Tres Evidence

Trio's fusion food satisfies, but doesn't thrill.

by Trey Popp

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Published: Oct 2, 2007

CHOP TO IT: Well-marinated and toothsome, the tamarind- lacquered pork chop entr�e is one of Trio's best. : Michael T. Regan (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Of all the California towns to have visited during the 1960s, Hanford probably doesn't rank high on the average person's list. Equipped with a time machine, most people would probably dial up the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets in San Francisco, circa 1967, for some summer-of-love action. Hardcore Yankee haters might opt for Los Angeles four years earlier, to see the Dodgers sweep New York in the 1963 World Series — also a sound choice. But if a food historian were manning the controls, Hanford might just win out — it was in that tiny burg, 30 miles south of Fresno, that contemporary fusion cuisine was born.

To be specific, Hanford was where a chef named Richard Wing combined French and Chinese techniques for the first known time on American soil. His restaurant was called Imperial Dynasty, and he called his style "Chinois," a name that Wolfgang Puck later applied to one of his own restaurants. 

How exciting it would have been to discover the unexpected harmonies possible when two radically different cuisines came together. And the fun was only getting started: It wasn't long before chefs started yoking French techniques to the flavors and ingredients of Southeast Asia, which proved even more fruitful.

Many years later, however, it's hard to get quite so worked up. During a couple of recent visits to Trio, which opened last year in Fairmount, I found myself wishing I could go back in time to when the whole French-Asian thing was exciting and novel. Trio's food is fine and fairly priced, but it lacks the fluidity that fusion cooking depends on for inspiration.

Many of the menu items don't do much cuisine mixing at all. Trio's vegetarian spring rolls, for example, are perfectly crispy and pleasantly dominated by the smell and flavor of shiitake mushrooms, and served with a standard sweet sauce indistinguishable from the bottles lining the shelves at Washington Avenue's Asian supermarkets. Tasty, but nothing new. A squid-salad appetizer was also an essentially unadulterated Thai dish, if a minimally spicy one, with raw onions and a hint of chili pepper giving the ivory morsels a tiny little kick.

Sweet corn fritters had the potential to reach a little higher, but the corn kernels didn't stand out against the breading, and there was little else adding to the flavor profile. Jalapeños might have imparted some needed zip.

There are two ways to look at Trio's entrées. On the one hand, they are solid offerings apportioned generously for the price. Philly could use more restaurants that priced mains between $11 and $19, and if I lived in this neighborhood, I am sure I would be drawn to these on a semi-regular basis. On the other hand, I probably wouldn't hike more than six or eight blocks for them.

Trio
2624 Brown St.
215-232-8746
www.triobyob.com
Hours: Sun.-Thu., 5-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 5-11 p.m.
BYOB.
Wheelchair accessible.

My favorite was a pair of tamarind-lacquered pork chops. The well-marinated meat was toothsome, and the tamarind sauce had just the right amount of sweetness to offset its tart acidity. I do wish, however, that it came with something a bit more interesting than white jasmine rice and broccoli. A recurring special of fried duck was accompanied by the same sides, which can get pretty old with repetition. The duck itself was flavorful if a little on the dry side, with nicely crisped skin. I chose it on a night when it was being served with an applejack brandy reduction, which worked well if unremarkably.

Better was another special, pairing prime rib with a modified Massaman curry sauce featuring pine nuts in place of peanuts. Here the rice had been tinted with saffron, and the omnipresent broccoli shared space with cucumbers sharply dressed with vinegar and French herbs. The steak itself was delicious, but I was mostly happy to leave the curry sauce to liven up the rice. Again, a workmanlike effort that satisfied but did not thrill.

The most adventurous dish on offer during each of my visits was a seafood-pasta special done "mojito-style." Scallops, lobster and a whole heap of other saltwater treats were tossed with penne tubes, dressed with a lime sauce and garnished with mint. Although I was impressed by the quantity of seafood, I found the lime sauce a bit murky and wished that the chefs had gone all the way with the mint, which I ended up shredding and mixing in on my own.

Nevertheless, even if Trio doesn't quite make the grade of a destination restaurant, it's a nice addition to the neighborhood. Its small second-floor deck is particularly pleasant on a nice evening. The speed of dinner service could stand to be revved up — I ran out of time to order dessert both nights — but there's still a friendly vibe. And perhaps French-Thai fusion needn't be great to be good — after all, by this point it's just another American staple.

(t_popp@citypaper.net)

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