weisse beer. The Austrian Gruner-Veltliner was so-so; a bit too floral. The local PA amish cheese was nice, but I also tried the Irish Ardrahan, which was stinky and even better. I always feel that Tria is a great way to finish the weekend!

[mrbigjas]

i agree.

although i had a weird experience there recently. a few weeks ago i got caught in that miserable downpour on sunday afternoon, so i ran inside. their sunday school wine was some south american rose, if i remember right. and when they served it to me it was definitely chilled to like, beer coldness -- the glass was ice cold in my hand, and all you could taste was alcohol and a little tannin. it was weird, because one of the things i always liked about tria is that they usually serve their wine at approximately correct temperature.

anyway after about 10 minutes of swirling and warming the glass with my hand it ended up being OK, especially for four bucks, but still, that was a weird misstep by them.

Edited August 4, 2008 by mrbigjas (log)

[BrentKulman]

i agree. 

although i had a weird experience there recently.  a few weeks ago i got caught in that miserable downpour on sunday afternoon, so i ran inside.  their sunday school wine was some south american rose, if i remember right.  and when they served it to me it was definitely chilled to like, beer coldness -- the glass was ice cold in my hand, and all you could taste was alcohol and a little tannin.  it was weird, because one of the things i always liked about tria is that they usually serve their wine at approximately correct temperature.

anyway after about 10 minutes of swirling and warming the glass with my hand it ended up being OK, especially for four bucks, but still, that was a weird misstep by them.

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Oh, you should say macro beer coldness. Good quality beer shouldn't be served at that temperature, either, and Tria has plenty of fine craft beers available.