1. Rockville General Hospital
City: Vernon Rockville, CT
Category: Health Care
Telephone: (860) 872-5100
Address: 31 Union St.
Description: Rockville General Hospital is part of the Eastern Connecticut Health Network. In the 102-bed acute-care facility, services are available for inpatients and outpatients in emergency care; surgery; medical imaging; physical, occupational, and speech therapy; laboratory services; maternity care; hospice; and cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation.
2. Lotus Restaurant
City: Vernon Rockville, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (860) 871-8962
Address: 409 Hartford Tpke.
Description: This tiny Vietnamese restaurant in a former post office off exit 65 on I-84 is a hidden gem that has won the praise of the New York Times and Zagat, but continues to make the same great food at low prices, as it has done for decades. The decor is understated, with a fresh flower on each table and subtle music (Vietnamese, we assume) piped in. The canh bo beef soup is legendary, and the catfish in a clay pot with rice noodles should be. You can choose mild, medium, or hot for some of the dishes, but not for all, because it would ruin the mix of flavors in the dish. However, Lotus also alters many of the dishes with American or Chinese flairs, and no one except the most pure of purists is complaining, especially when they taste the deep-fried hen allspice or the key lime pie.
3. Utsav Indian Cuisine
City: Vernon Rockville, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (860) 871-8714
Address: 575 Talcottville Rd.
Description: This small Indian restaurant in Vernon consistently gets great reviews for its inexpensive, tasty food as much as for its friendly service and tasteful, colorful decor. They seem to pile on the food as soon as you come through the door, with papadums and chutneys, and the meals are varied and delicious. Classics like tikka masala and less frequently seen dishes like prawn balchao are all done with attention to detail and given a cleaner presentation than some other restaurants give. The fish curry is juicy and perfectly spiced, and the mulligatawny, well, it’s divine. The lunch buffet during the week is less than $10 and on the weekends is only $2 more. This is an unbelievable bargain for food of this quality. And if you go five times, your sixth is free. Utsav doesn’t need that kind of promotional gimmick, but it’s just one of many things they do to make fans out of everyone in the area. Utsav means “festival” in Sanskrit, and you will feel like celebrating every time you go to this hidden gem.