Tag Archives: Middletown

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Unofficial Orientation 2021: Middletown Eating

This is an updated repost of michelle’s repost of sophie’s repost of maya‘s repost. Please note: this is by no means an exhaustive list of eating options in Middletown, as this perfunctory Yelp search will show you. Feel free to add your own recommendations in the comments! 

This is part of our 2021 Unofficial Orientation Series. A quick reminder that you can check out the welcome post here and past years’ series here.

Middletown has so many fantastic dining options that at first you might feel like this turtle: faced with an almost insurmountable mountain of deliciousness. Much like the above turtle, though, you’ve got to start somewhere. We’re here to give you a head start.

From coffee-shop casual to awkward-family-dinner upscale, there’s food in Middletown for every occasion. This is our guide to some of the best places to eat in town.  Prices are on a $ to $$$ scale. Also worth noting is that a lot of Middletown restaurants accept Middletown Cash, so save up some of that laundry money for your dining excursions. Wesleyan also provides a nifty guide to restaurants in and around Middletown, if you need more guidance (though theirs doesn’t come with student feedback and that special Wesleying flair)! Read all of our food list after the jump!

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Unofficial Orientation 2021: Middletown Outings

This is an update of Meli’s update of wilk‘s update of his previous post!

This is part of our 2021 Unofficial Orientation Series. A quick reminder that you can check out the welcome post here and past years’ series here.

Toto, we’re not in Bushwick anymore. You’ve now left the comfort of deep Brooklyn, as they call it, for the not-so-dissimilar milieu of Wesleyan. Just kidding, a vast majority of Weskids are from not-Brooklyn, not-LA, and not-Bay-Area, although it might seem otherwise.

For all of you from those (wonderful) places, and all of you from other places, Middletown is different than those places (shocking!). It was once the largest city in Connecticut, circa pre-war-of-1812. Can your hometown claim that title? Nah. Unless you’re from Middletown, in which case you are probably way more qualified than me to write this post.

While Wesleyan is fine and there is usually never a shortage of things to do on campus, Middletown and the surrounding area truly have some wonderful gems that are worth knowing about as you settle in and look for things to do other than vape on Foss.

And if you’re really bold and somehow have an abundance of time before finals arrive, there’s some cool shit beyond the local area too. Here’s our 2021 Outing guide!

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EVENT
Take Action for North End Youth: Meeting TONIGHT, Email, & Petition

Important event and action happening TONIGHT at 5:30 PM:

ATTENTION WESLEYAN STUDENTS AND GREATER PUBLIC: YOUR ACTIONS ARE NEEDED TO SUPPORT THE YOUTH OF THE NORTH END & MIDDLETOWN

*IF YOU CAN’T ATTEND THIS MEETING, THERE ARE OTHER IMPORTANT STEPS YOU CAN TAKE (see: Email Banking & Petition instructions in the Facebook Event)*

MEETING: On February 27th, there will be a community meeting during which the proposed resolution will be considered by Finance & Government Operations Commission about which organization that will be given access to the building formerly occupied by the Green Street Arts Center will be announced. Currently it is between the Middletown Green Community Center (MGCC) and St. Vincent de Paul. We are urging that the building go to MGCC for the reasons listed in the email banking script. This City decision is crucial for ensuring the well-being of the youth of the North End and Middletown!!! Attend this community meeting to show your support for MGCC.

Date: Wednesday, February 27
Time: 5:30 PM
Place: Middletown City Hall (245 Dekoven Dr, Middletown, Connecticut 06457)
PETITION
Facebook Event

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Unofficial Orientation Series 2018: Middletown Outings

This is an update of wilk‘s update of his previous post!

 

 

Toto, we’re not in Bushwick anymore. You’ve now left the comfort of deep Brooklyn, as they call it, for the not-so-dissimilar milieu of Wesleyan. Just kidding, a vast majority of Weskids are from not-Brooklyn, not-LA, and not-Bay-Area, although it might seem otherwise.

For all of you from those (wonderful) places, and all of you from other places, Middletown is different than those places (shocking!). It was once the largest city in Connecticut, circa pre-war-of-1812. Can your hometown claim that title? Nah. Unless you’re from Middletown, in which case you are probably way more qualified than me to write this post.

While Wesleyan is fine and there is usually never a shortage of things to do on campus, Middletown and the surrounding area truly have some wonderful gems that are worth knowing about as you settle in and look for things to do other than vape on Foss.

And if you’re really bold and somehow have an abundance of time before finals arrive, there’s some cool shit beyond the local area too.  Here’s the 2018 Outing guide, advice from a Connecticut local.

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Main Street Rite Aid is Becoming a Walgreens

A big change is coming to Middletown: the Rite Aid on Main Street is becoming a Walgreens! This transition comes as part of a failed merger between Rite Aid and Walgreens that was blocked by anti-trust laws in June of this year. Rather than merging with Rite Aid, Walgreens is buying up just under 2000 Rite Aid stores across the country in a deal worth approximately $4.375 billion.

So what does all of this mean for you? Rite Aid sent me a letter outlining the whole transition:

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EVENT
A Celebration of Silent Sounds

Randi Plake writes in:

Celebrate the writing excellence of students in Middletown Public Schools, grades 6 through 12, and hear their winning submissions of essays, short stories, and poetry from the annual literary magazine “Silent Sounds.” Co-sponsored by the Center for the Arts, Community and University Services for Education, and the Middletown Public Schools Cultural Council.

Date: Tuesday, May 2nd
Time: 6:30 PM
Place: Memorial Chapel

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“Middletown Is My Kind of Connecticut City, I Think,” The Middletown Anthem Not By Billy Joel

mtown

Another piano man has released a song about Middletown, the city home to The Most Beautiful Street in America (High Street), if you believe the potential words of either Mark Twain or Charles Dickens. This song is not new; it was actually released in October of 2015. However, kitab only just discovered this track and sent it my way, to my unexpected and extreme delight. Only with partial dismay did I find that this song was not an unreleased Drake track. I thought this likely because of his—presumably inspirational—trip to Middletown in October 2010.

The song, entitled “Middletown Is My Kind of Connecticut City, I Think” was penned and performed by Matt Farley. Before I get to my thoughts on the track, let’s give it a listen:

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Middletown is Now a Sanctuary City

“This president is wildly overstepping his bounds. This is a pathetic, amateurish move on his part and I’m not going to violate somebody’s constitutional right and put the people of Middletown in jeopardy to follow an illegal order by an illegitimate president.” – Mayor Dan Drew

Aerial of Wesleyan Universitiy campus and Connecticut River at Middletown, CTOn January 25, Donald Trump signed an executive order that targets cities popularly referred to as “sanctuary cities.” This executive order grants the power to designate “sanctuary jurisdictions” to the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and states that any city or state with this designation will not be eligible for future federal grant money. Sanctuary cities often have a set of codes and ordinances that commit to non-enforcement of federal immigration laws.

Yesterday, The Middletown Press published an article responding to the new executive order in which Mayor Dan Drew declared Middletown a sanctuary city. This comes after Wesleyan’s declaration of its status as a sanctuary campus last fall. Read more for some choice quotes from Dan Drew about Cheeto-in-Chief:

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Yep, Starbucks is opening in Middletown. And it has a drive-thru.

“I’m not basic,” whispered I, a white girl, as I trudged through the snow to take iPhone photos of a Starbucks.

st2(1)

This banner was almost falling off when we got there, but we fixed it. You’re welcome, Middletown.

As you might have heard from the Argus or the Middletown Press or both, a Starbucks is opening on Washington Street next month. Specifically, it’s opening in the hilariously-named Price Chopper Plaza (edit by kitab 2/2/17: the Plaza is actually the Home Depot/Price Chopper Plaza, inexplicably sometimes just called the Home Depot Plaza, so they definitely make the name up at random), meaning it’s opening in a rectangular block located in the Price Chopper/Home Depot parking lot. Whether you think of the coffee empire as Pumpkin Spice Heaven or “Um, May I Speak To Your Manager?” Hell, this is decidedly a game-changer. No longer will the Dunkin Donuts on Wash be the sole purveyor of mediocre chain coffee in this town. Choose your side.

I decided to check out the new location, because I had no class today and it’s only Week 1 and I had internship apps piling up nothing better to do. (Shoutout to Kat Kaplan ’18 for giving me a ride over). This led to the eerie experience of driving through an empty, snow-covered Starbucks drive-thru and parking next to a sad, sinking banner announcing the location’s opening. See photos after the jump:

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