When you think of pizza and college you probably imagine early morning calls to Domino’s after a night of tomfoolery and shenanigans at the townhouses. You think of that greasy, hastily made “pizza” that you can’t get enough of after copious amounts of jungle juice and Natty Light. Or perhaps you think of boxes and boxes of Bavooki’s all over the floor of the Goat House. Kudos to you if you got the “Blue Mountain State” reference.
But if you’re like me, a true lover of good pizza, then there’s one place that you absolutely have to go: Colony Grill. Colony is the brick-front place in town across from the bookstore that always has a million people in it. It’s actually owned by Fairfield Prep graduate and former USA Hockey and New York Rangers star Chris Drury, who has been known to pop in from time to time.
Here’s all you really need to know about Colony: there is no menu. You can order one thing, and one thing only: pizza. Oh, sure, you can pick from a list of toppings, but that’s it. No appetizers, no sides, no desserts. Just pizza. You know you’ve got a successful place when you serve one item and there’s a line out the door every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night for people to sit down.
If it’s thick crust you like, then Colony definitely isn’t for you. The pizza has virtually no crust at all. It’s thin, crispy brick-oven goodness. If you’re going to head to Colony, you absolutely have to order your pizza with hot oil. It’s something that I’ve never seen served anywhere else. Hot oil, as the name implies, is an olive oil that has a particular spicy quality to it.
I’d say it’s like buffalo sauce or pepper sauce, but I’d be lying. It’s a completely unique flavor that you have to experience to understand completely. I order mine with hot oil and sausage and there has never been a time I’ve left unsatisfied.
As much as I love Colony and have been there countless times, I must report that when I went this past week with my friend with the intention of writing this column, my pizza got burned and they had to make me another one. In the time that it took for my buddy and I to get our pizza, we should have been able to eat and leave. But they realized their mistake, comped us a beer each, and took one of our pies off the bill. Classy people at Colony.
Bottom line, this place is a must-visit. Domino’s has its time and place, but if you want to go out and get some real pizza at a reasonable hour, I don’t know where else you’d want to go. A lot of Fairfield students go and it’s a great hangout. If you’re going to go to Colony, I suggest making an early night of it. Head down at five and beat the dinner rush. And if you don’t order your pizza with hot oil, you’re absolutely crazy.
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