Somers: Complete!

Somers: Complete!
Somers Pizza and Family Restaurant

Here is the CTMQ Guide to Somers with my list and stories about everything I’ve done there!

After a decade of writing CTMQ, I decided to try to “complete” towns. In that decade of traveling and writing, I had already done a lot of stuff in many of our towns already. However, I have been continually surprised by how much more there often is to do. This page includes my “town completion celebration meal” and recap of my Somers experiences.

Let’s get to it.

Somers was my: 33rd town completed
First CTMQ Visit: Somers Historical Society Museum, 2008

The Celebration Meal

I’d imagine most people would think that my choices of where to celebrate in Somers would be very limited. I was one of those people, and was somewhat surprised to learn there are several restaurants in town.

However, there was never any question it would be Somers Pizza and Family Restaurant for me. It’s locally owned, it has Somers in the name, it appears to employ local high schoolers, and most importantly, they have not one, but two “Somers Specials” on the menu.

I couldn’t get any more Somersy than this place, so this place it would be.

Welcome to Somers Pizza and Family Restaurant! Located in the heart of Somers, Connecticut, we’re your one-stop destination for delicious pizza, grinders, burgers, wings, wraps, sandwiches, salads, pastas, and more.

Ok, great.

Oh, there’s another paragraph? Do go on…

At Somers Pizza, we’re proud to offer an extensive menu featuring a delicious array of options including pizza, grinders, burgers, wings, wraps, sandwiches, salads, pastas, and much more. Whether you’re craving a classic cheese pizza or a hearty pasta dish, we have something to satisfy every appetite.

Didn’t you literally just say that in the preceeding paragraph?

It’s 2024 and if one thing has been constant through political upheaval, climate catastrophe, economic uncertainty, and pandemic strife, it’s that restaurant websites are still terrible. Somers Pizza and Family Restaurant: Just keeping it real.

I wasn’t here for “webmaster” criticism. I was here to celebrate having completing everything there is to “CTMQ-do” in Somers. My menu choices were preordained:

A Somers Special pizza and a Somers Special Grinder. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking there would clearly be some Somers-thread across the two items. Well, there’s not.

That’s Somers for you: full of surprises and excitement.

A Somers Special pizza is a Greek-style pie with red sauce, sausage, hamburger, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, fresh peppers and mozzarella cheese. A Somers Special grinder contains crispy chicken, sliced ham, lettuce, mayo, tomato, olive oil & fresh mozzarella. Well, they both have mozzarella cheese.

My usual plan to sit down and savor my town-completion experience was somewhat derailed by arriving in between lunch and dinner service. I was greeted at the counter and there was absolutely no expectation that I’d be sitting down to enjoy my gluttonous meal. So I ordered my Somers Double Special Pack and was told it would be ready in 15 minutes. Hm. I sat at a booth and stared at the floral arrangements for a couple minutes, hopped up, went back to the counter and ordered a celebratory beer.

I nursed it until my food was ready. I took my (small) pizza and (small) grinder to my table and just started plowing through the pizza. It was molten hot and rather messy, so I was quite glad I was messing up one of their tables and not my chic-chic minivan.

We here in Connecticut get so caught up in New Haven style pizza, we sometimes forget the comforting deliciousness that a Greek-style pie can give you. Thick, messy, and saucy, the Somers special is very good. I was fearful that all those toppings, especially all that meat, would make this thing a bit too much.

But they put the proper amount of toppings on it, and it was quite manageable. The soft crust was cooked well and like I said, sometimes it’s just nice to have a pillowy crust in the land of cracker thin crunchy crusts.

I plowed through a few pieces, packed up, and hit the road. (I actually had a final hike to do in town, hitting the Forest View Trails, Shenipsit State Forest, and half of Whitaker Woods. The cheese and grease and pizza carbs fueled me perfectly.)

Having completed my hike, I took a moment to savor the last of Somers before heading home.

At which point I was able to literally savor the last of Somers – it was time for the Somers Special Grinder! It held up amazingly well in its tight wrap.

I’m way more fascinated as to how the pizza and this grinder came to be so special to Somers. But I love that I was able to celebrate the town with its special food. Like the pizza, the restaurant uses a perfect ratio of ingredients. Not too much or too little of any one thing, and I must say, this is a darn good grinder.

Sure, I had other choices in town. Perhaps somewhere where I could have had a proper sit down with a proper drink. And napkins and fancy stuff like that.

But you know what? This is Somers. A horse town. A town with tons of trails and challenging hills and dirt roads. Seems to me like what’s special about Somers, besides the Somers Specials on the menu at Somers Pizza and Family Restaurant, is its rural on-the-go nature. And because of that, I think this meal from this place was perfect.

Somers Pizza and Family Restaurant

Somers Wrap-Up

I don’t want anyone to think that no one goes to Somers. There are several places in town that draw people from far and wide: Sonny’s Place is always bumpin’, Worthington Winery, and the Soapstone tower in the Shenipsit State Forest. All three attract a wide variety of visitors and all three deserve the acclaim. But as you know, I don’t just do the touristy things. Oh, no. I do everything.

And that includes a bunch of trails that, well, no one else needs to do. But it must be said that the Northern Connecticut Land Trust, who has trailed properties all over north central Connecticut, puts a ton of time and effort into its Somers trails. McCann’s Family Farm, Whitaker Woods, and Bald Mountain Preserve are all worth seeking out. (Perhaps not every day for 365 straight days like this guy did though.)

Somers contains some mysteries, like the Mystery Pits along the Skyline Scenic Area Trail, whatever happened to the contents of the long-closed Somers Mountain Museum of Natural History and Primitive Technology, and the jaw-dropping weirdness up at the Hillsdale College outpost at the Monticello replica. Welp, I’ve done it all. I’ve seen it all. I’ve taken Somers’ best shots and have persevered. Bring on the next town to complete!

Thought exercise: If I had to send someone to Somers for a daytrip, I would tell them to do this on a warm October day. Then I would ask if they have kids first or are at least kids at heart, because a couple hours at Sonny’s Place is a lot of fun – but skip the slow motion go-karts and be sure to ride the historic carousel. Have some ice cream and a bite to eat before burning it all off at Bald Mountain Preserve. This a nice up and down loop of a few miles and will make it better when you then drive south a bit to walk up the Soapstone Mountain summit tower at sunset. Ahh, that’s nice… and can only be topped by winding down at Worthington Vineyards and Winery to end the day.

Surprise: How passionate people are about a little “Indian” museum that closed around 2000
Favorite fact: Pretty much everything surrounding Monticello in Somers
Disappointment: The goshdarn Mystery Pits!

Somers: Done!

Previous completed town: Wolcott!
Next completed town: Hartland!