9 O'Clocks Thomaston (Google Maps location) April 2022 A strange thing has happened in two newer (ca. 2021) Connecticut breweries on the northern Route 8 corridor: They've included museums. Now, I'd like to think both Bad Dog Brewing in Torrington and Clocktown Brewery in Thomaston has done this for one reason: … [Read more...]
Fat Orange Cat Brewing (Closed)
FOC! (It's Closed) Fat Orange Cat Brewing Company, East Hampton Multiple Visits Before Closure FOC was located in a quiet residential section of East Hampton. FOC always closed seasonally. FOC closed to children and pets in September 2019. FOC closed their tasting barn and yard for most of 2020 and 2021. FOC … [Read more...]
Hamilton Park
Hub of Waterbury Hamilton Park, Waterbury There is a lot of history at Hamilton Park in Waterbury. History I'm not going to get too deep into at all. It's just an old town park. It doesn't really rise to the level necessary to get the full CTMQ treatment. And you won't believe this, but it also doesn't even … [Read more...]
Cajun: Roux
Let's Geaux! Roux Cajun Eatery, Simsbury March 2022 A rare day off from work with the boys in school? Be still my heart. A Cajun eatery has come to Connecticut? Clog my heart's arteries. Yes, let's go eat lunch at Roux, who is "bringing Louisiana food, music & culture to New England," according to … [Read more...]
Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens
Bart Lett's Go! Bartlett Arboretum, Stamford April 2022 One of my good friends grew up in North Stamford and over the many years of writing CTMQ, she has asked once or twice if I'd been to Bartlett Aboretum yet. She hasn't lived in the US for over a decade but this place was very close to her childhood home and I … [Read more...]
Five Points Art Gallery & Annex
Five Alive Torrington (Google Maps location) February 2022 "Downtown Torrington" isn't huge and it isn't a shopping or dining mecca these days. It's trying though, and it's doing a great job of it. New higher-end restaurants are popping up, new coffee shops and a hip used book store... a funky homemade fudge … [Read more...]
The Nutmeg Fudge Company
Oh @%##$! The Nutmeg Fudge Company, Torrington February 2022 We always hear that Connecticut's post-industrial cities are "on the cusp" of revival. Norwich, Hartford, Bristol, New Britain, Torrington... One "mixed use" project here, one factory converted to open concept lofts there... the cycle has been going on … [Read more...]
Ivoryton Playhouse
Please Tell Me They've Done "The Elephant Man" Here Essex (Google Maps location) June 2016 Connecticut is home to a slew of historic theaters. Many of them offer tours that present the buildings almost as museums - as they should. The idiom "if these walls could talk" applies to every one of these places as much … [Read more...]
ASME: Pratt & Whitney Single Crystal Turbine Blade
ASME Landmark #265 (1970) Pratt & Whitney Single Crystal Turbine Blade New England Air Museum Windsor Locks Years ago I began my page about a different American Society of Mechanical Engineers National Landmark located at The New England Air Museum thusly: In a way, this might be the hardest of the CT ASME … [Read more...]
Book Review: Those Guys Have All the Fun
Fun and Games Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN, James Andrew Miller & Tom Shales (2011) I'm exceedingly upset with myself. I read this book several years ago and because it's so long and so dense and so chock full of great Connecticut-centric nuggets, I kept putting off reviewing it. So now … [Read more...]