Indulge Coffee & Sandwich Co.

17 High St., Stonington

(860) 415-8575

https://www.facebook.com/Indulge-Coffee-Sandwich-Co-972452452841216/

Indulge Coffee & Sandwich Co. in Stonington Borough is the type of place where it's easy to become a regular. The prices are fair, the food is good, the atmosphere is quaint and unpretentious, and the service is quick and friendly. A quiet view of the park and public library across the street is also nice.

The High Street spot opens a 7 a.m. daily and closes 5 p.m., with the kitchen shutting down at 3, so the menu consists of a range of breakfast and lunch options. A few interesting morning items, served until 11:30 a.m. daily, are the "Sweet Sunday" sweet roll sandwich with eggs, sausage, and cheese ($6.29), the "Greens, eggs and ham" with spinach, cheddar, and ham ($6.79), and the "Eggcelent" with egg, pesto, red pepper, and feta ($6.49).

My favorite lunch item was the "Stanford" ($8.99). This consisted of a serving of roast beef, red onion, cheddar, and horseradish sauce on a grilled Portuguese sweet roll. The "Red Hun" with ham, cheddar, spinach, and garlic aioli on a hard roll ($7.49) was also quite tasty. While vegetarian options on the lunch side of things are hard to come by, the "On the green" is very good: spinach, sliced cucumber, red pepper, red onion, avocado, and pesto on a toasted baguette ($7.99).

— Alex Nunes

Haywire Burger Bar

730 Boston Post Road, Westbrook

(860) 391-8479

I more than understand the irony: I look forward to going to my doctor because his office is conveniently located near the Haywire Burger Bar — meaning I leave a health consultation and immediately go eat a half-pound of red meat (or more)!

There's a lot to like at Haywire. I'm most intrigued by their Mac Daddy ($12.99) because it was clearly conceptualized by someone in the kitchen old enough to remember what a Big Mac was like back in the infancy of McDonald's. A Big Mac back then was far different than a Big Mac you'd get now. In fact, a Mac Daddy is very much how I remember the old Bic Macs — and that's glorious, indeed.

Also worth exploring are an appetizer called Irish Egg Rolls, which includes corned beef, Swiss and sauerkraut within the deep-fried Asian exterior ($8.99) and the Smoking Cuban sandwich ($13.99), which spins off the indigenous ham/pork/Swiss template by using BBQ-style pulled pork. Fantastic.

— Rick Koster

Black Point Pizza

44 Black Point Road, Niantic

(860) 451-8444

www.blackpointpizza.com

A trip to Black Point Pizza takes visitors just off the traffic-heavy path in Niantic. What's better than heading toward the shore for a pizza feast (ideally in the off season)?

Black Point Pizza stands ready to serve with an impressive menu of gourmet pizzas — from basic Margarita ($13 for a small; $16 for a large) to the popular Clams Casino pie ($14/$18) — and hearty entrees and pasta dishes in a beach-house-chic setting.

The Stuffed Rigatoni ($15) fed two of us for two days, so deliciousness aside, there's some value built into BPP's large entrée sizes. For a quicker bite, we can recommend the sausage and peppers grinder ($9), but the burger and grinder menu offers seven other options — including a Philly cheese steak and Black & Bleu (cheese) burger — that are likely as well done as the sausage and peppers.

Bonus: The service at BPP was impeccable both times we visited. How's that for a mini-vacation?

— Marisa Nadolny