In our New London neighborhood, we're a block away from almost all the essentials of life. (The only thing missing is the bar in the old Lighthouse Inn, which remains a significant loss to the charm and spirit of Life Itself in the Sixth District.)

But ... there's a fire station, which is always good. We have the Yolk Cafe for breakfast and lunch, and of course, next door, is the Ocean Discount Liquors haven. Do they know us on a first-name basis? Why, yes! Across the street? The recently opened and much-appreciated Store Next Door with all sorts of convenience items.

Now, until recently, in this same stretch of real estate, we had a Fox's Pizza franchise, because every human needs a pizza delivery service nearby. Suddenly, Fox's closed - but, in its place, the franchise owners, Gary and Amy Rouisse (with son Zach), opened a bigger-picture take-out/delivery place called Our Little Kitchen & Market. They're still making pizza - in fact, out from under the necessity of using Fox's ingredients, it's far better pizza - as well as all sorts of possibilities. They offer take-home entrees, burgers, paninis, burritos and salads, and everything is made from scratch and fresh on the premises. Over a few evenings, we tried a lot of Our Little Kitchen products and are absolutely impressed.

A bacon cheeseburger pie ($9, $12, $14) was just great fun. Plenty of ground beef and crispy bacon, with actual coins of dill pickle, four different cheeses and some sort of mustard/ketchup drizzle to work with the thin crust and a mellow marinara base.

My wife, Eileen, who eschews meat in all forms, enjoyed a veggie pie ($9, $12, $14) that also boasted the four-cheese alchemy along with plenty of spinach, onions, tomatoes, green peppers and olives.

There are several varieties of grilled paninis ($6.79), available on your choice of ciabatta, foccacia, rustic or multi-grain bread. These include compelling combinations like eggplant, zucchini, Mozzarella, onions and pesto or ham, cheddar, apple slaw and spicy brown mustard.

I tried the spicy tuna, which includes banana peppers and pepper jack cheese on foccacia - and was presented with a huge square panini, sliced helpfully in half. The tuna salad was a splendid version, with all white meat tuna chopped and blended into a seasoned mayo mixture - not too goopy but moist. The banana peppers and cheese provide pleasant kicks, and the entire construct was perfectly pressed and grilled. Happiness.

There are two kinds of burrito ($6.79) available on the menu, a chicken/rice and a beef/bean. I sampled the former. I wouldn't say it was the most authentic representation of Tex-Mex I've ever had. For one, a la carte Mexican food items are sort of weird - Taco Bell notwithstanding. I'm used to a platter with rice and refried beans on the side, along with chips and salsa.

In that sense, my huge burrito seemed forlorn and lonely. Also, it was wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla, which is something I'm not used to. Inside were strips of tenderly grilled breast meat - almost the sort you'd find in fajitas - and blended in with toothsome and savory Spanish rice. Everything was generously doused in what I assume was a Louisiana-style hot sauce, which differs substantially from Mexican hot sauces. Having laid out the structural and theoretical differences, though, let me say that I really liked the hybrid burrito - a lot.

Eileen also availed herself of a veggie calzone ($6.79), which came with a side of marinara. It was perfectly packed with red onion, fresh spinach, green olives (all too often a rarity in these parts), bell pepper and tomato, wrapped in mozzarella and ricotta. There wasn't too much or too little of any ingredient - it was the perfect balance.

Most perfect of all? The thin, savory crust. E is an admitted carboholic and has never had a problem with super-thick dough on calzones. And before this one arrived, I thought, "Oh, there will be some leftover dry, thick edges to dip in ranch dressing," as is all the rage. But this calzone may have changed her dough preference. It was thin, but with a nice chew, a slight char and - was it her imagination? - a dusting of spice. Despite its slender heft, the crust still managed to stand up to, and contain, all the ingredients.

From a modest dessert menu, we ordered giant, baked-in-house brownies ($4.79), one chocolate and one peanut butter. Each was fresh and chewy and pretty wonderful.

At Our Little Kitchen, you get a lot of really good food for very reasonable prices. Next time out, we look forward to exploring the heat-and-serve entrees.

Our Little Kitchen & Market

6 Lower Blvd.

New London

(860) 443-3697

Cuisine: Basic comfort food ranging from pizza to burritos, deli sandwiches and wraps, flatbreads and calzones, burgers and salads, pasta, and take-home entrees

Atmosphere: It's take-out or delivery, but there are a few tall tables if you want to wait on your food.

Service: Nicest people in the world, and they genuinely want you to love their food.

Credit cards: All majors

Handicap access: A small step-up into the take-out counter area

Prices: Appetizers, sides and salads $2.79-$13.99; paninis, burgers, burritos, calzones and sandwiches $6.79; flatbreads and pasta dishes $7.79-$8.79; pizza (three sizes) $6-$14; desserts $4.79

Hours: 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Tues., Wed. and Sun., 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Thurs.-Sat.