Submitted by Choice_Comparison210 t3_10ndtwx in Connecticut
I’ll be in NW CT for a couple of weeks and am looking for interesting restaurants (hole in the wall, unique+++), bakeries, cool grocery stores that may be fun and local activities/shops.
Does anyone know of any oddities shops?
Thank you!
Orchard Hill Bakery in Riverton is such a great spot! We are obsessed with Joan’s Sourdough.
Also, Norbrook Brewery in Colebrook is just a few minutes away and they have a lovely property with trails (cross country skiing, mountain biking and hiking) along with a disc golf course (seasonal). They also make pizza! It’s cozy with board games inside and they sometimes have live music.
In Norfolk there is a music venue (Infinity) which has been “dormant” but recently they have been booking shows again. If you see something booked that you might like to see it’s a beautiful little venue.
Noujaims in Winsted is one of our favorite local places to eat. George just won 2023 experts choice for Mediterranean in CT Mags best restaurants.
Love orchard hill cookies!! I’m going to try your other recommendations, thank you!
Collinsville antiques in New hartford is a great place. It's the size of a Walmart and has tons of vendors, lots of fun unique antiques and you could spend hours in there.
There is Great Falls Brewery in Canaan, CT and they have a great variety of beers.
Next weekend in Salisbury, CT they are having their annual Ski Jump Weekend which is pretty unique and a lot of fun to check out. Info here: https://jumpfest.org/events/jumpfest/
Friday night is particularly fun, they do night time target jumping (trying to land closest to the spot) and the Human Dog Sled race.
While you are in the area you can also pop up to the Berkshires in MA via Rt 7 which has tons of antiques shops along the route with several recreational marijuana dispensaries if that is your jam.
Also in Torrington is pizzeria marzano which is damn good pizza
Love their pizza 🥲🥲
The Woodland is a nice spot in Lakeville. Check the prices before going to make sure it's in your range. The food was excellent!
Litchfield
it's all about the waterfalls and hiking up here for me!
i personally favor Dean's Ravine in Falls Village, but the hike down can be tricky anytime of year. Kent Falls is the largest waterfall in CT, and is visible from route 7. No hiking needed 🙂 Bash Bish just over the border on MA's Mt Washington is also lovely. there are trailhead entrances to the falls in both MA and NY.
Arethusa in Bantam is worth a visit - pick your flavor of farm fresh food: they have an ice cream parlor, a cafe, and a high end restaurant. all dairy and beef products are from their own farm.
if you like nature & birds, or have kids, Sharon Audubon is a cool visit - they have over 20 captive birds of prey that you can view in their mews.
have fun exploring! the NW corner is a gorgeous place!
Radwicks in New Hartford makes a bomb ass sandwich and it’s right off the high way, also John’s Import Sandwiches in Winsted is great and last but not least, the Tributary in Winsted as well.
Oooo yes! I’m all about locally sourced groceries, I’ll be going for that beef & dairy for sure. Thank you🙌🏻
if that's your jam, there's also a nice little grocery store there in Bantam with lots of local and organic products - Bantam Market. there's also New Morning Market in Woodbury, which is a proper natural foods market with an excellent prepared foods department.
if raw milk is your thing, there's many good farms up here other than Arethusa. Calf and Clover Creamery in Cornwall Bridge is my recommendation!
there's a couple little natural markets in downtown New Milford too. Twin Star makes their own tinctures and herbal medicines.
as for oddity shops, there are a lot of antique and thrift stores in the richer towns, but i haven't found an oddity shop specifically. Gaylordsville and Kent have good ones. Sharon Audubon has taxidermy and bone specimens for viewing. what kind of oddities do you like? i collect bones 🙂
You’re speaking in *my jam Thank you so much! I’ll definitely be hitting ALL of these spots. I’m into bones & taxidermy (bugs are my favorite)! You seem so cool lol I’m glad you’re here
eee i love buggies too! if you like butterflies, the Sharon Audubon has a monarch butterfly breeding program. obviously off season right now, but cool to see if you're up here in the summer. they also have a wildlife rehab center on site and focus on birds.
i hope you enjoy it up here as much as i do, and feel free to reach out if you need more ideas!
White Horse Country Pub in New Preston is a great place with a lot of interesting things like a 1920 Indian motorcycle behind the bar; and great food. I live near the shore but on the occasion we do a drive in the fall, we try to go there.
Carbone’s in Torrington for deli sandwiches the size of babies; Roma Pizza in Torrington; and breakfast or lunch at the Railway Cafe in Winsted.
Yeah their pizza and sandwiches are killer.
Meraki in Litchfield. They do a lot of different things really well.
Also Vientiane Thai Restaurant is awesome.
RSVP is super high end and unique almost-private dining if you can splurge.
Kent Falls Brewery is the best brewery in western CT.
Community Table and Arethusa al Tavolo are excellent. Arethusa has great ice cream too.
Hopkins is a beautiful spot. Wine is, um, drinkable—but worth it for the area.
American Pie Company in Sherman. Mountainside Cafe in Falls Village is very casual and always good.
Thorncrest in Goshen has great chocolates. Litchfield Distilling. Stewart’s Farm for meat. Calf and Clover Creamery for raw milk.
If you can shoot down to Waterbury, Hindsight BBQ, Brooklyn Baking (donuts) are worth a stop. There’s also Domenic and Pia’s for pizza, and nearby Luna in Naugatuck. I also hear Sasso’s in Torrington has good pizza.
In Woodbury, New Morning is a good grocery store if you need organic foods. Big fan of West Egg Cafe in Woodbury too.
Gilson Theater and R&B Sports world in Winsted. The first is a dine-in movie theater. Legit get a meal and a drink while you watch a film. The other has mini golf, an arcade, batting cages, stuff like that.
Main Street, Torrington.
Las Delicias Latina
I only got to eat there a handful of times TBE year before Covid started when I lived out there. The ambiance, food, staff and everything elae made me feel like I was in Mexico (although it could be a neighboring country) again. My step mother was from Mexico and I got to spend time on a handful of trips in Mexico from Mexico City as to way out in the country far from tourist areas. Famous places to rural villages. When I lived in Tennessee there was a large Mexican community there that I was loosely a part of and I enjoyed much of the culture and A LOT of genuine food.......
Las Delicias Latina is authentic in food and atmosphere from color, design and music to staff and especially food I genuinely felt like I was in Mexico when in that restaurant and I want to go back so bad now, if only I had a car. The prices were great too. Just incredible, all of it. And I found it completely by accident. I was struggling to stay sober and I walked home a different way to avoid liquor stores however I saw this place and it combined with the beer sign drew me in. I did drink (lapsed for one night) that night but not the other times there.
Las Delicias Latina
My Step Mother was from Mexico and between going there and being cross mixed with the Mexican community in Tennessee I grew to appreciate much of their culture. Like ours it has its better parts, its "worse" parts and its stranger parts. The food at Las Delicias Latina was identical to my step mothers, the Mexican community in TN and in Mexico. It was better than my Step Mothers cooking too. The atmosphere, color scheme, music, everything was just right. It transported me back to Mexico. Everyone was nice and the prices were good. I'd love to get loot there again but without a car and being disabled sadly I probably wont.
Norfolk Curling Club has a Learn to Curl session next Saturday 2/4 and also Saturday 2/18, if you want to try something different and fun!
There's a little cluster of thrift shops in the Woodbury/Southbury area: two on the grounds of Southbury Training School, one in Bennett Square in Southbury (Safe Haven Thrift), another off Route 6 in Southbury called "The Upper Room", and just up the road in Woodbury you have The Red Barn thrift shop. Days and hours for the latter two are somewhat limited but worth arranging your schedule for. Make a day of it and hit up Carole Peck's Good News Cafe in Woodbury, and Soulbury in Woodbury too - right on your way to New Morning Market!
Travel down to Newtown to eat at the Farm Table- will not regret the drive.
Had that Radwicks recently it was dope
https://www.whippoorwillfarmct.com/ in Salisbury - locally raised meats. etc.
https://www.avocadocafe.net/menu 200' over the NY line in Millerton
https://nodines-smokehouse.myshopify.com/ in Goshen
https://beckleyfurnace.org/ in Canaan, restored remnant of the NW iron making age
https://limerock.com/ 1.5 mi. track where the likes of Newman and McQueen raced
http://www.ctwaterfalls.com/falls/main.php?Great1 Great Falls/ Falls Village/hydro plant
https://legamin.com/sharon classic French cuisine
Competitive_Month88 t1_j68aguu wrote
One of our local restaurants in Torrington just made the Yelp Top 100 best rated restaurants in the country. Yia Yia's is a Greek culinary treat. It's #83 on the list. https://top100.yelp.com/