Comfort and joy

(Credit: Thomas Hardwicke / Special to Metromix)

It's like clockwork — daylight savings siphens an hour of sunlight out of our day and we feel the need to face-plant into a bowl of melted cheese. Oh, the power of comfort foods. Metromix staffers (Kerry, Amy, Thomas and Laura) have deliberated and come up with some of our favorite hearty, delicious and dependable dishes that can wipe away the winter blahs in one bite.

Cheese:
Kerry: Warning — you will need a backup stomach for this mac and cheese dish as it would be nearly impossible to finish on one's own. But hey, consider that a challenge. Flame Steakhouse is not messing around with its take on the classic: Lobster Macaroni and Cheese. Rich, cheesy and studded with chunks of lobster meat, this is the kind of comfort food that sates on a number of levels. Serious stuff.

Amy: Patton Alley Pub's macaroni and cheese has a little bit of a kick while still satisfying my need for creamy, cheesy mac.

Thomas: Mom's Mac and Cheese at Springfield Brewing Company. How can you go wrong with pasta drowning in cheese?  Any final version is delicious: the cheap boxed orange-tinted noodles, the savory Velveeta yellow upgrade or the high-dollar shells slathered in a white cheese cream-based sauce. I may need a moment alone.

Amy: The Downtown Burrito from Maria's. Downtown style at Maria's means their big, whopping Burrito Ordinario is smothered in queso. I think we're seeing a trend here: cheese = comfort

Meat
Amy: The Full Ride from Grad School. A burger is probably my favorite comfort food and there's nothing like Grad School's version dripping in spreadable cheese.

Kerry: The gastronomic equivalent of housepants, a hoodie and a "Top Chef" marathon on TV is the french dip sandwich. BrewCo (yes, again) makes a pretty serious one with melted cheese, grilled onions and ample au jus. If you're lucky, a little will spill en route to your table and will soak some of your fries in that delectable, salty meat juice. Mmmm, meeaaat juuuuiice.

Potatoes
Kerry: They often play second fiddle around the big holiday meals but when prepared the right way, sweet potatoes shine. And of course, the right way is fried. The sweet potato fries at Tonic Ultralounge are seriously good — crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and perfectly seasoned. They also don't skimp on the amount of fries they give you. Addendum: They are best enjoyed with the phenomenal BLT they serve there. It's my favorite in town.

Laura: Sweet potato hash browns from Gailey's. A dash of cayenne pepper on top and you've got yourself a sweet and spicy combo that'll make you swoon.

Thomas: Cheddar Mashed Potatoes from Flame. How else can I eat the equivalent of three large orders of fries without chewing?  And you get to pile on the butter.  If you were at a fast food place and smothering your fries in melted butter, people would relentlessly harass you.  But when it's mashed potatoes, people will praise you.

Pasta
Amy: Rigatoni al Ragu ' di Carne (Rigatoni tube pasta with a traditional meat ragu sauce) from Bruno's. It's delightfully sinful with every bite.

Kerry: Gnocchi di Patate with tomato sauce at Gilardi's.  It's potato! It's pasta! It's both! And it's good. The times I've had it, I've been pretty full from overordering the restaurant's delicious appetizers. As a result, I've enjoyed a good deal of gnocchi leftovers. It's heaven-from-a-takeout-box at 9 a.m. ... with a violent hangover.

Thomas: Lasagna from Avanzare. If Americans didn't originally come up with this dish, we would have eventually. How can I eat seconds and thirds without looking like a barbarian?  Answer: layering. It's delicious pasta, cheese (sometimes 4 kinds) and meat piled on top of one another, covered in sauce and sprinkled with even MORE cheese.  "How many layers," you ask?  Your imagination (or your 9- by 13-inch pan) is the limit.

Soup
Kerry: This is a tough one but I have to declare a tie between two soups at the same restaurant: the Tomato Bisque and the Chicken Tortilla soup from St. Michael's. I had the Tortilla soup for the first time on a wretchedly hot day and yet, I could not get enough. Conversely, I tried the Tomato for the first time on a horrifically cold day. The results were the same — could not get enough. Salad is not traditionally a "comfort food" but theirs, with the seeds and the gorgonzola and the house balsamic vinaigrette, pairs perfectly with the soups and some of that soft, doughy bread they serve.

Sweets
Laura: Does the Mudhouse's warm cranberry walnut muffin count as comfort food? If not, it should. It makes me feel good about eating carbs.

Kerry and Amy: Say it with us now — the peanut butter brownie from Tea Bar and Bites. This thing seems to surface a lot when we're talking about must-have foods around town but once you try it, you'll know why. It's absurdly good.