City: West Haven, CT

Category: Education

Telephone: (203) 932-7000

Address: 300 Boston Post Rd.

Description: With a focus on experiential learning, the University of New Haven offers almost 100 degree programs. Undergraduates and graduates combine for about 6,000 total students. About 65 percent of students reside on the West Haven campus, which is located on 82 acres, conveniently near New Haven with access to the coast and beyond. Five colleges make up the university: the College of Arts & Sciences, the Tagliatela College of Engineering, the College of Business, University College, and the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, which opened in 2010. Here the Institute of Forensic Science and the National Crime Scene Training Center are housed.

City: West Haven, CT

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (203) 934-3212

Address: 5 Rock St.

Description: Jimmies of Savin Rock has been a mainstay of the West Haven shore since 1925. Back then, Jimmie Gagliardi and his family started with a road stand, drawing customers with his split hot dogs. The restaurant continues to be family operated. Their famous hot dogs are still available and are just one reason to check out this classic eatery. Seating is ample, inside and out; umbrellas shade the sun in warmer months, and Long Island Sound is just outside, past the bike path and beach. Consistently awarded Best Waterfront Dining, Jimmie’s blue vinyl booths and sunny tables fill up all year. Seafood, hand-cut steaks, and pasta dishes fill the menu, and the platters are a big draw, featuring deep-fried samplings of clams, calamari, scallops, or oysters. Portions are huge, and early birds take advantage of dinner specials.

City: West Haven, CT

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (203) 479-4017

Address: 473 Saw Mill Rd.

Description: You know when you see the pink pig smoker outside the restaurant that it has to be good. And it is. Uncle Willie’s is barbeque, authentic wood-smoked pit BBQ, Southern-style goodness in New England. The restaurant is small; it seats about a dozen inside at picnic-type tables and fills up quickly. Order at the counter and hang out with a ginger beer and the salivating aromas from the kitchen until the platters are brought to the table. The menu is extensive and will satisfy hard-core BBQers and spoil novices for anything else. Try the brisket or pulled pork with Memphis classic sweet sauce (or any of the other selections). Your best bet might be to go with the rib sampler, with baby back, St. Louis pork, and Texas beef ribs, all sweet and tender, falling off the bone and perfectly messy. Sides include jalapeño-mashed potatoes, excellent coleslaw, hand-cut fries, sweet potato fries, and mac and cheese, among others. Catfish, po’boys, fried chicken, and burgers will satisfy, but you’ll come back for the ribs.

City: West Haven, CT

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (203) 937-3651

Description: If we take too much advantage of the West Haven beaches, I’m sure someone will start charging us money, but for now this is one of the only shorefronts in Connecticut where you can park and swim without a fee. The free lots by Jimmies in the center or by Chick’s Drive-In at the eastern end are always available, and there is a variety of beaches to choose from. People are always fishing from the stone and wood jetties, and although the beaches are not as pristine as some in the eastern part of the state, let me remind you they are free. Should I repeat that again? The long bike trail and boardwalk is a huge draw, and people come down from the entire New Haven area to in-line skate, ride, or walk along the long harbor. This is where the old Savin Rock Amusement Park was located, and writer Jack Kerouac swam off the seawall just down the road when his family lived in West Haven. If you’re here from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on a weekday, check out the 17th-century Ward-Heitmann House at 277 Elm St. (203-932-9713, www.wardheitmann.org), where docents in colonial garb will tell you the story of the town.