Water Buffalo Cheese and Earthquake Wine (Tria's Sunday School)

Today I went to brunch at Tria, one of my favorite places to eat in the city. Not only is it conveniently located a block away from Rittenhouse Square, but it also has one of the most intriguing and affordable menus in the city. Tria is known for their beer, wine, and cheese but also boasts a menu that pairs complex combinations of textures and flavors to create original dishes, most of which are priced below $10.

On Sundays, Tria has an event that they charmingly call "Sunday School" in which they offer an unusual or rare beer, wine, and cheese at a discounted price. The idea is that they are "educating" the consumer on a taste that they might not normally try.

I decided to go for the wine and cheese, as well as a grilled artichoke, spicy tuscan pepper, white bean and bulgarian feta panino (which is served with mixed greens). The sandwich was absolutely delicious. ($8)

The cheese that they had selected for Sunday school was a water buffalo gorgonzola-style cheese from Lombardy, Italy (literally Blu Di Bufala). It was surprisingly mild, but very smooth and pleasant. It was served on a wooden dish with crostinis and local honey for drizzling. My only complaint would be that when I am eating a weird foreign blue cheese I want it to knock me off of my feet with flavor and this wasn't as overwhelming as I had hoped for (it was still darn-tootin' good though). ($4)



The wine was Chilean and apparently salvaged from the rubble of the February 2010 earthquake epicenter, earning the title "earthquake blend." French wine-maker Baptiste Cuvelier is behind this blend which has a fittingly earthy quality to the taste, especially in the finish which lingers on the tongue for some time post-sip. Apparently a portion of the wine is donated to the Canquenes community in Chile. ($6)