We're visiting the "all knowing" goddaughter at Wesleyan this Fall. We are spending one night in Middletown. I am thinking Fiore's but would welcome some other suggestions for special places to take her. (No doubt it will include a friend as well).

Hi Pam. If the "SF" in your screen name means San Francisco, you're probably not going to be happy with any restaurant in Middletown. Besides you "all knowing" grand daughter will probably get to Fiore's, Tuscany, and Typhoon, all or which are pretty good,

But to really knock her socks off, assuming that you have a car, drive south. The Copper Beech Inn in Ivorytown - the town named after the piano keys once manufactured there serves an excellent contemporary menu.

The tiny town of Chester is a center of excellent cuisine - Fiddlers Restaurant (seafood), Restaurant du Village, Sage On The Waterfall. The Inn & Vineyard at Chester are all excellent. I haven't been to any except Sage recently, so you'd best check to see if they're still around. As in many locations, the high-end places come and go quickly.

The newest and trendiest place in the area is also the oldest. The Griswold Inn in Essex has been around since 1776, no kidding, and sometimes it seems as though they haven't changed the menu since then. But they've recently opened a new wine bar which is the hottest ticket in town. Even your god daughter should be impressed.

Good luck.

This is very exciting. We did stay at The Copper Beech Inn several years ago(before the latest owners) and also stayed at the "Gris" which we loved. How far is it from Middletown to Essex? We will have a car as we will be in transit from the Hudson Valley to the Berkshires. It might be nice to take a ride. We will be checking out "her school" most of the day so will want something relatively close.

We sent her $20 for Chinese New Year and she ate twice for 2 at Tsunami benefits! Sometimes she is eating meat and sometimes she is not. Fiore's might be the spot if she is a "pastafarian" this week. What is Typhoon? It sounds Thai.

And many thanks for your reply!

Didn't realize that (1) you are somewhat familiar with the area, and (2) you want to dine in Middletown itself.

To answer your first question, Essex is about 25 miles from Middletown, straight south on Route 9. Less than a half hour. Typhoon is indeed Thai one of two really good Thai restaurants in Middletown. The other is Thai Gardens which is on Main Street right around the corner from Tuscany, which, frankly, I like better than Fiore. Actually my order of preference in Middletown Italian Restaurants would be 1 -First & Last Tavern, 2 - Tuscany, 3 - Fiore. Also, FYI, Middletown does have a vegetarian restaurant called It's Only Natural, but it's a bit too crunchy granola for me.

For what it's worth, I am vegetarian, and I've taken avid carnivore family members to ION, and they loved it. Yes it's crunchy but they have a way of making twigs and sticks taste and look really good!

Thanks for the "heads up" regarding ION, Stella. I'll have to check it out. While not exclusively vegetarian, I don't eat a lot meat, more for health, rather than philosophical reasons. I find that Italian and Mexican places generally have many items to choose from.

Thank you for the replies..It's looking like Typhoon vs First & Last unless we can talk her into Copper Beech Inn or "The Gris" if she happens to be eating meat that week.