Trifecta’s Pizza/Salads/Burritos Combo is a Different Kind of Fast Casual
A build-your-own veggie salad from Trifecta. Photos by Kevin Gibson
They say it’s tough to try to be all things to all people, but Trifecta on lower Brownsboro Road is sure trying to be a lot of things to a lot of people.
The build-your-own concept offers a trilogy of core options — thin, New York-style pizza, fresh salads and a burrito bar — with a surprising number of options for mixing and matching. At times, it can be overwhelming. For starters, when you walk into the place for the first time, its easy to be confused about where to start. It’s a clean, inviting place, for starters, with a patio overlooking Brownsboro Road. There are handy menu boards on the walls and arrows pointing you to where you want to go, be it for a salad, a slice or a burrito, but it’s still daunting. And it’s tough to decide.
And then when you finally decide, it’s tough to decide. A salad, you say? Sure, Trifecta has eight featured salads, from Cobb to Tex-Mex. Want to do it yourself? No problem, you can choose from 39 ingredients and 10 different dressings. Red peppers? Check. Shrimp? Uh-huh. Fried zucchini? They’ve got that, too.
As for the pizzas, you can choose a slice of cheese, pepperoni or one of the slices of the day, or you can construct a pizza choosing from 35 (pretty sure I counted that right) toppings … OR, you can choose one of Trifecta’s nine signature pies. On my most recent visit, the veggie slice of the day looked to be a caprese salad version.
Oh yeah, burritos. There are “only” 21 possible fillings, including guacamole, smoked brisket, sauteed pepper and onion blend, and corn salsa. And you also have the option of using these ingredients to make a burrito bowl. Or tacos. Yes. Tacos. And I probably should mention they also have breakfast burrito and taco options. Heck, you can even pair your burrito with a beer.
And I’d be remiss to not mention the daily specials: Weekdays, 2-5 p.m., a slice of cheese pizza is just $1.50 and a pepperoni slice is $2.50; on Friday, you can get a large, three-topping pie with a domestic six-pack for $23; all day on Saturday, you can get a burrito and a domestic for $8.50 (essentially a free beer!), and on Sunday, it’s two tacos and a fountain drink for six bucks.
I first experienced Trifecta, which is located at 1971 Brownsboro Road, back during the summer, when I got a chicken burrito bowl that not only was delicious, it also was portioned so that I got two meals from it. Not bad for $8.50. I went back again about a month ago with my friend Michael and got a carnitas burrito stuffed with items like cilantro, fresh pico, queso fresco, cilantro rice, black beans and jalapenos. Oh, and they also offer house-made salsas, including a jalapeno version with a kick and an arbol salsa with a rich, smoky flavor and plenty of back-end heat.
When I returned, with my girlfriend Cynthia, I was determined to try the pizza for the first time. But I also sort of wanted a taco. So I got both, turning my lunch into a sort of “Mexitalian” meal. Cynthia, meanwhile, decided — after being admittedly overwhelmed with the choices — to build a veggie salad. Get this lineup: Mixed greens, purple cabbage, carrots, avocado, chick peas, black beans, corn and boiled eggs, topped with chipotle ranch dressing. Her only after-the-fact regret? Nothing crunchy. Oh, and she forgot the tomatoes.
“I was looking right at them,” she lamented.
See? I told you the selection can be overwhelming. She froze under pressure. But she loved the salad anyway and didn’t come close to finishing all of it.
For my part, I got one Trifecta’s oversized pepperoni slices, which was baked nice and crisp with a thin layer of savory sauce, gooey mozzerella and big slices of pepperoni. Not gourmet, but tasty and ample for the meager $3.50 price tag. In my taco, I was granted a huge portion of tender carnitas, with my choice of three other fillings. My choices were pico de gallo, shredded cheese and avocado. Of course, I topped it with plenty of arbol salsa.
Don’t sleep on those carnitas. And for a reasonably priced lunch or dinner for dine-in or carry-out (there’s even a drive-through!), don’t sleep on Trifecta. It’s a fast-casual of a different type and a great addition to the Clifton Heights neighborhood.
