Friday, March 18, 2011

Finding vegetarian food in unusual places - The Colony in Cleveland Heights

Have you ever looked at a bar or restaurant from the outside and said to yourself, "Eh...I'm not sure I want to eat here."  For years, that's how I felt about The Colony (also known as Brennan's Colony) in the Cedar Lee area of Cleveland Heights.  I mean, look at it:
It's your typical, non-descript neighborhood bar.  (This time of year it doesn't look nearly as nice as in that picture)  But, as I've recently learned, it doesn't have your typical neighborhood bar food.  Sure, you'll find wings and nachos on the menu, in addition to burgers and meatloaf, but quite often, you'll find some amazing delicious vegetarian specials.  (especially this time of year - being a vegetarian during Lent rocks!)  And I'm talking fancy specials. Entrees like polenta topped with fresh tomatoes and feta cheese, vegetarian pasta with zucchini, squash, and other assorted vegetables, spinach and artichoke soup...I could really go on forever.  Whenever possible, I try to order the vegetarian special, 'cuz as we all know, a business is more likely to offer vegetarian food if they can sell vegetarian food.  But I also like some of the staples on the menu.  Salads are as big as your head and are fresh and flavorful.  Any sandwich that "should" come with meat, according to the menu, can be modified to be meatless. 

This might be the first Irish bar I've ever really liked to at at. 

The one downside?  They don't have a web site, so you have to hope that you'll like one of the daily specials or something off of the unpublished menu if you go there on a whim.  And one other thing...they can get to be kind of crowded, and service can be a little slow if you're in a big group.  But what else should you expect if you're in a small-ish place in a large group?

Give The Colony a chance if you're ever in the area.  It's a great little bar with some really great food.

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