The Newest Tria

Tria has always been one of my favorite restaurants in Philly (R.I.P. their Wine Room near campus that closed down), so I was extremely excited when their long anticipated new Taproom finally opened on the corner of 20th and Walnut. The idea behind this particular brainchild is that everything on the drink menu, both wine and beer, is on tap. It actually makes for a pretty cool piece of decor behind the bar, where, instead of the usual wine cooler and different draft beer labels you see at their other locations, they have a long wall of uniform silver spouts ready to pour out your order (photo here).

For our choice of drink, which were both solid, the boyfriend got the Allagash White and I opted for the Glera Frizzante Costabella, a sweeter white wine with a slight fizz that made it comparable to prosecco. The food menu, however, is where the fun really began.

It didn't seem like a lot while we were ordering it off the menu, but we definitely overestimated our abilities here. The food at this location is decidedly heavier than Tria Cafe, where the menu consists mainly of bruschettas, salads, and paninis. Here, there is a lot of innovative pub-type fare and a long list of different flatbreads, which are basically the size and richness of mini pizzas.

Top: Fried Oyster Po' Boy Poppers
Bottom: Wings, "Fries"

Wood-Fire Grilled Flatbreads
Left: Taproom Ham, mozzarella, provolone, brussel sprouts, caramelized onion, aged balsamic
Right: Duck, gorgonzola, duck confit, cherry-fig mostarda, foie gras mousse, tarragon

My favorite item by far was the Tria-style wings. Instead of offering them plated in a pile with celery sticks and bleu cheese dressing on the side, they piled them high and mixed them with sliced celery, bleu cheese crumbles, and salsa verde (or as the boyfriend likes to call it, "green sauce"). Each bite was perfectly covered in sauce and the appropriate condiments, but the skin was still crispy when the dish was served. A little unorthodox, but undoubtedly some of the best wings I've ever had.

Everything else was great as well, though we were already pretty full by the time the flatbreads were served and had to take half of them home as leftovers. I was set on ordering the duck confit flatbread as soon as I saw the menu, but surprisingly, I actually enjoyed the Taproom Ham slightly more. The brussel sprouts and caramelized onions really helped to balance out the saltiness of the ham and cheese, while the duck confit got to be a bit overpowering when layered with the cherry-fig jam and foie gras mousse. Overall though, for the value (every dish cost around $7-15) and the extensiveness of the menu, I hope to be back sometime soon.