Recently in Chicago Category

Planning a meeting while you're on the road? Don't forget to order coffee and donuts — or maybe some bagels — to keep the attendees alert and on-task. Here's a list of some of the better options to supply each around the country.

In New York, the clear leader is Doughnut Plant. Made from scratch (even the jelly fillings) fresh daily in decadent flavors such as dulce de leche and crème brulée, a second location will be opening this spring a couple blocks from the Four Points by Sheraton Manhattan Chelsea. If bagels are more your thing, Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company has you covered.

San Francisco's Dynamo Donuts has flavors that'll really help groggy colleagues wake up: varieties include a chocolate donut dredged in chipotle sugar and a lemon-filled dusted with Sichuan spices. Ask the concierge at the St. Regis San Francisco to send someone to pick up from this Mission storefront. Closer to the hotel, Blue Bottle's French press coffee service will help make sure the jolt from the spicy donuts sticks.

Keep their eyes from glazing over in Chicago with an order of Glazed Donuts, available by catering or subscription(!) only. The flavors change weekly, and range from classic apple cider to bing cherry balsamic and maple-bacon-chocolate (pictured). Pair them with coffee from the Intelligentsia near Millennium Park, and you'll be the hippest meeting runner the Westin Michigan Avenue has ever seen.

Sandwiched between Milwaukee (Schlitz, Pabst) and St. Louis (Anheuser-Busch), Chicago was never the beer powerhouse its neighbors to the north and south were--until recently. Chicago is now home to a growing number of microbreweries that are bringing acclaimed craft beer to the Windy City, making it the perfect place to grab a barstool and order a pint - or three.

You can't go wrong by starting with a classic - albeit one that opened in 1988. One of the first brewpubs to break into the mass-produced-beer-focused Midwest market, Goose Island was founded with the serious beer drinker in mind: Its Clybourn location (one of two in the city) lets beer lovers sample some 20 on-draft offerings and, on Sundays, take a tour. Though first-timers will have to try stalwart Honker's Ale, an English-style bitter that's nearly eponymous with the brewery, the fruity Belgian-style Matilda is yeasty and delicious, and the Fulton & Wood Draft Series includes imaginative pours like the Pepe Nero, a black farmhouse ale brewed with peppercorns.

Half Acre offers tours of its North Center brewery on Saturdays, but you can sample its small-batch beers in its tasting room six days a week - or seven, if you head to one of the 100+ Chicago establishments that serve its beer, no small feat for a company that brewed its inaugural batch in the summer of 2007. That debut beer was the Half Acre Lager, a full-bodied, amber-colored staple brewed year-round. Be sure to try that, along with any specialty brews that might be offered, like the Baumé chocolate rye stout.

Before heading back to the Westin Michigan Avenue, you'll want to check out the newest entrant to the scene: Logan Square's Revolution Brewing. Opened just this month by a former Goose Island brewer, the brewpub offers tempting pours like Anti-Hero IPA and Workingman Mild, described as an English luncheon beer with toffee and caramel notes.

Chicago has a reputation as a beer-drinking city, but that doesn't mean it ignores the fruit of the grape. At Bin 36, across the street from the Westin Chicago River North, every wine on the menu is available in the shop to take home — and the impressive all-American cheese menu offers some wonderful pairing opportunities. You might also want to catch one of their excellent single-session classes while you're in town.

A little further from downtown, Juicy Wine blends a clubby atmosphere with a well curated selection of wines. Head upstairs for an intimate table to sip big reds or dry whites while a DJ spins. Or visit Randolph Wine Cellars and the Tasting Room. The Cellars downstairs offer an excellent selection of bottles in every price range. Upstairs in the Tasting Room, inventive nouveau-American small plates and entrees match a stellar wine list, and a panoramic view of the downtown skyline provides a lovely backdrop.

Winter in Chicago is a good time to visit the city's many museums as an escape from the harsh weather. Of course, you'll work up an appetite while you're taking in all that culture. Wolfgang Puck runs the cafe in the Museum of Contemporary Art, but frankly, it's not worth your time. Instead, on your way from the Westin Michigan Avenue, stop in the atrium at Water Tower Place for a snack at Wao Bao, where a couple bao (steamed Chinese dumplings) and a cup of housemade ginger ale will hold you over till after the MCA, when you can move on to The Purple Pig, a just-opened Mediterranean spot that's already turning heads.

At the Art Institute of Chicago, the obvious destination is Terzo Piano in the new Modern Wing. It's insanely beautiful, and the food isn't bad either. Order the pizza-like flatbread or the trio of mini burgers made with beef, lamb and shrimp.

There's really not much worthwhile food to be had in the Museum Campus, home to the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium — but the shuttle bus to and from the train stop will take you right past Eleven City Diner, a fun and unfussy delicatessen where you can order a monstrous pastrami sandwich, a comforting matzo ball soup, and breakfast all day.

Cocktail culture continues unabated, and now most major cities have at least one bar devoted to the finest hand-crafted concoctions. Here are a couple of my favorites for you to visit on your holiday travels.

In my hometown of Chicago, The Violet Hour is the go-to spot — but if you like bourbon and tequila, you might head across the street to Big Star instead. Recently opened by the same team, Big Star is a big draw for great cocktails paired with incredible Mexican small plates. I recommend the al pastor taco, the phenomenal queso fundido and a Bakersfield Buck to drink. Take a cab from the W Chicago - Lakeshore.

In Boston, Drink is all the rage — so much so that it's beginning to get dinged on Yelp for being unable to handle the crowds. The undulating bar runs the length of the garden-level room. Bartenders stand ready to create a cocktail from memory if you know one's name, or make one up for you based on your personal taste and even hand you the recipe if you like it. Tip: get there early or save it for a weeknight. It's about half a mile from the Westin Boston Waterfront.

New Orleans is a town with plenty of great cocktail destinations, and the latest is Cure, on the up-and-coming Freret Street near the Garden District. The drinks change seasonally and so does the menu of snacks and desserts, so it's already different since I was there in October, but if I were going tomorrow, I'd order the Brown Bunny, a wintry sip. The bar is an easy cab ride from the W New Orleans.