As we approached Cafe Trio, I'm guessing that Scrunch, Wingnut, Brady and I all were thinking the same thing: how long is it going to take us to park this time?
You see, about a year ago, we visited Cafe Trio. Scrunch was driving. And driving. And driving. Around and around the parking lot, looking for a spot. The rest of us were laughing. And guffawing. And chortling. We eventually had to park quite far away, and the entire incident lives on in our memories as an "epic" start to that particular lunch.
Unfortunately, I remember the parking incident more than the food from that day. I remember that the food was good. But that's about it.
So as we entered Wingnut's big-rig and Brady suggested that Cafe Trio serve as our lunch destination, I couldn't really remember what to expect. But when we were able to pull into an open parking spot right next to the restaurant, I knew we weren't going to be disappointed.
We ate al fresco, and even though it was a scorching hot day and we were not near any misters (sigh), the awnings kept us cool. Well, except for Scrunch's left arm, which got a bit of sun. But we all decided he's young and is sure to recover.
For lunch, I chose the pasta carbonara, because, well, it has bacon. I love bacon. (For more on bacon, go here.)
For the non-food-educated among you, carbonara is a sauce for pasta that contains eggs and bacon or ham and grated cheese. And Trio does its carbonara right. The dish was big enough to be filling, but didn't leave me feeling stuffed. The sauce was substantial, but not too heavy. The bacon was flavorful, the peas were firm (nothing worse than mushy peas) and the noodles were cooked al dente, as they should be.
The service was excellent (servers were present, but weren't hovering). The Coke was a bit flat, and a few flies were buzzing about, but otherwise I have no complaints about Trio.
Of course, you really ought to get a good lunch at Trio, because it costs more than we in the GPaK Crew usually pay. For my lunch, with tip, I shelled out $18. Yikes! That means Trio is not an every-week place. But considering the quality of the food and the chance of an epic parking experience, it definitely IS a once in a while place that the Crew will visit again.
— GPaK
Sound clip of the week
Man-up possibilities: 8 (Wingnut's pizza was huge!)
Food quality: 9
Fizz-o-meter of Coke: 7
Service: 8
Overall: 8.5
The truly epic original Trio encounter was definitely something I thought was going to be tough to match. But I think we came close!
ReplyDeleteSince I've commented on restrooms before on this blog, you should know that Trio's facilities are clean and warm water dispenses when you wash your hands. Always a good prerequisite to any meal.
As for my meal... I ordered the niman ranch ham panini. I will rarely pass up a good sandwich, and this one fit the bill. For $10 (chasing with water keeps your bill on the small side), this sucker packed a pretty good punch.
It was loaded with thick slices of "real" ham and dressed with a perfect amount of apricot chutney. Topped with prima donna cheese and basis aioli, I was not disappointed. A choice of soup or salad comes with it and you can't go wrong with mixed greens accompanied by red grapes, candied walnuts and gorgonzola cheese.
This "hip" joint did a fine job of ushering out our food in a timely manner and the ambiance was near the top of any dining experience we have had. Toss in the off-the-record one liners as we were packing the rig for the ride back to the office and this meal moves near the top for another solid experience.
Man up possibilities: 9
Food quality: 9
Water: watery (superb)
Service: 9
Overall: 9
Even though it was much too hot for Asian cuisine, enjoying our lunch in the shade of 80 degree sunshine rocked.
ReplyDeleteMy 12-inch pizza (I'm bringing home 3 slices for the family...because you griped about the cost...LOL) was fantastic. It was one of several specials that sounded delicious and in fact was. The 'za was full of chicken, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, drizzled with a light olive oil just the right amount of pesto all covered with mozzarella cheese.
My Diet Coke had a nice taste, but I agree that the fiz factor was less than impressive, unlike my amazing parking karma and skills. :)
The service as always was superb and the ambiance of this very hip lunch-time favorite for Salt Lake's east-siders, made all of us feel like we were part of the cool crowd.
--Wingnut
Man up possibilities: 8.5
Food quality: 9
Service: 9.5
Overall: 9
Can we do a future post that pulls together all of the many faces of Brady?
ReplyDeleteChuck is right. It was a bit too hot for Asian food, whatever that means.
ReplyDeleteLunch was fun (as usual) but I'll agree we are talking way too much about the actual food we were eating. I swear we are turning into a bunch of old ladies.
I ordered the sausage rigatoni and it was pretty darn good, but Chuckles offered me a slice of his pizza and I have to admit that it was even better than my pasta. I was scared to eat an artichoke heart though and I'm still not certain I ingested one.
Cafe Trio is crazy expensive for a plate of pasta $12 to $14 for lunch, but it's fine once in a while.
Greg even hatched a sweet idea to help us monetize. You lucky restaurants in the GPaK crew's future will find a little present sitting on the table when we leave.
Wait, that sounded a little gross.
Anyway, my ratings:
Man-up possibilities: 8
Food quality: 9
Service: 9
Overall: 8.75678
A bit offended by Brady's comment about "old ladies" who talk too much about food ... I'm only 39, man!
ReplyDelete@The Kratz Colloquist:
ReplyDeleteIt's all downhill from there, believe me.