add to our listingsVenue Review: Trio
The Charlotte Observer
My theory on food to go: If a restaurant's going to offer it, they ought to pay as much attention to packaging the order as they would to plating it for sit-down diners.
Trio knows how to pack an order. Let me describe a first-rate take-out experience:
I ordered the barbecue pork sandwich. The take-out box had two compartments, and they weren't the shallow ones that let everything slosh around.
One held the toasted bun (wrapped in foil), the pork, coleslaw and barbecue sauce, all in separate containers. The other held a side of pasta salad. Nothing got wet, nothing got soggy.
Trio's BLT pizza had flavors I won't soon forget. Ditto that sentiment for the cinnamon ice cream with the apple fritters. Everything else was just OK.
The call
Usually when I place to-go orders, I'm told the food will take around 15 minutes. On my Trio visits, I was told it would take 25 minutes. Even though Trio had one of the longer wait times I've experienced, I'd rather be accurately told how long to expect than get there and have to wait around.
The food
*I'd make a special trip to Trio for BLT pizza. Medium dices of applewood-smoked bacon were held in place with a blend of mozzarella, fontina and gouda. The buttery cheeses and salty bacon were joined by slices of roma tomatoes and strips of spinach. The crust was reminiscent of a cracker and was just a vehicle for the toppings.
*For the blackened salmon Caesar, the salmon was cooked perfectly, flaking with every touch of the fork. More good packaging: The salmon was wrapped in foil and placed on top of the mixed greens, tomatoes, Parmesan and blue cheese.
*The sauce for the barbecue pork sandwich was medium in spiciness. There was enough pork for a sandwich plus a little extra.
*In the sesame tempura chicken with sticky jasmine rice, the chunks of chicken looked dry but were surprisingly moist. The sweet chile lime sauce had a nice balance. But the bok choy was overcooked.
*The insides of the apple fritters were doughy and the outsides retained more of a greasy flavor than I cared for. But the silky-smooth cinnamon ice cream was a wonderful treat.
Of note: Trio is part of the Charlottesville, Va.-based Prima restaurant group. Prima also owns Charleys, in Cotswold Village Shops.
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The quality of the food, the promptness of service and consistency overall makes TRIO our favorite resturant for lunch or Dinner. You can spend a lot more money for food, but you can't beat TRIO for variety and freshness. Almond basket ice cream dessert ROCKS!!
Trio is one of my favorite places in Charlotte! First, this restaurant is not a chain and as soon as you walk in the door you will feel the positive ‘non-chain’ atmosphere. The food is excellent as I have been to Trio at least 60 times and have always had a positive experience. I recommend going for lunch on your first visit and trying a pizza for an appetizer (BBQ or Tomato Basil) and Charlie's One Great Chicken Sandwich for lunch. Of course, all of the items on the menu are wonderful and you will be very pleased. While eating lunch don't be surprised if Gary, one of the owners, stops by your table to check on your meal. Give Trio a try... you will be impressed.
My wife talked me into going to eat at Trio. She USED to like it a lot. They almost seated us near the bar (restaurant almost empty), and when we requested to move to a quieter area, they acted like we had totally put them out. Then, our hung-over, bloated waitresse grunted through taking our orders. I had the fish sandwich, which consisted of a postage-size piece of fish (mostly all breading) on a huge bun. The waitress was totally rude throughout the dinner...at least when she bothered to come to the table. We were there with my parents, and we are ALWAYS very nice to our servers, but this one was just simply awful. Maybe she's not a reflection on Trio as a whole, but someone had to hire her, and I certainly question their judgment. This visit was about seven or eight months ago...not recent...but we haven't been back either.
Trio knows how to pack an order. Let me describe a first-rate take-out experience: (Full review)