Polarizing.
Have a look at the reviews, ranging from 5 star raves to 1 star blechs. All sincere, I am sure.
Pizza is a comfort food and our love affair with it starts in preschool. Early imprints are hard to overcome, which means that if you grew up in Chicago, only deep dish will turn your crank; NYers pine for charred thin crust brick oven pies, in NJ you want bready sicilian, and even Pennsylvania has their own Old Forge style. Pizza is religion, and converts are rare.
In Connecticut, there are actually three distinct pizza religions, each with their own apostles: Apizza (New Haven), White Clam (New Haven but spreading), and Colony (Stamford but spreading).
The Colony Grill is a dive bar on the wrong side of the tracks in Stamford. Starting in 1935 and for decades after, it was a smoky, slightly seedy elbow-bending establishment that served the dock workers from the surrounding industrial zone and the local Irish residents. They began serving a thin crust pizza with a thin tomato sauce and a veneer of shredded mozzarella, sometimes spiked with hot oil. It turns out the pies were addictive, especially if accompanied by a beer or four.
As their reknown grew, they reluctantly allowed take out, but have never delivered, ever crotchety in the face of their own success. The original location is still a dive, although the Fairfield location is more upscale (I haven't been to the Milford Colony). Pizzas are still served without any frou-frou - paper plates and deli napkins. This refusal to change, which I find laudable, has spawned imitators and spinoffs who deliver and serve on real plates, notably Riko's, which also makes an excellent pie. But there is always something about the original, isn't there?
Personally, I like the pies - especially the hot oil with pepperoni and stingers. They are thin and oily, with a slightly chewy texture, and are a great balance of cheese, sauce and bread. The pepperoni slices are massive and thin, and the hot oil is a nice touch, although you'll want the stingers if you need watery eyes to be happy.
Is Colony the best pizza I've ever had? No, but that isn't faint praise, I like what I like. However, I would definitely miss Colony pies if I moved away, and would make a point of having one if I returned, because there isn't anything like it anywhere else in the world.
William F. Buckley lived a few blocks away from the Colony (in a beatiful house on the Sound), and was apparently a fan. After WFB's death, his son, Christopher, defended his father from charges of right wing demagogery, telling the Stamford Advocate:
"His absolute passion in life, more than anything else, including Bach and Beethoven, was the hot oil, pepperoni pizza at The Colony Grill."
Worth a try, wouldn't you say? read more