That's how I feel about living in Central CT. Towns like West Hartford, Avon & Glastonbury etc offer all the food options I need without the hassle of the city. Don't get me wrong, instead of having 100 excellent pizzerias like Brooklyn does, we have about 7. (plus New Haven is only about 40 minutes south) We have about 5 good bagel shops...so on & so on. However I can buy all my beef for grilling at home from a local grass fed farm. Or my eggs & my fresh veggies direct from the farmer. It's trade off I'm completely ok with.
Yup we do a CSA up here too that gives us meat (we usually alternate turkey and ground beef), milk, and fruits/vegetables.
The milk is non-homogenized which is awesome and actually healthier too. The actual dairy is only about an hour from here but they distribute locally so we don't need to go there to get it since they sell it at the farm that runs our CSA. It's super fresh...even comes in glass bottles.
And every other week, there's a guy who fishes off the coast of LI but comes back up here to sell fresh fish basically out of his van. Some of the best fish I've found up here, and it's not just the common stuff - he has swordfish and skate, among others.
Like you said, so many more options, but without the drama and the crap. I actually think there are more options for more categories up here than the city, but you have to be OK with things closing earlier, and like you said there just aren't as many things in each category, so if your top choice isn't open, you're either OK with a long drive, not having that thing, cooking at home instead, or having something that's not quite as good that's further down on the list. But we've got a beautiful piece of land, there's nature everywhere, it's easy to play sports as an adult without exorbitant fees or having to fight over use of recreational space, and people are just generally friendlier across the board.
Very few kosher style delis around anymore but a NY pastrami and a hot dog (frank) were my go to for decades. Never got in to the Dr. Browns just because I never tasted it.
Reminds me:
Gimmicky, always a wait to get in, and a TON of fun. Harold's in Edison, NJ. Always a blast to bring a half dozen people or more there.
