1. Midstate Medical Center
City: Meriden, CT
Category: Health Care
Telephone: (203) 694-8200
Address: 435 Lewis Ave.
Description: Midstate Medical Center puts patient care above all else and is committed to bringing the most advanced procedures to the midstate region. With 144 beds, Midstate Medical is the only hospital in the state with all private rooms. Among the 19 clinical services, the hospital is home to the Palladino Family Cancer Center, the Family Birthing Center, the Diabetes and Nutrition Center, and the Balance and Hearing Institute. The MediQuick Urgent Care Center helps alleviate the number of emergency room cases by treating mild injuries and illnesses quickly.
2. Meriden Record-Journal
City: Meriden, CT
Category: Media
Telephone: (203) 235-1661
Address: 11 Crown St.
Description: The Record-Journal dates back to 1867 and covers central Connecticut, including the towns of Meriden, Wallingford, Southington, Cheshire, and Berlin. The website receives 700,000 visits per month.
3. Ted’S Restaurant
City: Meriden, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (203) 237-6660
Address: 1046 Broad St.
Description: This small, modest-looking shop has been serving Meriden since 1959, and likely will continue for another 50 years or more. Ted’s world-famous cheeseburgers are steamed, and that’s their unique appeal. The buns they use are thick and buttery, and the cheese melted over the burgers will immediately make you a convert to this style of hamburger. You won’t find much else on the menu, except for some steamed hot dogs and a BLT sandwich. There are sides (like fries) and extras (like bacon, not steamed) as well. They have been so successful that they opened a second location in Cromwell, but come to the original here in Meriden. This is road-food history.
4. Nest Egg Auctions
City: Meriden, CT
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (203) 630-1400
Address: 30 Research Pkwy.
Description: The Brechlin family runs this auction house in Meriden, and their events often feel more like theater than auction, fun even if you don’t buy anything. They have a series of estate and thematic auctions throughout the year, mostly on Sat nights or afternoons, as well as a weekly Mon night auction, at which local dealers and amateurs can reserve a table or just bring one item to sell (they offer a dozen or so other fine pieces each Mon as well). The huge, 12,000-square-foot warehouse where they hold the auctions is always packed, so get there early. You can get great bargains here, especially on those Mon nights, or at the end of Sat night when the serious dealers and collectors have tapped their resources. If you’ve never been to an auction, Nest Egg is an approachable place to start this exciting hobby, or just buy a couple of chairs to accent your living room.
5. Castle Craig And Hubbard Park
City: Meriden, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (203) 630-4259
Address: 199 Notch Rd.
Description: Near the entrance, Hubbard Park is a pleasant enough town park, designed by the sons of Frederick Law Olmsted (designer of Central Park in Manhattan). However, the 700-foot cliffs of the volcanic Hanging Hills that rise abruptly from the parkland are the real attraction here. On the top a stone tower was built in 1900, and the 360-degree view from the battlements is one of the top five in the state; you can see from Long Island Sound past the northern border into Massachusetts. From Memorial Day to Oct the drive around the reservoir and up to the tower is open, and dozens of families make the trip up from the picnic tables to view the state. However, the hiking trails are more fun, especially when the road is closed and you can have the mountains to yourself. Look for deer and turkeys, and a small colony of parrots that has made its way up here from the coast.
6. Hunter Memorial Golf Club
City: Meriden, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (203) 634-3366
Address: 688 Westfield Rd.
Description: In the shadow of Lamentation Mountain and owned by the people of Meriden, the Hunter Memorial Golf Club features 18 holes to challenge any golfer. You can golf all 18 or either the front or back 9. There’s a practice green, a driving range, and a beautiful hexagonal clubhouse. Hole 11 has several fun water hazards surrounding the green, and hole 16 makes a turn to the left that leaves beginners searching the forest. On-site is Violi’s Restaurant, open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., which serves Italian food ($$) and offers patio seating and views of the course. Try the twilight rates at Hunter Memorial, which are a third of the price of a day tee time.