Recently in Chicago Category

The hamburger is the quintessential American food, I think — even more so than apple pie. Although there are plenty of regional styles out there, the burger has become a blank slate upon which culinary artists may express their creativity. Or, they can just get crazy with it, like these three spots.

In Chicago, the top burger place in town comes with a side of metal. Heavy metal rules at Kuma's Corner, where it plays on the stereo and every burger on the menu is named after a metal band. The half-pound burgers range from the conventional (the Mastodon, topped with bacon, cheddar, barbecue sauce and frizzled onions) to the haute (the Lair of the Minotaur, with pancetta, caramelized onions, brie and bourbon-soaked poached pears) to the downright nuts (the Slayer, a platter of chili cheese fries with a burger and andouille sausage under the chili). Make the trek from the W Chicago - Lakeshore and be prepared to wait for a table.

The Lunchbox Laboratory in Seattle embraces the insanity. Its daily experiments, aka, specials, are the draw here — ridiculous mounds of toppings smother the premium ground beef or "dork" (ground duck and pork) patties, all but daring you to try to use the bun to lift it to your mouth. Grab a cab from the W Seattle, and stop at an ATM on the way — these burgers are pricey, but definitely worth it.

It's hard to tell you where to go from the W Los Angeles - Westwood to find Yatta-! Truck, a food truck featuring the All-American, a cheeseburger-like sushi roll filled with beefsteak, pickle and melted cheese, tempura fried. Follow the truck on Twitter to find out where to get this weird wonder.

There's something about a margarita that just screams summer relaxation to me. Whether it's blended or on the rocks, the mix of tequila, triple sec, lime juice and, quite often, some other fruit flavor just helps your shoulders relax and helps you forget whatever you left back at work. Here are a couple spots to get great margaritas around the country.

In Santa Monica, not far from the Sheraton Delfina, Border Grill is the place to be, particularly at happy hour, when the freshly made margaritas are just $5. Stick around for dinner and you'll be rewarded with creative takes on traditional Mexican and Latin American dishes.

Chicago has a large Latino population, so your margarita options are legion. But two favorites near the Westin River North are Frontera Grill and Zocalo. Frontera Grill is celebrity chef Rick Bayless' joint, so getting a table might be tough, but there's often room at the bar, and the margaritas are outstanding. Zocalo boasts 120 tequilas behind the bar, and fresh blood orange, prickly pear, guava and other nectars to further flavor your drink. For variety, try the margarita flight.

In Boston, Masa offers the Tres Chile Margarita, made with tequila muddled with three hot peppers for a little refreshing heat. Closer to the Sheraton Commander in Cambridge, Border Cafe gets high marks for its margaritas as well as for its affordable Tex-Mex and cajun food.

For those who love swine with their wine, Chicago is turning into quite the place for high-end restaurants that specialize in pork...and its penchant for pig goes well beyond pork loin and bacon. From smoky, meat-infused cocktails to gourmand spins on the pig ear (yes, you read that right), this city is quite the meat lover's - and adventurous eater's - paradise. With the W Chicago - City Center as your homebase, set out on a perfectly piggish weekend.

One of the latest entrants to Chicago's dining scene, the always-lively Purple Pig is tucked just off the Magnificent Mile, and magnificent it is. Squeeze your way into one of the chairs lining its tall communal tables (which are always packed) and try to decide what to order - or what not to order, considering how delicious everything sounds. Though there are actually some standout vegetable dishes, the pig-minded should look to the cured meats section of the menu, which features everything from jamon serrano to Majorcan sobrasada. Those who want to eat head to tail should start with the fried pig's ear with crispy kale, marinated cherry peppers, and a fried egg, and end with pigs' tails braised in balsamic. If you'd rather belly up to a bar - while eating pork belly, of course - head to Longman & Eagle, a whiskey-minded gastropub in Logan Square. Though its slogan is "Eat Sleep Whiskey," one could just as easily tack "pork" onto there. Though you have many options, the pork belly confit, paired with pumpkin risotto, chestnuts, and apples in a soy-caramel broth gets a seemingly endless stream of praise. But if it's a bacony brunch you're after, hightail it to The Bristol, which serves braised pork chilaquiles with salsa roja and a friend egg. That may sound like the star of your midday meal, but that honor may very well be reserved for the Bacon Manhattan, made with bacon-infused Dewars, maple syrup, and bitters.