Graduate Student Organization (GSO)GSO Guide to Student Life
Farmington resides in the Greater Hartford Area. West Hartford, Avon, New Britain, Bristol, Hartford, and Newington are some of the adjoining towns. Farmington, West Hartford and Hartford are the three towns where one finds the most to do.
Good places to look for listings of weekly
activities are the Thursday Calendar section of the Hartford Courant
(call 860-525-5555 for
subscription information) and the Advocate, a free paper available for pickup on Thursdays at the academic entrance to the Health Center.
Sports to Play
Farmington is a great area for many summer and winter sporting activities such as bicycling, hiking, rollerblading, running, tennis, golf, basketball, soccer, swimming, volleyball, ice-skating and skiing.
Biking/Hiking/Camping/Rollerblading
Bicycling, both mountain and street, is probably the most popular. Perhaps the two best mountain-biking locations are the West Hartford Reservoir, located on
Farmington Avenue just a mile down the road from the Health Center, and Avon Mountain, located off Route 44. The trails on Avon Mountain are contiguous with those of the West Hartford Reservoir. Both of these locations offer dirt and paved trails. At the West Hartford Reservoir, many people also run, walk, hike and rollerblade. Roller-blade rentals are available at Play it Again Sports
(523-4692) in West Hartford Center. The roads of Farmington, West Hartford and Avon are very scenic for walking, running and bicycling.
There are also many multi-use trails across the state; you can find more
information on these trails by visiting the Dept. of
Transportation Pathways through Connecticut website. This site
includes detailed information on path locations, path descriptions,
recommended activities for each trail, etc.
Additionally, you can find information on the many state parks in Connecticut by
visiting the
CT
State Parks website.
Basketball/Soccer/Track Fields
At Conrad High School (West Hartford), Hall High School (West Hartford), and Farmington High School (Farmington), fields for baseball, soccer and track-and-field along with tennis courts can be used by the public, as well as Stanley Quarter Park in New Britain. During the academic year, many
students participate in an indoor soccer league at Oakwood Sports Center (860-633-1536) in Glastonbury. There is also an outdoor soccer league on Wednesdays at Irving Robins Middle School (20 Wolf Pit Road, Farmington).
Badminton
There is a UCHC Badminton Club that plays at either Irving Robins Jr.
High or Farmington High School in the Spring and Summer. For more
information, visit the
club's website.
Golf
There are also many good public golf courses within 15 minutes of the Health Center. Here’s a few:
West Hartford
Buena Vista Golf Course: A short 9 hole golf course. Prices are reasonable. Rockledge Country Club: A nice 18 hole golf course. Moderate/expensive.
New Britain
Stanley Golf Course: Probably the best 18 hole public golf course in the area. On weekdays $11/9 holes for residents ($18/18 holes), $16/9 holes for non-residents ($26/18holes) of New Britain. Be sure to bring a copy of your lease if you live in New Britain, but that’s not the address on your driver’s license.
Avon
Bel Compo Country Club: A very good 18 hole course. Conditions are excellent. Prices are expensive.
Swimming
Many towns have public swimming pools. However, at many pools, usage is restricted to town residents. In West Hartford, parks located on South Quaker lane, Oakwood Avenue and Fern Street have pools that can be used provided you live in West Hartford. Sometimes, a small fee is required for
entrance. In New Britain, you can find a pool in A.W. Stanley Park (2159 Stanley Street), and paddle boats at Stanley Quarter Park (451 Blake Road). For the serious swimmer, West Hartford also has the Cornerstone Aquatics Center (860-521-3242), located on Buena Vista road, directly next to both the ice-skating rink and the Buena Vista Golf Course. The center is expensive but does provide
quality facilities, including Nautilus equipment and several pools.
Canoeing/Kayaking/Tubing
To enjoy the Farmington River, Collinsville Canoe & Kayak (860-693-6977) has tubing rentals and gives Kayak lessons; two fun events for a hot summer day. If you are going tubing, bring sneakers to wear in the river! The bottom is very rocky.
Ice Skating
Turning to winter sporting activities, the only ice-skating places that are reliable are the town ice-skating rinks. The skating rink closest to the Health Center is the Veterans Memorial Skating Rink (860-521-1573), located on Buena Vista Road in West Hartford. You might also want to try the
International Skating Center of Connecticut (860-651-5400), where several Olympians have trained. You can find it on Route 10 in Simsbury.
Skiing
There are a few ski resorts in Connecticut:
Southington Ski Area, Southington, CT: A small beginners mountain. Powder Ridge Ski Area, Middletown, CT: A small beginners mountain. Mohawk Mountain, Cornwall, CT: Probably the best ski area in Connecticut. Ski Sundown, New Hartford, CT: Comparable to Mohawk. Has a few expert trails.
We believe that only Mohawk Mountain has trails for cross-country skiing. The West Hartford Reservoir may also have cross-country skiing. All of the above mountains are not very challenging. For the advanced skier, head north to Vermont to ski the black diamond trails of Killington (4 hours),
Okemo (3 hours) and Mt. Snow (2.5 hours).
Fitness Clubs
There are many good fitness clubs around the Health Center. Most towns have a YMCA/YWCA (Youth Men's/Women’s Christian Associations). They usually offer swimming, basketball, racquetball, weight-lifting and daycare. YMCA/YWCA's are generally less expensive than the more advertised clubs such as Bally's Holiday Fitness Centers. WOW-Fitness at 99 Shield Street in West Hartford (860-953-3488) is also a popular workout spot that offers good prices and student discounts; many
UConn Health Center students use this facility.
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Sports to Watch
What about those of you who want to WATCH a sport, without the inconvenience of working up a sweat? Go see:
UConn Basketball
The national championship women’s and men's basketball teams play home games at two venues: Gampel Pavilion on the Storrs campus and the Hartford Civic Center in downtown Hartford. Season tickets usually go on sale in Sept. and require an application which will be provided at the time the tickets go on sale. Watch your email for information. In the Spring there is also a lottery system
set up for post-season March Madness tickets; again, information regarding this will be forwarded via email. You must present a valid UCHC ID when you pick up your tickets
UConn Football
The UConn football team plays their games in the recently constructed Rentschler Field in East Hartford and averages about 6 to 7 home games per season. Season tickets are handled in the same way as the basketball tickets with an application form to be filled out; last year the 7 home game
package was $42.00 total and students could purchase up to 2 season tickets. Again, you must present a valid UCHC ID when picking up your tickets.
Connecticut Sun
The Connecticut Sun is a professional WNBA team that plays at Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville. Tickets run $6 to $50 per person and you can buy up to 6 tickets at a time. For more info, call 1-800-477-6849 or visit http://www.wnba.com/sun/.
Hartford Wolf Pack
The Hartford Wolf Pack is an AHL team whose parent team is the NY Rangers. Games are played at the Hartford Civic Center in Downtown Hartford. Ticket prices/packages vary; visit their website at http://hartfordwolfpack.com or call 860-246-7825 for
more info.
New Britain Rock Cats
The New Britain Rock Cats are an AA Eastern League team whose parent team is the Minnesota Twins. Games are played at 230 John Karbonic Way in New Britain and tickets run about $5 to $10 per game. For more info, visit http://rockcats.com or call 860-224-8383.
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Movie Theaters
There are many theaters to see the current box office hits. There are several
Showcase Cinemas in the neighboring towns, including Southington, East Hartford, and Manchester and Loews Cineplex in Plainville.
For more esoteric movies, The Cinestudio Theater (860-527-3811), at Trinity College, offers many foreign and art house movies, as does Hoyt’s Cinema City 4 on Brainard Road in Hartford (860-549-0030).
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Museums
The best source for museums would be the Hartford Yellow Pages; more than 35 are currently listed. These include:
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Shows (Plays, Musicals, Concerts)
In Connecticut, there are two good places to see professional performances. They are
The Bushnell, located in Hartford, and the
Shubert Performing Arts Center (student rush tickets available), located in New Haven. Depending on the show, ticket prices can vary from about $20 to $80 per person. The Shubert also offers half price student rush tickets on
the day of a show with valid student ID. In the past, Broadway musicals such as The Producers and Rent have appeared. But if you are a theatre enthusiast, Broadway in New York City is only a two and a half hour ride by train via Amtrak. During your five year stay at the University of Connecticut Health Center, you should definitely consider seeing a show on Broadway. It is
an experience you will never forget!
There are also several local theatres, including
Hartford Stage and
TheatreWorks in Hartford, and
The Hole in the Wall Theatre in New Britain, and productions at local universities, such as Central Connecticut State University in New Britain and Saint Joseph’s College and University of
Hartford in West Hartford. Also, at
Jorgensen Auditorium at the Storrs campus, you can see a variety of performance genres including dance, music, theater, and a children's series. Student pricing for tickets is available, but ticket prices range drastically depending on the performance and seating. Parking is free and located across the street from the auditorium.
Concerts can be seen at the
Hartford Civic Center,
Toad's Place (New Haven),
The Webster Theatre (Hartford),
Dodge Music
Center (Hartford), as well as
Foxwoods
(Ledyard) and
Mohegan Sun (Uncasville) casinos.
For music aficionados, try the
Hartford Symphony Orchestra, with musical director Edward Cumming. The HSO was founded in 1934 and presents over 60 concerts annually. Student season tickets are very reasonable for nosebleed seats at the Bushnell. Parking for all events at the Bushnell is free
and immediately across the street. Call HSO Ticket Services for information and tickets at (860-244-2999); student rush tickets are sometimes available 1 hour before performances with a valid ID.
There are also two major independent amateur orchestras in the Hartford area. They are almost always looking for string players and the conductors will do wind auditions on request depending on chair availability. Call for details about the groups. Concerts held by these groups are generally
very good amateur performances, but quality can fluctuate depending on string composition. The tickets run around $10, which is reasonable.
Dance Connecticut (formerly Hartford Ballet) in a company of 20 full-time professional dancers and apprentices. Led by artistic directors Peggy Lyman and Enid Lynn, Dance Connecticut performs a diverse
and exciting repertoire ranging from classical and contemporary ballets to modern works. Most performances are located in downtown Hartford at the Bushnell, with convenient free parking across the street. While the quality of the dancers may not match those seen in New York and Boston, the performances are truly enjoyable. The dance company also
sponsors visiting companies such as Baryshnikov's White Oak Project. Student discount tickets are available, for more information call (860-525-9396).
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Bars/Nightclubs
Some good local bars are:
-
Murphy and Scarletti's - Farmington, (located directly across the street from the Health Center); live music Tuesday through Saturday
-
The Spigot Café - West Hartford
-
Coach’s Sports Bar and Grill–Hartford-this is a sports bar owned by the infamous Jim Calhoun (coach of the UConn Huskies men's basketball team). A great place to eat dinner and view a men's/women's basketball game on the large screen TV.
-
Cool Moose Cafe -Hartford, $1 Mooseheads (beer) on Tuesdays.
-
J Timothy’s- Plainville, free Rolling Rock when you buy a bucket of wings on Friday nights
-
The Half Door- Hartford, traditional Irish pub
-
City Steam- Hartford, brewery café - half price appetizers and $2 drafts Monday through Friday, 4 to 7 p.m.
The most frequented night clubs are in Hartford. A few are:
-
Bourbon Street - not a true night club. Has a good bar, o.k. dance floor and a room of pool tables. Food is not bad.
-
The Brickyard - a relatively new nightclub to Hartford. Also contains 3 floors. Presently, a very popular bar.
For bars with an alternative atmosphere, try:
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The Loft - Hartford
-
The Gotham Lounge - Hartford
-
Bar with No Name - Near the Civic Center in Hartford
-
Municipal Cafe - Main St. in Hartford
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Casinos
Presently there are two casinos in Connecticut. One is Foxwoods on the Mashantucket Pequot Indian Reservation located in Ledyard, CT (they claim it is the biggest casino in the Western Hemisphere). The other is Mohegan Sun in Uncasville created by the
Mohegan Tribe.
Beaches
One good public beach is at Hammonassett State Park in Madison, CT. An
entrance fee is required. Fees currently run $9 to $14 on the
weekends/holidays and $7 to $10 on weekdays. This beach can be very
crowded. Due to the position of the beach within Long Island Sound, the
water is not very clean. The park does designate areas for camping which
currently run $15.00 (also see more information on the
CT
State Parks website). If you're ambitious, a better beach to go to is Misquamicut State Beach in Rhode Island ($7 to $14 on weekends/holidays; $6 to $12 on weekdays). Misquamicut is approximately 75 miles from the Health Center. The water is cleaner. The waves are bigger. The food is better.
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Area Restaurants
Also check the Advocate (available free at the Academic entrance) for additional listings.
American
Black-Eyed Sally's
350 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT
860-278-7427
Specializes in ribs and steaks.
The Elbow Room
986 Farmington Avenue
West Hartford, CT
860-236-6195
A chic bistro-style restaurant serving clever variations on traditional favorites--the mussels are out of this world, and the fish and chicken dishes are consistently excellent.
Price range: $10 to $20 (average meal/person, w/o drinks)
The Grist Mill Cafe
44 Mill Lane
Farmington, CT
860-676-8855
German style and American cuisine served in a dining room overlooking the Farmington river. Price range: $15 to $25 (average meal/person, w/o drinks).
Little Mark’s Big Barbeque
279 West Main Street (Route 44)
Avon, CT
860-674-9256
Great barbeque, large portions, reasonable prices.
Chinese
Butterfly
831 Farmington Avenue
West Hartford, CT
860-236-2816
Good Chinese food in a nice setting.
Price range: $10 to $20 (average meal/person, w/o drinks)
Cheng Du
923 Farmington Avenue
West Hartford, CT
860-232-6455
Good food and many loyal customers. Price Range: $7 to $15 (average meal per person without drinks).
China Buffet
132 New Britain Road
Plainville, CT
860-793-8810
Wide variety in buffet, sushi, grill-to-order items. Price range: about $15 for dinner, less for lunch.
Great Taste
597 West Main Street
New Britain, CT
860-229-7373
An excellent restaurant in an unlikely location that serves traditional dishes with imagination and flair, with a special emphasis on fish dishes. Price range: $10 to $20 (average meal per person, without drinks).
Green Tea
1067 Farmington Avenue
Farmington, CT
860-678-8880
Delicious food and good lunch specials including Dim Sum. Price range: $7 to $15 (average meal per person, without drinks).
Diners
Gold Roc Diner/Restaurant
61 Kane Street
West Hartford, CT
860-236-9366
Typical diner fare – good quality, open 24 hours, and breakfast anytime you want. Price range: less than $10 (average meal per person, without drinks).
New Britain Diner/Restaurant
1130 Corbin Avenue
New Britain, CT
860-827-1215
Amazingly wide variety of sandwiches and entrees; breakfast served 24 hours. Several specials each day.
Greek and Middle Eastern
Arugula Mediterranean Cafe
953 Farmington Avenue
West Hartford, CT
860-561-4888
Fresh, flavorful, Middle Eastern and Italian cuisine and award-winning house-made desserts, now open for dinner as well as lunch. Price range: $10 to $20 (average meal per person, without drinks).
Shish Kebab House of Afghanistan
360 Franklin Avenue
Hartford, CT
860-296-0301
Delicious kebabs and other middle eastern specialties served with fragrant rice. Price range: $10 to $20 (average meal per person, without drinks).
Tapas
1150 New Britain Avenue
West Hartford, CT
860-521-4609
126-130 Ann Street
Hartford, CT
Mediterranean food with lots of spices. Good place if you need a good gyro. Price range: less than $10 (average meal per person, without drinks).
Indian
Taste of India
139 South Main Street
West Hartford, CT
860-561-2221
216 Broad Street
Windsor, CT
All kinds of your basic Indian food like curry and tandoori. Try the lunch buffet…lots of Indian food at one low price. Price range: $10 to $20 person (average meal) lunch buffet approximately $7.
Italian
Andy's Italian Kitchen
230 Farmington Avenue
Farmington, CT
860-676-0800
Your basic sub/pizza shop located across the street from the health center. Casual atmosphere with televisions. Price range: $5 to $10 per person (average meal per person, without drinks).
Romano's Macaroni Grill
345 North Main Street
West Hartford, CT
860-233-7605
Good food and atmosphere but stay away on a Sat. night if you are really hungry and don’t want to wait. Price range: $10 to $20 (average meal per person, without drinks).
The Olive Garden
860-741-6616
Buckland Hills Mall
Manchester, CT
Good pasta and meat dishes, plus all you can eat salad, soup and breadsticks at the start of your meal.
Price range: $10 to $20 (average meal per person, without drinks).
Japanese
Japanica
270 Farmington Avenue
Farmington, CT
860-677-5633
Flavorful sushi, sashimi and more—conveniently located across the street from the Health Center. Price range: $10 to $20 (average meal per person, without drinks).
Osaka
962-A Farmington Avenue
West Hartford, CT
860-233-1877
An attractive, spacious spot with screened, tatami-lined private booths and excellent yakitori bar. Price range: $15 to $25 (average meal per person, without drinks).
Szechuan Tokyo
1245 New Britain Avenue
West Hartford, CT
860-561-0180
Features both Szechuan and Japanese food; live jazz on Tuesday nights.
Toshi
Riverdale Farms (Route 10)
Avon, CT
860-677-8242
Definitely the best sushi in this area as well as other Japanese dishes. Price range: $10 to $20 (average meal per person, without drinks).
Mexican
El Sombrero
151 Queen Street
Southington, CT
860-621-9474
Main courses run $9 to 14. Live mariachi band on Sundays.
Puerto Vallarta
980 Farmington Avenue (West Hartford Center)
West Hartford, CT
860-231-1612
Pizza
Bella Gourmet Pizzeria
125 Fenn Road
West Hartford, CT
860-667-0330
Bertucci's Brick Oven Pizzeria
330 North Main Street
West Hartford, CT
860 676-1177
A national chain featuring real brick oven pizza of very high quality and imaginative combinations. Price range: around $10 (average meal per person, without drinks).
Harry's Pizza
1003 Farmington Avenue
West Hartford, CT
860-231-7166
Thin, slightly charred crust and an impressive variety of toppings. They even give you a little taste of homemade lemon or grapefruit sherbet afterwards. Many loyal fans and an elegant setting for a pizza parlor. Price range: less than $10 (average meal per person, without drinks).
Naples
838 Farmington Avenue
Farmington, CT
860-674-8876
Great pizza! Try the bianca with spinach and ricotta cheese. Price range: less than $10 (average meal per person, without drinks).
Uno Chicago Bar and Grill
West Farms Mall,
West Hartford, CT
860-561-3113
Deep-dish Chicago style pizza is featured, along with a variety of entrees. Entrees run about $8 to 14.
Thai
Lemon Grass
7 South Main Street
West Hartford, CT
860-233-4405
Terrific food, beautifully prepared and graciously served. The soups are particularly outstanding, and there's a huge menu of chicken, seafood and vegetarian dishes. Price range: $10 to $20 (average meal per person, without drinks).
East West Grill
526 New Park Avenue
West Hartford, CT
860-236-3287
Great little diner serving Laotian-Thai cuisine. Wide variety, friendly service.
Vietnamese
Pho Boston
144 Shield Street
West Hartford, CT
860-953-8678
Excellent--and inexpensively-priced – wonton and beef noodle soups – HUGE BOWLS. Price range: $5 to $10 (average meal per person, without drinks).
Cafes
Zuzu's Coffee Bar
Downtown Hartford near the Civic Center Art Gallery
Peter B's Expresso
West Hartford
Border's Bookstore
West Hartford, near the West Farms Mall
Starbuck's
West Hartford Center (and everywhere else in the known universe)
Cosi
West Hartford Center
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