"Tony's occupies a space on 5th Avenue in Moline close to where I used to hang out with friends pretty frequently. We'd visit Bierstube or Bent River once every week or so to hang out while grabbing a meal and a few beers. I guess we just never made it down to Tony's in this time? At any rate, Tony's was recommended to me recently and on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I decided to drive across the river and visit. The space Tony's occupies seems at once both well updated, but in keeping with some of the more historic features of buildings in this part of Moline. The walls in the interior are old, worn looking brick and the overhead contains those patterned ceramic/metal/PVC tiles that older buildings often feature. Look upwards in one of the buildings along 5th avenue and you'll instantly know what I'm referring to here. The floors feature a weathered looking hardwood/wood laminate throughout most of the space. Lighting is mostly provided by more modern suspended fixtures throughout. Visually, it's a nice look that I enjoyed. There were a lot of really good looking items on the menu. I ultimately decided on an order of bruschetta (a personal favorite of mine when I'm out) and a meatball sandwich. I couldn't give more praise for the bruschetta it was truly some of the best that I've had anywhere in the Quad Cities! The bread was well toasted, but not so much that it felt like eating crackers. The topping was also well seasoned, even for a time of the year when most of the ingredients are out of season! The tomatoes had some sweetness and acidity, the taste of basil was plainly apparent, and the parmesean added some needed funk and saltiness. If you like this particular appetizer elsewhere, it's definitely worth the try here! I was less impressed with the meatball sandwich. The picture in the menu made it look far more appetizing than what I actually ended up getting. There was far too much mozzarella melted onto the sandwich, so much so that I ended up removing about half. The meatballs, though tender, had not much taste to them otherwise. The same could not be said for the sauce of the bread both of which were satisfactory components in their own right. The sauce had some decent flavor to it and the bread had a perfect combination of crustiness and softness for a sandwich roll. I wouldn't get this again, though this probably comes down to significant personal tastes. I'd probably go for the Italian Beef or Italian Sausage sandwiches on a future visit. On the subject of future visits I'd probably get my food to go in the future, as well. Though the service was great and I found the interior visually appealing, I can't say the same for the noise level. This place needs to work on both what music they're playing and balancing the overall noise level of the space. From where I was at the bar, the pop and pop country were WAY too loud. This lead to what I thought felt like a typical feedback loop with the rest of the patrons there, where everyone talks louder to talk above the music. Upon getting up to go to the restroom, I can't say this is entirely true, as in other portions of the space the music was barely noticeable at all. All in all, I think Tony's needs to work on this a little bit with the high, largely undampened ceilings and open space, figuring out how to manage noise would probably aid in uplifting the general ambiance tremendously. In summary, I really liked the bruschetta and want to return to try either a different sandwich or the pizza. I like the general look and feel of the place, just not the general noise level. See you next time, Tony's."
