Tonight: Ombra, Haystack Mountain’s Haystack Peak, and Chaput Grand Foin

Location: Tria. (www.triacafe.com 1137 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107)

Tria bills itself as a wine, cheese and beer café. And hey, wine and cheese, isn’t there fad diet book on that theme? While I doubt that there are diets in heaven, it’s safe to say I almost had a religious experience at Tria. Admittedly, I’m a cheese fiend. But that doesn’t make me easy to please, quite the opposite in fact. I’ve had the cheese platter at Le Bec Fin and it was so boring I could have slept face down on my plate. However if you’re not a cheese aficionado, have no fear. Tria makes it easy to find your way around the menu by listing both the cheese selection, and the libations, by character; approachable, bold, stinky, clear, light-hearted.

I started with a basic pairing of red wine and hard sheep cheese (Care Tinto Joven a Syrah / Garnacha / Tempranillo and the cheese: Ombra). A gorgeous red, interesting, rich, really there was nothing basic about it. The cheese was nice but “hard sheep cheese” was exactly it. No more no less. It did have a lovely added bonus of a membrillo served on the side. (Has anyone else noticed how honey flavor is popping up everywhere? Will meade and quince be the next fad to replace the oh-so-hip pomegranate?)

Round two, Haystack. My friend described this succinctly: “its like eating cheese after you milked a cow”. Yep. Milky foreground, swiftly followed by a warm snoot full of Bessie. Only surprise is that it’s a goat cheese, so make that snoot full of Buttercup. This cheese earns my affection for bringing back warm memories of hugging goats, without the rude scent of Billy.

I knew exactly what I was having next. I’d known it since I picked up the menu, I was just prolonging the inevitable, reveling in the anticipation. Bring on the “stinky” cheese please. The indescribable Chaput Grand Foin and as a classy foil: the bubbly Pares Balta cava brut. This is the part where the clouds parted and a host of angels dropped mana on to my cheese board. Rich and creamy, tasting of powerful odors, grit of rind edges…this cheese was no lady. This was a wicked dame straight out of a noir flick. The cava brut was like her innocent apple perfume that makes you stop looking at her cleavage for, oh, two seconds.

I awoke the next morning with a smile on my face and memory of my night with Chaput Grand Foin. Thanks Tria for the love match.

-KWest