Recently in Seattle Category

Sometimes you just can't get to sleep. Unfortunately, Seattle doesn't have many options for insomniacs, especially downtown. But there are a couple places near the W Seattle and the Sheraton Seattle Hotel if you know where to look.

Kooky Cyber-Dogs is only open until midnight, but it's a great spot for a snack. The eccentric Tatiana is the entertaining owner, preparing an eclectic menu of sausages and vegan veggie dogs.

For a classy nightcap, Vessel is your destination. The sleek bar is a scene on the weekends, but on weeknights it's a quiet respite with inventive, expertly crafted cocktails and a small but tasteful food menu. It's open 'til 2 a.m., as is the Alibi Room down in the lower levels of Pike Place Market, where you can get a more substantial meal and a locally brewed beer.

For those who really can't sleep, there's The Night Kitchen. A haven for insomniacs, third-shifters and the after-bar crowd, the doors open at 6 p.m. and don't close until 9 a.m. Get a gourmet burger, eggs benedict or just coffee by the hour. (Not that you need more help staying up.)

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.

A Slate.com business columnist thinks the rise of cupcakes is a bubble heading for a crash. I say who cares when we all profit from the irrational exuberance! Here's a round-up of tasty cupcake options near Starwood hotels around the country.

Your first order of business in LA, after checking into the Westin Los Angeles Airport, should be to head to Cupcakes Couture in Manhattan Beach. The shop creates some of the fanciest cupcakes I've seen, including such treats as the "Sunday Mimosa," (pictured) a champagne sponge cake filled with orange curd and topped with citrus frosting and blood orange "caviar," and the "Little Miss Sunshine," a strawberry cake with strawberry jam, vanilla frosting and topped with a vanilla macaroon.

Sweet Revenge, a few blocks north of the Four Points by Sheraton SoHo-Village, knows its customers aren't kids: it offers wine and beer pairing suggestions for its cupcakes. Try pairing the decadent "Dirty" with a Peroni or another pale lager.

Up in Seattle, you can order online from Cupcake Royale and have a dozen delivered to the W Seattle, or have them waiting for you when you swing by the Capitol Hill location. Sadly, it's too late to get the "Deathcake Royale," but the chocolate mint gets high marks and is available all year 'round.

[image via Cupcakes Couture]

It's time for another round-up of great places for warming comfort food for cold nights, this time focusing on one of my personal favorites: macaroni and cheese. Hot and gooey, salty and starchy — it's exactly what I want when it's blustery outside. And I know exactly where to get it.

In New York, I head to Sarita's Mac and Cheese — S'mac — a few blocks from the W New York - Union Square. A dozen varieties, from four cheese to Parisienne to Indian-incluenced Masala, most of which can be made gluten free on request.

The Four Points by Sheraton Philadelphia City Center is just on the other side of the Philadelphia Convention Center from the Reading Terminal Market, which is home to one of Delilah Winder's restaurants — home to what Oprah declared in 2003 to be the best mac and cheese in America. It may have slipped a bit from that height, but it's still a solid showing, and great when combined with the fried chicken.

A bit north of Seattle, Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro releases its Cabin Fever cask ale this week, which goes perfectly with its popular mac and cheese. While it's a bit of a trek from the W Seattle, the drive to get there is a beautiful one and the combination meal of mac and cheese with Cabin Fever is worth the trip.