Farsighted Fly Girl

Next week, I'm off to the orchards and vineyards of the "Garden of Quebec," as Monteregie is called. Located just southeast of Montreal and filled with natural and gourmet delights, Montergerie is noted for wine, ice cider and tantalizing regional restaurants. My media tour includes visits to five vineyards, three cidreries, one chocolatier and one cheese maker so expect lots of dish sampling, cider sipping and wine tasting posts.  I'm also excited about biking along the St. Lawrence River, visiting a butterfly orchard and learning about the region's 18th century history. So stayed tuned for my exploration of Quebecois culinary culture.

It's a cute idea. Gourmet hot dogs add a little style to this basic fast food and Chicago boasts quite a few eateries offering their take. Frank N' Dawgs ' adventurous menu intrigued me the most. Smoked tofu? Scallop sausage? Kimchi?  These aren't your typical hot dog ingredients and I was fascinated to discover if they actually  tasted good. So I headed to Frank N Dawgs with my skeptical hubby. I laughed at this sign that greeted us, above. In case we didn't know, there'd be no typical dogs with peppers and relish here. Who can think about humdrum dishes when there's triple truffle fries?  Slathered in truffle butter, truffle oil and truffle salt, we almost forgot about the hot dogs as we (mostly hubby) gobbled them down. I opted for fried green tomatoes to accompany my dog. I liked the idea of crunchy, cornmeal covered tomatoes to offset the heaviness of the dog but the cornmeal didn't quite stick to the tomatoes. So I ended up eati...

It happens to me all of the time, especially when traveling.  I'm scrambling to catch a flight, my hands are filled with my carry on, blanket and purse when my phone rings. Lots of fumbling and dropping of stuff usually follows before I can grasp my phone. It never occurred to me that there might be a solution to this not-enough-hands quandary until I was contacted to check out Flygrip . I'm not typically a huge gadget fan but the name alone intrigued me--Fly girl using Flygrip! Cute name aside, I was interested in how this accessory would make traveling and multitasking easier. The colorful clip attaches to smart phones, e-books and tablets with detachable adhesive strips. Secured to your hand, the device allows you to text, read, tweet or take photos without worrying about dropping your phone. Flygrip clips your phone to your fingers so that you still have your thumb and other hand free. I tried it out during a walking tour of Chicago's Gold ...