Polishing Off Another Superlative Polmart Post Office, New Britain In a sense, we could find infinite things that are only in Connecticut. Like, "only Whole Foods that used to be a Wild Oats that's only a mile or two away from two other Whole Foods" (West Hartford) or "Only town that is shaped like a wallaby" (New … [Read more...]
CTfastrak Multi-Use Trail
Hoodie Ride Newington & New Britain November 2023 A month before Christmas Calvin and I went on a quickie 10-mile out and back jaunt along the CTfastrak bike trail. He was was too big for his bike at the time, but this would be the last ride before we traded up to an adult bike. The kid is 5'7" now and is still … [Read more...]
Chen Art Center Gallery
Chen, Chen, Chenge... New Britain (Google Maps location) November 2023 CT museum visit #509. Without checking, I'm going to say that almost all of our state's colleges and universities have at least one public art gallery. Some have multiple, and heck, there's Yale with two internationally acclaimed art … [Read more...]
National Iwo Jima Memorial
Oorah! National Iwo Jima Memorial, Newington & New Britain We all have "those things" that we live near that we just never check out. Be it a museum or a hike or restaurant or whatever. I think the unconscious thinking is, "I live nearby, so it's easy to get to, so I'll make the effort someday." The National … [Read more...]
A Very Merry Toy Store (2017)
Let's Not Toy Around A Very Merry Toy Store (2017) Amato's Toy and Hobby of New Britain closed at the end of February in 2022. I blame this movie. I really wanted to like this awful movie. Believe it or not, on a certain amygdalan level, I happen to like dopey Hallmark/Lifetime movies where everyone is pretty … [Read more...]
New Britain Bees
Bzzzt! New Britain Bees vs. Sugar Land Skeeters, New Britain July 5, 2019 Update: See Danny Noonan's comment at the bottom for some context. For those of you who don’t know me personally, here are two facts that will help you with this particular page: I am not a baseball fan and I write the stuff for CTMQ … [Read more...]
CTMQ’s Guide to New Britain
Everything New Britain I’ve been exploring and writing about Connecticut since 2006. After a decade, I began compiling CTMQ guides for each town in the state. I plan on “completing” New Britain CTMQ-style... as well as the other 168 towns, cities, and boroughs in Connecticut. That is the ultimate goal of CTMQ. … [Read more...]
New Britain’s Town Trails
New Britain’s Town Trails I make no secret of my love for New Britain. I've said it many times on this here website. This isn't the page to explain my feelings, which is probably weird as this is the page that will leave you wondering why. I like to hike. New Britain doesn't really offer anything in the way … [Read more...]
Alvarium Beer Company
Catching a Buzz Alvarium Beer Company, New Britain May 2018 In April 2023, on the night of the CT Brewer's Guild Brewfest in Hartord, one of the founder/owners Mike Larson hit and killed a pedestrian in Hartford. He fled the scene and then made some serious effort trying to cover up the felonies. Alvarium, of … [Read more...]
5 Churches Brewing
Preaching the Gospel of Beer 5 Churches Brewing, New Britain May 2018 I have written many times that I'm an unapologetic fan of New Britain. I know that this surprises many people, and I'm always happy to explain. First and foremost, I spent a couple years there when I was dating my (now) wife who grew up in the … [Read more...]