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| SUV’s Jammed end to end down Myrtle Ave is a common sight in at Colony Grill |
About a month ago my sister-in-law stopped by our house and dropped off a pizza. She said she had driven up to Stamford because she wanted some pizza from Colony Grill and grabbed us one too.
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| You don’t order ‘a pizza’ from Colony Grill, you order ‘a stack of pizzas’ - everyone gets their own! |
I thought that was very nice of her, but I had to ask – why drive to Stamford for pizza – from Hoboken, New Jersey!?
She told me I should try the pizza.
I did, and now I understand.
Colony Grill is not your typical thin-crust pizza. It has its own very special flavor, thanks to an amazing crust and some unique toppings which I recommend you try in order to get the real Colony Grill experience.
You cannot compare a Colony Grill pizza directly with Italian, Greek, Gourmet Californian or ‘New York Slice’ style pizzas. It’s its own animal, so when you have the hankering for Colony Grill pizza, there is only one place you can get it – Stamford.
Now, lets move on to the toppings which make this pizza so special.
The most important topping is Hot Oil. It isn’t all that hot, and I don’t know exactly what kind of oil it is, but it goes with every topping and turns any pizza into some sort of crack-like substance you cant stop eating.
The next most important topping are the cherry peppers. These are not like any cherry peppers I have had on a pizza before. They aren’t really hot, but they have a vinegar-like zest that really compliments the hot oil.
The sausage topping is made right across the street at Deyulio’s Sausage Company, so you know its fresh – but it also happens to be delicious. (The sausage chunks are also very generously sized!)
Last but certainly not least is the Stinger.
The Stinger is a HOT pepper topping – do not make the mistake I did and confuse the Stinger with the Cherry Peppers – they are NOT the same! The Stinger is only for the hot pepper aficionado, its not a topping to be taken lightly. That said, I did like my one Stinger pizza experience.
If you want to try a Stinger without eating a whole Stinger pizza, thats not a problem. A Stinger or two in the center of each hot oil pizza is the indicator of whether the pizza has already had the hot oil applied. As a result, every once in a while you will find yourself unexpectedly eating a Stinger. Its a fun surprise, and part of the colony grill experience. (This raises the question of what secret code they use on a pizza that is supposed to have both hot oil and stingers)…
The atmosphere of Colony Grill is – well, its a large, cozy, neighborhood bar, nothing more or less. You will see few bars with so many kids sitting at the tables though, because families love Colony Grill. The parking lot is always packed, but there is a lot of on-street parking as well.
Located less than a mile north from the Stamford Metro-North Station, Colony is a popular commuter take-out joint that will make anyone a hero upon arrival home. Just remember to call well before your eta, cause it can get busy around dinnertime.
Coincidentally, my sister-in-law stopped by again yesterday with a friend to ask if we wanted to join them at Colony Grill. We had other plans, but I mentioned that I would be reviewing them in my blog.
Suddenly, her friend expressed alarm – evidentially, he noted, I did not know the first rule of Colony Grill.
Colony Grill 173 Myrtle Ave Stamford, CT 203-359-2184
13 responses so far ↓
1 The Friend-o // Mar 9, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Since you’ve disregarded the first rule of CG,
I thought I’d point out:
the name of that zapper of a pickled pepper is not Zinger but
“Stinger!”
Chow Ciao
2 Chris (Admin) // Mar 9, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Yikes! Um, uh – what, where? No, I said Stinger
3 The Friend-o // Mar 9, 2008 at 1:50 pm
topping chart tells the tale ; )
4 Ludmilla // Mar 9, 2008 at 3:18 pm
mmmm..makes me want to drive down from MA just to get me some.
5 Stamford Talk // Mar 10, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Wait, I am slow- what is the first rule? Not to blog about them, or to keep the place a secret? I blogged about them, so I think I’ve broken whatever rule you are talking about.
6 Chris (Admin) // Mar 11, 2008 at 9:01 am
The first rule of CG is that you do not talk about CG.
7 Stamford Talk // Mar 13, 2008 at 7:09 am
How does one find out about that rule??? I’ve been in Stamford nine years! Is the reason I don’t know about it because people don’t talk about it?
Clearly, that rule is a ploy for publicity.
8 Edward Ryan // May 28, 2008 at 5:06 pm
I eat pizza from Colony Grill 3x per week. I go with my Irish buddies every other weekend. Always get the Hot Oil..is it their signature pie. They have perfected the bar pie with thin crust. I have had bar-pies before, but never with the crust so crispy.
They get so busy that they have to put the phone off the hook when taking orders!
9 Julie // Nov 29, 2008 at 5:04 pm
YUM I love Colony! It is our best discovery since moving to Stamford…..
10 Sonny // Jan 31, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Next of Sin would eat three of them if she lived in the Northeast
11 YoElles // May 17, 2009 at 10:11 am
Well written, my friend. My family has roots at the Colony. My grandparents actually went there on their first date there, and all my uncles’ service pictures are on the wall. I’ve spent the last two years trying to explain the joy that is Colony pizza to my girlfriend, but to no avail. Finally, I had a chance to get one brought down by car to North Carolina. It arrived at 9 a.m. today and since the first slice my girlfriend has been trying to get us to drive all the way from Greensboro, NC to the Stamford for a fresh, from the oven pie.
12 Chris (Admin) // May 17, 2009 at 9:12 pm
I actually had my first bad experience at Colony Last week. I wanted to get some for guests from out of town, and ordered 4 pies.
Of course, they were crazy busy when I got there and had to stand at the counter for an extra 15 minutes beyond the time they said to give them.
When I brought the stack of pies home, one of the boxes in the middle was COMPLETELY EMPTY.
I was sooo angry, but my guests were hungry and I live about 20 minutes from CG during rush hour, so I didnt go back to get it resolved.
I am really suspicious of what happened here, because I really have a hard time believing that someone who boxes pizzas all day could pick up an empty box and assume there was a pie in it.
Also, all the other boxes had writing down the side, this one did not – so I am supposed to believe that not only did they not feel the box was empty, but no one looked at the sides of the boxes going out the door to make sure the order was correct? Fishy.
I almost feel like they slipped me an empty box because they were so busy.
13 Out-of-State Thin Crust Pizza « Peter’s Food Adventures // Aug 11, 2009 at 7:32 pm
[...] Read other reviews about the Colony Grill here, here and here. [...]
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