Colony Main Street

At times, I enjoy the peace and quiet of an empty restaurant, especially when in conversation with friends.  However, I don't mind the energetic vibe of the nightlife on the weekends.  Yes, I'm no longer in my 20's, but that doesn't mean I need to suddenly go for the early bird liver n' onions special either.  With that clearly not in my mind (the early bird special that is, but I do like liver...), I suggested we check out Colony on Main after Friday night hockey. Yup, as I expected, the ambiance was indeed lively, but at the very least, we could hear each other.

Despite Lionel Hutz doing his best impersonation of a hermit (as in not sharing), Milhouse, Sweet Tooth and I gladly split a few things including the Beer Battered Pickles with lemon dill yogurt dip.  Although we all agreed the ones at the Little District are better, these held their own.  The firm crunch of the breading was not greasy at all and it stayed adhered to each spear to the very last bite.  Inside, the pickle was fairly salty and tart which was offset by the creamy and mild yogurt.  Without hesitation, Milhouse went for the Arancini as he exclaimed that, "I want those balls!".  Filled with a fairly soft risotto and plenty of cheese, these sported a lightly crisp exterior.  The San Marzano tomato sauce and pesto oil added only minor hits of acidty and herbaceousness.  Our only wish was that they were served hotter temperature-wise.

Picking something from the flatbread section, we went for the Fig and Boursin with date paste, caramelized onions, smoked mozzarella, Boursin, mission figs and truffle arugula.  Despite the listed ingredients, the dominant taste was sweetness.  Somehow, the date paste, onions and figs were overwhelming which hid the smokiness of the cheese and even the truffle oil.  With that being said, we did like the crust as it was crunchy despite being on the denser side.  Our last share plate was the BBQ Onion Ring Burger consisting of a 7oz beef patty, BBQ sauce, crisp onion rings, pickles, lettuce, tomato and Parmesan aioli on a brioche bun.  We found the loose patty to be pretty dried out.  It was well-charred and full of natural meat flavour though.  Compounding the problem was the dry brioche bun. I would've liked to see more BBQ sauce as it would've added the necessary moisture.  On the side, we opted for the Stadium Fries with lemon pepper and sticky garlic chunks.  These were pretty good being crisp and living up to the menu description with loads of flavour.

Okay, Lionel Hutz didn't want to share, but ultimately he offered some of his Nachos with house made corn tortillas, smoked mozzarella, corn, black beans, pickled jalapeno & banana pepper, salsa verde, salsa roja and sour cream.  He added a side of pulled chicken as well.  We enjoyed the house made tortilla chips as they were fresh and crunchy with an appealing firmness.  There was no absence of melted cheese, but the other ingredients were sparse.  Both accompanying sauces were somewhat watery and too mild for our tastes. Judging from the items we tried, the food was definitely hit and miss.  There is potential here, if they can work out some of the details.

The Good:
- Energenic vibe
- Okay pricing
- Decent service

The Bad:
- Hit and miss food
- Portions aren't small, but not very big either