restaurants in Western Tolland Cty?

OK, folks... I just moved to rustic Ellington, CT. On the good side, my wife will now have a much shorter commute to work in the Sturbridge area and we have a bigger & newer home in what seems to be a nice, quiet neighborhood.

However, neither one of us is too familiar with the area. The only restaurants we've seen are on Rte 83 in Vernon - the typical Pizza Hut, Friendlys, etc. type of places. While I'm sure we'll be Friendlys frequenters in the future as my daughter gets older, I'm looking for a few other places. Any good restaurants in the area - Ellington, Vernon or even Manchester?

I'm doubtful of finding a Chinese place near the quality & authenticity of Szechuan Garden in West Hartford. How about Italian?

Thanks

and spent the first 6 years of my life in Tolland (before moving West of the River to West Hartford). So here are a few suggestions in Manchester:

For Italian, I always liked Nulli's on Tolland Turnpike. Good, relatively inexpensive Italian food -- and there's the Dairy Queen right nearby for dessert! The Acadia on route 83 was also pretty good but had huge portions. I've also heard good things about Cavey's on Main Street -- though I've heard it's pricey.

For American, the Adams Mill on Adams Street is pretty good, also not really cheap. They do a lot of events there -- I went to a wedding shower there. I also liked the Main Street Pub on (duh) Main Street near the hospital.

If you're looking for an alternative to Friendly's, Shady Glen in the old Manchester Parkade (and they have another one out toward Bolton) has good burgers and ice cream.

My favorite chain restaurant is John Harvard's over near the mall. Mmmm...love the grilled meatloaf.

I don't know of any good Chinese places, though.

Happy eating!

My parents used to love Nullis, but when I brought that up to them last week, they said Nullis has new owners and is not nearly as good as it used to be.

My wife is a tough customer when it comes to Chinese food, having lived the first 29 years of her life in China. I doubt we will find anything that good in that regards, though Sun Sun in South Windsor or Manchester is not too bad.

I'll have to try the Vietnamese place, though. We both liked Pho Boston in West Hartford.

Very good Italian food. It's on Rte 83 in Ellington right after the Middle/Lower Butcher intersection. HUGE menu.

China Eagle on Rte 83 in the Ellington Supermarket plaza is excellent for a Chinese take-out place... better than Jade Lee in Newington or Hunan Wok in New Britain (two places we used when we lived in Newington)

The Lotus Blossom I believe. It is in Vernon.

Ruby's in Manchester is good for Chinese, but it's pretty much a take out place and on the west end. The Golden Dragon is bad either. Bombay Raj Mahal in Manchester is good for Indian. There's the town staple Shady Glen on East Middle Turnpike (good place for kids- burgers and homemade ice cream). Don't go to Pizza Hut in Vernon. I've heard more than one insect story. Georgina's in Bolton is a nice pizza place. Manchester Pizza isn't bad either. Pancho Loco is a great local Mexican place in Vernon. Little Mark's BBQ in Vernon is also good. Neither of them are fancy (especially Little Marks), but the food is good. I went to Bidwell Tavern in Coverntry a few months back- also nice. If you want someplace that's very nice with a grownup atmosphere, try The Somers Inn in Somers (right on Rt. 83).
Best of wishes in your new home.