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A Review from a DFW.com Food Critic...

I love writing about food, but I’ve had to make a few sacrifices
since becoming a columnist. I vowed to stop yelling my own name
after downing a tequila shooter, eat food out of my comfort zone
(duck liver) and stop keeping restaurants to myself.

Trio Café is one of those places that had my inner-demon and
inner-saint at a standoff, but I’m bound by my word to tell you
about it.

In a nutshell, it’s the dining project of former Abacus sous
chef Jason Harper. Remember Abacus in Dallas? It’s that fancy
restaurant that you can only afford once a year.

Trio isn’t as fancy. Wear a pair of jeans, and you’ll fit right
in. The food is simple but finely constructed.

The field green ($7.95) and rustic Caesar ($7.95) salads are
perfect examples. At Trio, they’re fresh and crisp.

The field green salad’s honey-chipotle dressing is as tangy to
the tongue as it is to the nostrils. (I love the biting scent of
a zesty dressing.) And the addition of avocado and pecans makes it
a seriously healthy option without being a total bore to the senses.

The Caesar salad, although not as lively as the field green salad,
is topped with crunchy Parmesan crisps (think wafers) that give it
a bold and cheesy flavor. And the ratio of dressing-to-green-stuff
in both salads is nicely balanced — we all know that too much dressing
gives us school lunch-line nightmares.

Reportedly the customer favorite, the chicken salad sandwich ($6.95)
is moist and chunky. It’s mixed with diced apples, making it exceptionally
crunchy. And Harper kept it cool and nicely balanced with the mayo.

Still, the chicken salad sandwich doesn’t compare to the prime beef
tenderloin melt ($10.95). It’s hard to beat a sandwich of tender beef.
And despite being such a simple dish, it’s perfectly executed. Creamy
horseradish sauce and toasted bread bring this little beefy beast together
nicely.

For a sandwich sidekick, look to the white cheddar mac ’n’ cheese ($5.25).
The portion is tiny, but in the little cup you’ll find a concentration of
white cheddar and bacon with a crispy layer on top. One cup of this creamy
creation is hardly enough. I need more.

Pizza is also on the menu, but sometimes cafes tend to tack on an extra
pizza section knowing diners can’t turn down a cheesy slice of anything.
But at Trio, it works, thanks to a brand-new dough recipe. I have no way of
knowing how the previous recipe fared, but the new one is sure to rise to
the top with Trio’s customers. It’s thin and crispy, and is featured on a
different pizza special ($8.95) daily.

Obviously, the food — salads, sandwiches and pizza — is typical of what
you’d find in a cafe, but Harper takes their preparation far more seriously.
Ingredients are fresh, and from bread to leafy greens, he’s got his eye on
the details.

Blame it on high-end training or genuine involvement — or both — but either
way, Trio takes no chances in alienating diners with fancy tablecloths or
obscure ingredients. And the prices? They’re just about right.

Now take me with you when you go, so I don’t regret telling you about this
place.

By Joseph Daniel
Special to DFW.com
http://www.dfw.com/2011/04/29/444948/trio-cafe-colleyville.html