Anyone familiar with Shelton, CT?

[Captain Catnip]

I just found out yesterday that I am going there Sunday - Wednesday for work. I'll be in meetings and trainings M-T-W during the day then driving home Wed night, but anyone have any suggestions for things to do in the evenings? We are arriving Sunday at dinner time. 

[turnipthebeet]

Jun 5, 2019 20:18:56 GMT -5 Captain Catnip said:

I just found out yesterday that I am going there Sunday - Wednesday for work. I'll be in meetings and trainings M-T-W during the day then driving home Wed night, but anyone have any suggestions for things to do in the evenings? We are arriving Sunday at dinner time. 

I used to travel there for work and there was nooooothing there. New Haven isn’t far and there’s decent stuff to do there.

[CloudBee]

Where are you traveling from?

There's not really much in Shelton. An Outback, Christmas Tree Shop, and other "middle of nowhere" small strip mall type places. Will you be free around 5pm each night? If yes, I would suggest you drive 15-30 minutes toward the coast for dinner.

We love Wells Hollow Creamery. You basically eat ice cream about 100 ft from the cows who produced the cream.
www.wellshollowcreamery.com/index.html

- Drive to New Haven and walk around the Yale campus. It's beautiful! Get dinner in this area. I won't give specific recs, but there's a good bit to choose from in this specific area: theshopsatyale.com

- Drive to the Milford or Stratford waterfront for seafood. There are a few places right off of 95 on the water. Clam shack type places. Fresh.

If you want a real taste of the CT coastline and are willing to drive 30-40 minutes for dinner, I would suggest exploring Branford, Guilford, Madison, and Westbrook.

Fairfield and Westport don't have much of a seaside feel, but have AMAZING restaurants right on Route 1 / Post Rd. Around 5/6pm you would be heading in the OPPOSITE direction of traffic, so these are great places to head for an evening out. But there really aren't sights to see. Just really nice places to eat as they are higher COL towns with some swanky joints.

West of Shelton roads are residential and there's really no direct route to anywhere. I would suggest sticking to the coast if you leave town for dinner.

Shelton is loaded with lots of "Hilton Garden Inn" style hotels. Lots of business meetings at these places, and just chain joints to eat at. There's no main highway that goes through town, just some extension roads that connect to highways. Kind of dreary if you're looking for fun after a day of meetings. Sorry. 

- Trumbull Mall
- Connecticut Post Mall (Milford)

^ Places to wander if you want to shop at a basic mall within 20 mins of your hotel.

[Captain Catnip]

Jun 5, 2019 20:41:15 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

Where are you traveling from?

There's not really much in Shelton. An Outback, Christmas Tree Shop, and other "middle of nowhere" small strip mall type places. Will you be free around 5pm each night? If yes, I would suggest you drive 15-30 minutes toward the coast for dinner.

We love Wells Hollow Creamery. You basically eat ice cream about 100 ft from the cows who produced the cream.
www.wellshollowcreamery.com/index.html

- Drive to New Haven and walk around the Yale campus. It's beautiful! Get dinner in this area. I won't give specific recs, but there's a good bit to choose from in this specific area: theshopsatyale.com

- Drive to the Milford or Stratford waterfront for seafood. There are a few places right off of 95 on the water. Clam shack type places. Fresh.

If you want a real taste of the CT coastline and are willing to drive 30-40 minutes for dinner, I would suggest exploring Branford, Guilford, Madison, and Westbrook.

Fairfield and Westport don't have much of a seaside feel, but have AMAZING restaurants right on Route 1 / Post Rd. Around 5/6pm you would be heading in the OPPOSITE direction of traffic, so these are great places to head for an evening out. But there really aren't sights to see. Just really nice places to eat are they higher COL towns with some swanky joints.

Thanks!
We are driving up from Pittsburgh.

[CloudBee]

I just updated my post a bit with a few more suggestions.

If you have time on your way up on Sunday, people from out of town really enjoy the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk. Lots of good restaurants right there in the SoNo area.

[The Foozzler]

That's my area! My H works in Shelton and we live in the area. I assume your hotel is one of the ones on Bridgeport Ave. There really isn't a ton to do at night in Shelton and everything is a 15-30 minute drive.

If you are looking for places for dinner that are close by in Shelton, we like Aroogas for a sports bar atmosphere, Caloroso for Italian, Il Palio if you want upscale. There is also an Outback, Longhorn, and Ruby Tuesday along that road.

If you want to venture the 20 minutes to Milford down by the water, we love Archie Moores and SBC.

Milford Mall has a new Dave and Busters. There is also a nice bowling alley in Milford. There is also a Sports Center in shelton with mini golf, laser tag, arcade, driving range, and a bunch of other activities.

If you have any specifics in mind, I can give you more recommendations!

[Jalapeñomel]

Jun 6, 2019 5:44:53 GMT -5 The Foozzler said:

That's my area! My H works in Shelton and we live in the area. I assume your hotel is one of the ones on Bridgeport Ave. There really isn't a ton to do at night in Shelton and everything is a 15-30 minute drive.

If you are looking for places for dinner that are close by in Shelton, we like Aroogas for a sports bar atmosphere, Caloroso for Italian, Il Palio if you want upscale. There is also an Outback, Longhorn, and Ruby Tuesday along that road.

If you want to venture the 20 minutes to Milford down by the water, we love Archie Moores and SBC.

Milford Mall has a new Dave and Busters. There is also a nice bowling alley in Milford. There is also a Sports Center in shelton with mini golf, laser tag, arcade, driving range, and a bunch of other activities.

If you have any specifics in mind, I can give you more recommendations!

Isn't there a brewery close by? DH's family lives there, and they always take us to this brewery, but I cannot remember how close it is to Shelton. 

[Captain Catnip]

The Foozzler is there a shore or lighthouses or anything nearby to tour? Driving a little is ok.

I've scoped out all the breweries already nearby.

[Vespasia]

We go here every time we're up that way but we do know the owners. The pizza is damn good though. It's also right off the highway in Bridgeport so easy to access. brewportct.com/

Breweries:
This place is huge and pretty widely distributed now: tworoadsbrewing.com/
Great location, enjoyed the beer: stonycreekbeer.com/
Less exciting location, great beer, really friendly: www.thimbleislandbrewery.com/

[esdreturns]

I'm slightly north of Shelton. If you like antiques and cute little stores, downtown Seymour has a ton. It's a small downtown, like 2 blocks, but they have probably about 15 stores. There is also a really cute tea shop if you like that type of stuff. If you go down to Milford and like Italian, there is a restaurant called Andinis. I think it's technically in Orange, but it's not far from the Milford Mall. It looks like a complete hole in the wall, but their food is so good.

In New Haven, there's a place called Baracade. It's a bar with all old school arcade games like Pac-Man, Space Invaders, etc. New Haven also has a lot to do.

[calamity]

www.courant.com/ctnow/food-drink/hc-fea-daily-meal-best-connecticut-pizza-2018-story.html

Also, if you like Lobster Rolls, this one is the best
newengland.com/today/travel/connecticut/lobster-landing-best-lobster-roll-in-ct/

Silver Sands Beach in Milford is nice, and they have a mall close by.