Food: Gainesville, Night Owl Edition

After the witching hour (that is, midnight), you have limited choices if you want a decent cup of coffee or a place to sit and relax if you're in Gainesville. Sure, there are always the bars, but it's not exactly an ideal location to read or work on your laptop if you're burning the midnight oil away from home. There's also the University itself (specifically the Reitz Union, which is open all night), but given that when I'm off-campus I'm invariably carrying, all of the preceding is pretty much out of the question.

One place is Mi Apa Latin Cafe. During the day, it serves run-of-the-mill Cuban food, but the drive-through and to-go counter are open until 3 AM, and though the inside dining room is closed, you can dine outside on the patio. They make a ridiculously strong cafe con leche - not the best I've ever had, but well worth the $2.65 for a large size. If you're not a coffee junkie, you'll be up all night with the jitters. There's also food available, too.

Another hangout I frequent is Whataburger. Again, the food is no great shakes, but since the air-conditioned dining room is open 24/7 (a rarity, even among fast food restaurants), it can be a nice place to go in the wee hours. I'd go for a standard Whataburger here - their pastries and breakfast stuff aren't very good.

The final option is something like Denny's, which has become very popular among the UF club and bar crowd. A filling breakfast at 2AM somehow makes you sleep better, at least in my experience. One problem is the service, which can be very slow at such late times. Thus, it's best to bring a bunch of friends with ya.