<p>Gibby: You walked past St. Vincent DePaul Place, which is one of the most admired and long-standing soup kitchen/social service centers in New England. [St</a>. Vincent DePaul Place - Overview](<a href=“http://www.stvincentdepaulplace.org/overview.html]St”>http://www.stvincentdepaulplace.org/overview.html)</p>
<p>So yeah, poor and homeless people sometimes congregate there for meals. And the North End is relatively poorer than the rest of a very middle-class small city. </p>
<p>But the North End among other things also has:</p>
<ul>
<li>O’Rourke’s diner, a national treasure that the town raised funds to rebuild after it was destroyed by fire two years ago:
[O’Rourke’s</a> - Middletown, CT](<a href=“http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Review/118-118/orourkes]O’Rourke’s”>http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Review/118-118/orourkes)</li>
<li>a brand new organic foods supermarket: [It’s</a> Only Natural - Home Page](<a href=“http://www.itsonlynaturalmarket.com/retailer/store_templates/shell_id_1.asp?storeID=559B4D5864C14F0DBE0543F5BAD7FD4A]It’s”>http://www.itsonlynaturalmarket.com/retailer/store_templates/shell_id_1.asp?storeID=559B4D5864C14F0DBE0543F5BAD7FD4A)</li>
<li>a cafe/bookstore/performing arts center:
[The</a> Buttonwood Tree Calendar](<a href=“http://www.buttonwood.org/cgi/calendar.pl]The”>http://www.buttonwood.org/cgi/calendar.pl)</li>
</ul>
<p>… and a homestyle Mexican cafe; a Pho restaurant; a community arts center. And that’s just the north end of Main Street. The more upscale south part often bustles. Not to discount your reaction, because anyone can have a bad experience anywhere, but it’s really not accurate to compare Middletown’s downtown to the old Bowery or the bad parts of New Haven or Boston.</p>