Check out East Rock Brewing Company if you enjoy some good beer!

Hah! I honestly have never set foot in the place but it gets recommended to me all the time. I do like a passionate restaurant critic! Except about stupid fucking New Haven pizza.

It’s a great plan! But I’ll chime in on the pizza: it’s always controversial but, for your purposes, I’d really push for one of the pizza spots besides Modern. Modern is great but I feel like there’s a better vibe for the first time visitor on Wooster Street with Pepe’s and Sally’s. In addition, if you want a beer in a cool atmosphere along with good pizza, you could hit BAR. In fact, I’d say BAR is the best choice if your plan is to walk everywhere.

I'm 33 and an undergrad. Don't be self conscious. And don't be intimidated by the Yale students, they're just people. They're also generally nice people (if lacking in life experience), believe it or not.

Look into the Eli Whitney program at Yale, too!

East Rock Brewing Company is a cool spot to hangout and grab food beer!

Second all this. Do Ordinary for nightcap

-everyplace is either super elite or super trashy with no place in between

welcome to connecticut.

Just want to say I am pretty impressed with the list you’ve put together on your own.

> Headed into town Saturday at lunchtime. Modern Apizza for lunch?

You’ll get a million different opinions on pizza here. Modern isn’t my first choice but it has absolutely earned its place as one of the “big three”. No change needed here but I will toss in my controversial plug for De Legna’s

> Yale Art museum, green, old campus, Barcade after lunch.

This is a great day, can I join you? I’d add on the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library to this list l, which is really unique and only adds on about 15ish minutes or so.

> Booked a night at the Blake. Mostly for walkability.

Solid spot.

> Birthday dinner reservations at Union League or Olea?

Union League has been the standardbearer in fine dining for a long time and for good reason. That said, there is no shortage of fantastic restaurants in New Haven. If you are dead set on fine dining, I will second your nomination of Union League but Zinc (also mentioned here) belongs in the conversation.

> Nightcaps at High George?

Good spot mostly for view and ambience. I’d recommend Ordinary for drinks though. Really unique cocktails and great bartenders. It is a smaller spot but its previous occupant (Richter’s) was a bit of a New Haven landmark.

> Any recommendations for a great place for an early breakfast on the way out?

I will second the recommendation of the Pantry, another New Haven classic. They pretty much make two dishes (eggs Benedict and cinnamon roll pancakes) but they knock those out of the park. Another controversial opinion Bella’s / Lena’s have always been crazy overrated. Not worth a detour.

I will toss in an oddball breakfast recommendation of Trinity Pub. New Haven used to have a ton of irish bars and this place is the last man standing. Chef/owner is a great guy and it will be a more relaxed breakfast.

Take a walk through the Beinecke library (free) and make a reservation for a cocktail at Ordinary. Breakfast should be had at The Pantry if you like eggs benedict, Bella’s if you want to see west rock/westville but expect to wait for 30-40 minutes at both unless you go super early and don’t mind sitting at the counter. For neighborhood bar vibes check out Delaneys or Trinity

the general tso's was perfect, on the level of real Shanghainese food, Barry's scorpion bowl was like an aphrodisiac and neurotoxin

Not really walkable from downtown, though.

Most of them are very much not future senators lol

There are so many grad students and PhDs in New Haven, nobody would even care.

Seconded. One of my absolute favorites in New Haven!

The shrimp and grits are out of control delicious!

Chapps is garbage I wouldn’t feed to my enemy’s dog.

I can assure you, you won’t stand out at all. There are actually more grad students at Yale than undergrads, so more of the student population is 22+ (many of the PhD, law, and med students are closer to 30 or above).

I’m a grad student now, but I started at community college and I remember feeling a similar way when I was around 4-year college students. I tried to remind myself that going to CC didn’t mean I was any less intelligent or capable than anyone else, and in the end I transferred to a good undergrad and got the same degree as everyone else— I saved a lot of money in the process, too!

I freely tell people at Yale that I started at community college and I always say to this day it was the best educational experience I’ve had. No one has ever judged me for it. Try not to get in your head about it, you belong in those study spots as much as anyone else! You can even use Sterling or Bass library to study when they’re open to the public during the day, no one will ever bat an eye. Best of luck in your studies.

Book trader is nice.

I went to gateway in my 40’s. Study where ever you want. If you are a little older than undergrad - people might think you are a grad student or working remote? But going to gateway is something to be proud about! Take your spot and don’t be ashamed.

Now - any panera is good. Koffee. What about the ikea cafeteria? In ikea you can refill uour coffee. You can stay all day - the only bad thing is the bathroom is a hike. Starbucks in branford. Guilford panera? Try the town libraries. For that matter - what about the gateway library? Or is it just too busy? East haven, branford, guilford - all great libraries. The used book coffee place on chapel is good. You’d be surprized - but in a pinch a mcdonalds or dunkin can work too. They both have wifi! The dunkin in branford on exit 56 - not a bad place to try out. Cafe romeo too.

“I write to advise you that a 2 ton nuclear bomb has been detonated on cross campus….”

No firearms charge? Interesting

Or dessert. Their pastry chef, imo, is the best in the city.

It’s fun getting the notification and the all clear 15 minutes apart.

Depending on how early you should definitely try Bella's. One of the best brunch spots in New Haven.

It’s a nice backpack from my employer, but thanks for the suggestion. I walk most places around town, so it’s more comfortable than a messenger bag.