5 Reasons Why Connecticut Is as Good as It Appears in Gilmore Girls

2. Our diners are just as good as Luke’s.

“We stop drinking the coffee, we stop doing the standing”. Nutmeggers are fast-talking, perpetually busy people. We’ve got places to be and things to do. So it’s no surprise that we thrive on caffeine. And where do we go to get our caffeine fix? No, not Dunkin or Starbucks. We’d much rather support that Mom ‘n Pop place in the center of town. These places are the Cheers of Generation X, Y and Z, where everyone knows your name and they’re sticking their noses in your business, too. We’d suggest visiting Shady Glen in Manchester, for a real diner feel, Marty’s Cafe in Washington, or Essex Coffee and Tea Company in Essex (for a little bit more of an indie vibe).

3. We’ve got history up the wazoo.

Connecticut is not only home to an antiques capital, but we even have an Antiques Trail fully equipped with flea markets, small-town antiques shops, auctions and shows. At places like Treasure House in Branford, Treasures and Trifles in Milford, and Down the Road Antiques in Salem, you can uncover vintage collectibles from every generation. Like Kim’s Antiques, these places are stuffed within an inch of their lives with wooden chairs and embellished bureaus. Another thing that’s the same? You break, you buy.

4. Connecticut is the only state that honors a singer-songwriter with a formal position.

I mean, how cool is that! Amiright? Neither snow nor crappy New England weather kept Grant-Lee Phillips from making Stars Hollow a more enlightened place to live and the same goes for the official CT State Troubadour.

5. We’ve got quirky events. All you need to do is pick one.

I’m pretty sure all of us have fantasized at least once about strolling the Stars Hollow town green. And while the town and the green don’t technically exist, those quirky knitathons and the Revolutionary War Reenactment aren’t as far-off. For example, did you know that Connecticut holds a Tango Festival every July or a hot air balloon festival in August? Branford even holds a Woofstock on the Green (complete with food, live music and a costume contest). I’d bet Paulanka would approve.