Nightlife in Groton

Located amid Mashantucket's rolling hills in the middle of the Foxwoods Resort Casino, Comix treats audiences to shows by the country's top comedians. National headliners, up-and-comers, and musical acts all fill the venue's spaces. Performers in the 1,400-seat Fox Theater play to a larger but still intimate audience, while the 4,000-person MGM Grand Theater hosts such hilarity-generating superstars as Louis C.K., Jim Gaffigan, and Margaret Cho. Before shows, guests can take advantage of happy hour, perusing a menu of tasty appetizers such as wings and pizza, as well as a drink selection of beer, wine, and cocktails.

Thirty high-definition TVs airing sports games make Black Bear Saloon a destination for fans, who fuel up for fist pumps with a menu of American pub favorites. Beef, chicken, and salmon sliders, paired with crispy onion rings, are a pintsize alternative to burgers topped with a selection of gourmet ingredients such as roasted red peppers or avocado. Homemade marinara crowns flatbread pizzas and also serves as a sauce in which to slam-dunk deep-fried nuggets of mac 'n' cheese.

Hosted events are still another reason to visit: on Tuesday nights, the voices of karaoke singers wash over the bar's exposed-brick walls, and Wednesday trivia challenges guests to unearth factoids from their cerebral nooks and crannies. On the weekends, live DJs spin records as guests tap toes and shout requests for favorite Raffi songs from the pub's deep-brown booths.

The rural Irish village of Gleann Beithe stands across the ocean from Hartford, but according to the road sign inside Hanafin’s Irish Pub, it's only 18 kilometers away. Built from heavy wooden beams that gleam in the light of hanging lamps, the pub mirrors Ireland's public houses in appearance and spirit. Here, guests socialize, imbibe Irish whiskeys and draft beers, and dine on traditional Irish meals, such as corned beef and cabbage. The cooks add an American twist to tradition with dishes such as Prince Edward Island mussels in Guinness cream sauce and potato pizza topped with mashed potatoes, green onions, and aged cheddar. To entertain guests as they nosh, large screens broadcast football games and bare-handed boxing matches between major-network weathermen. The pub also holds a trivia night that won a spot on CBS Connecticut's Best Bars for Trivia Nights list.

Visitors to Rhino Bar & Grille can wipe the words “bored” and “hungry” from their vocabularies. In addition to a menu of hearty, fun-to-eat food such as saucy wings, Black Angus burgers, and fish 'n' chips, the bar offers bottles of Heineken by the bucketful, keeping patrons hydrated enough to sing along with frequent live music from local bands. DJs also amp up the atmosphere, and a pool table ensures that there is always someplace for customers to lie down for a communal nap.

Newspaper clippings placed within Charlie O’s Tavern’s extensive menu detail the exploits of the Patriots and the Red Sox. High-definition televisions let guests watch sports history unfold on gridirons and baseball diamonds. When no big games are on, the staff arranges trivia nights or opens up the pool tables for free play. Diners with a competitive streak can compete over darts after finishing a competitive eating contest or trying to paint a reproduction of Picasso's Guernica on a napkin with barbecue sauce.

At TD Homer’s Grill, families can enjoy classic American eats on two spacious outdoor patios or seated indoors in booths with private HDTVs. As cooks hand-cut steaks, prepare salads, and grill half-pound burgers, patrons feast eyes on 90 screens primed for watching anything from sports to cartoons.