You know how it goes: You're out doing your holiday shopping, running from store to store. You're cruising through your list when it hits you: Hunger. You have to eat before you return to browsing and buying. Where to go? Our food critics have the answers.

WESTERLY

Mermaid Cafe

19 Margin St.

401-637-4225

www.mermaidcaferi.com

Mermaid offers a rare combination: plentiful parking, awesome food and a picturesque view of the Pawcatuck River. After a trip to the local bookstore, we enjoyed the Linda - chicken salad with celery, walnuts, mayonnaise and lettuce on a Brioche roll - and the Martha - grilled cheddar cheese and fresh tomato on whole wheat. Both came with the best handcut fries I've had in ages.

- TIM COTTER

WESTERLY

The Malted Barley

42 High St.

(401) 315-2184

www.themaltedbarleyri.com

If you like your beer on tap and soft, warm, chewy, fresh pretzels, The Malted Barley is the place. With a rotating inventory of more than 30 beers on tap and a creative, pretzel-centric menu that includes stuffed, sandwich and waffle versions, an exhausted shopper easily can refuel here and leave ready for the marathon that is finding the perfect gift for Uncle Stu. On our most recent visit, my husband and I each enjoyed a flight - four, 4-ounce glasses of the beers of your choice. I was particularly fond of the Founders Porter, which I enjoyed with an asiago cheese-stuffed pretzel and a side of apricot butter for dipping. Delicious.

- JILL BLANCHETTE

MYSTIC

Steak Loft

27 Coogan Blvd.

(860) 536-2661

steakloft.com

A walk around Olde Mistick Village can really put you in the holiday mood, but it can also tire you out. So take a load off, grab a seat at the Steak Loft bar and order up a cocktail. I love their Quick Bites menu, and my favorite is sliced steak with garlic butter on toast points with a baked stuff potato, a bargain for $10.95

- TIM COTTER

MYSTIC

McQuade's Mystic

14 Clara Drive

(806) 536-2054

www.mcquadesmarket.com

It may be odd to suggest stopping by a grocery story for a quick bite, but if you're looking for someplace that has something for everyone, where better? The casual, cafeteria-style dining experience in The Galley at McQuade's is particulary appropriate for the chaotic holiday season. One in your party can opt for a hot cup of coffee and a pastry from the bakery, while another may prefer a banana from produce and a jar of peanut butter. A third may wander over to the salad bar while another partakes in the prime rib dinner special. Then you all gather in the dining area and everybody's happy. Just like Christmas morning.

- JILL BLANCHETTE

EAST LYME

The Black Sheep

247 Main St.

(860) 739-2041 blacksheepniantic.com

Strolling Niantic Village is a sensoral feast anytime, but it really ratchets up during the holidays. The Black Sheep offers pastoral respite; it's a lovely pub to take a break, and you can re-energize with their Black Sheep Poutin "All the Way" - an ingenious combo of skins-on fries, melted Swiss cheese, gravy, and thick hunks of lean corned beef. Inhale a platter of this, knock back a couple of pints and you'll be ready to rejoin the battle known as Yule Duties.

- RICK KOSTER

GROTON

Friendly Thai Bar and Restaurant

108 Poquonnock Road

(860) 865-0048

If you've been elbow-to-elbow at the mall all day, jockeying for position in the line for the latest must-have gift, what you really need is a friendly place to rest your dogs and recoup. You'll find that and more at this jewel of a place, where chilled coconut juice mingles with tangy tom yom soup, shockingly fresh rolls served with peanut vinaigrette, massaman curry and rama noodles on an extensive, inspiring menu. If I needed a boost this holiday season, I'd head straight for the sweet sticky rice with coconut ice cream. If that doesn't lift your holiday spirit, nothing will.

- JILL BLANCHETTE

NEW LONDON

Kamp Dog

15 Broad St.

(860) 443-3000

www.kampdog.com

Depending on your level of personal Grinch-ery, shopping needs to provide rewards beyond just the toasty seasonal idea that, "By golly, I'm Giving Gifts To Others!" That's noble and all but, to break up the grind, stop by Kamp Dog and fill out that oversized Santa suit with a Jalapeno/Pepper Jack/Chipotle Burger - about which chef Ken Hochstetler blurbs: "Wake up your taste buds - then kill them!" Or just gaze at the glorious expanse of menu and act on impulse. Since the K-Dog is near I-95, 32 and all three local malls - not to mention downtown New London - it's a no-brainer spot for a respite.

- RICK KOSTER

WATERFORD

Charley's Grilled Subs

Food Court

Crystal Mall

www.charleys.com

I try to time all my shopping trips to the mall around lunch so I can stop at Charley's. It's easy to find because it's the place with the line. All the subs here are grilled (no microwave!) and delicious. The cheesesteaks are particularly good; lately I've been hooked on the Sicilian, which adds pepperoni.

- TIM COTTER

WESTBROOK

Bill's Seafood

548 Boston Post Road

www.billsseafood.com

This pirate-y restaurant offers more than cheap comfort food and renowned seafood (try the Old Bay shrimp, then have a grilled cheese ... or a BLT). Its location on salt marshes that give way to Long Island Sound, across the street from boats docked in marinas, just next to the Singing Bridge - mere moments from the shopping haven at Westbrook's Tanger Outlets - make it a fun place to get to and an even better one in which to hang.

- MARISA NADOLNY