Chicago may have been known as the Hog Butcher to the World (really!) in the 19th century, but today it is known for wonderful food of all kinds.

Chicago has climbed the food destination latter for food travelers faster in the past 10 years than any city outside of the country of Spain. While it may still trail NYC, New Orleans and San Fran in the US, it is certainly a trip worth making.

Here are 3 “Low Brow” Reasons Chicago is Foodie Heaven

1. The Hamburger at Mindy’s HotChocolate

That’s all it’s called, “Hamburger.” No fancy-pants name for this killer up-scale burger served at one of the best pastry shops in the Windy City.

Mindy starts with about 7 ounces of Heartland Farms beef (ground at the restaurant everyday) and adds aged Cheddar Cheese and crisp Bacon. So simple – but, oh so good.

Even the bun deserves a mention here (what would you expect from one of the best pastry chefs but perfection?) It is a house-made garlic dream.

And where else can you finish your lunch off with world-class pastries? Highly recommended.

Mindy’s HotChocolate is at 1747 N. Damen Ave and the Hamburger is $13

40-Day-Aged Prime Burger at David Burke’s Primehouse

Supposedly, David ages his beef in a room of Himalayan salt tiles. Not sure if this is true but I have no reason to doubt him. Especially when the burger is this good.

He takes 10 ounces of his aged beef and puts in inside a potato bun with garlic spinach (!), bacon mayo and roasted shallots.

It’s sounds crazy, but it works.

David Burke’s Primehouse is located inside The James at 616 Rush St. and the Burger is a very reasonable $12

3. Cortland Street Burger at Cortland’s Garage

Don’t worry if you have never heard of this place – even if you are from Chicago. It’s a little bar off a side-street near Wicker Park just off of the Kennedy.

But with burgers this good, I don’t think it will stay unknown for very long.

Chef Jim August takes pure Angus Beef and adds applewood-smoked bacon, fried onion strings, fresh avocado and white cheddar cheese to make a burger that is weird and familiar all in the same bite. Every last bite.

Head up north tonight and see what I mean.

Cortland’s Garage is at 1645 W. Cortland St. and the Cortland Street Burger is $11

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Sure, in any world-class city, especially one the size of Chicago, you can pretty much get any food or cuisine you desire.

Chinese? Please, give me something difficult.

Brazilian? Fogo de Chao. Next.

Ecuadorian? La Humita.

The trick is not finding a particular food in a restaurant — it’s finding a restaurant that does the food justice. One that would be right at home in the culture or country.

One where the expats and recent arrivals eat.

That’s the trick.

Being from the South, I know Southern American Cooking. Heck, I grew up on Southern Cooking.

So allow me to give you 3 places to try that I think nail it cold.

Army & Lou’s

Deep-fried catfish is always in season at Army & Lou’s — and you don’t get much more Southern than fired catfish with coleslaw and cornmeal muffins. Luckily, all three are always available and always delicious.

The fried chicken ain’t half bad either if you are in the mood. Crank it up with some sweet tators and corn bread dressing. I usually skip the bean-of-the-day — but that’s just me. I’m sure they are killer too.

Finish with my favorite desert, bread pudding.

Find Army & Lou’s exactly where it has been for 50+ years — at 422 E. 75th.

Table Fifty-Two

A bit pricier than A&L’s, this may be upscale dining — but it’s still Southern all the way.

Apparently the chef is from Florida and used to be Oprah’s personal chef (if that’s true, she has good taste!)

Because this guy totally nails the taste of Old Florida. It’s getting harder and harder to find — in Florida! Get away from the resorts — away from the shore entirely and you’ll find joints selling buttermilk fried chicken, spicy low-country-style shrimp with grits and fried green tomatoes.

Which is exactly what you will also find at Table Fifty-Two.

Skip the wines. They are not authentic and very expensive.

Visit low-country Florida in the Windy City at 52 W. Elm.

Wishbone

This is Southern comfort food at it’s best — and most reasonably priced. Golden corn cakes, cheesey grits and shrimp, juicy grilled chicken (with mango salsa — okay, it’s not ALL authentic), crab and crayfish.

Also don’t miss the pecan topped mashed sweet potatoes. Unless I am there and there is only one last helping.

Desserts include my weakness, peach cobbler, and chocolate pecan pie.

Drop in anytime to Wishbone at 6611 W. Roosevelt, Berwyn

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Do you know how helpful a wireless door alarm is? Indeed, it is one important element that can ensure protection at home. Why? It is because it serves to give the owner caution each time there are intruders in the premises. So if ever burglars are eyeing to get through your home, you are secured. Bear in mind how frequent the prevalence of home breaking and entering is. Then again, aside from its element of security, door alarms have many other uses.

Everyday, more and more people are installing wireless door alarm. Not only has it proven to be of use at home, it can also be set up in small business areas, warehouses and farms. Those who make use of this alarm, has been provided security right where and when they need it.

Door alarms can be set up through quick and easy steps. You can do this by simply placing the transmitter adjacent to the doors and windows itself and once triggered, it may now provide you with the security you wanted. You can then be alerted for motions of unauthorized people. You need not worry because even if you are inside or away from home, you can be sure no unauthorized entries will take place.

Door alarms come in the form of noisemakers and audible silent signal deliverers. The silent signal is transmitted through a central dialer or control panel. Batteries serve as the main power of this alarm. Most often, they come in twos. One part is set in the door and the other part is in its frame so they come in contact directly. If the contact is severed through forced entries or even exits, th e alarm buzzes off a shrill, piercing sound.

Not only are door alarms used in residences, they have been placed in business stores, farms and even care giving units. It has been able to grant a proprietor calmness and security with regards to burglaries. If it happens that couriers and customers are at the premises, they can let the owner know by just the push of a button. Moreover, owners say that they felt secure during their business accountings.

In residential units, homeowners are given caution each time their child tries to go out of the premises. Every parent would naturally want to know everything their child is doing so they can keep an eye on them. And if ever the children attempt to go out, then they become aware of it.

If you are taking care of senile adults or patients with Alzheimer’s disease, door alarms can be of great help to you. The piercing that goes off has warned a lot of caregivers and has discouraged patients from further going outside certain vicinity.

The sound a wireless door alarm delivers is approximately at 120 decibels. It does not halt unless the alarm is disarmed or the door is sealed again. Such a piercing sound can be very unpleasant to the ears especially if a person is at the immediate vicinity of the alarm.

Even if you are meticulous when it comes to safety and security, the helpfulness a wireless door alarm offers is still incomparable. A lot of homes have benefited from it already. Most security providers highly suggest that you set up a door alarm in your abode for a sure protection.

Prior to purchasing just any wireless home alarm, make certain you already read helpful articles and reviews. This is to ensure that you get the most of wireless home alarms.

Okay, so how do you use a children’s allowance to the best effectiveness? I’m a parent and I know how kids nag and hassle you when you are in shops asking you to buy the latest toy or candy. A majority of the time I just give in and just buy what they want. Now I’m thinking, I’ve given my child a weekly allowance already, what has he done with it, and why am I buying the items he wants?

I decide to investigate a bit further into this situation. I then go and ask my son what he has spent on the children’s allowance that I give to him on a weekly basis? My son tells me he uses all his money on confectionary and chips everyday and by the time the weekend arrives, he has no more money to spend on.

I’ve only since recognize that I have been giving a kids allowance because I thought that was the right thing to do, but not knowing really the reason I kept on doing this. As I looked into it a bit more, I found that allowances for kids is supposed to be used to teach kids how money works and how to be responsible with it. I guess I’ve missed the mark here by not giving any guidance to my child what to do with the pocket money he is given at the beginning of each week.

I am now having weekly meetings at a dining table in regards to allowances for kids. On Mondays of each week, we create a weekly budget and allocate part of the money to saving and the other part to spending. I would highly suggest saving at least 10% of the pocket money in the bank.

Remember to always talk to your child about what they want to save up for so they have a goal in mind? If it’s something that takes about ten weeks to save on 10% of savings allocated, you can advise them that if they want the skateboard quicker, they can put more of their pocket money into their savings account in the bank.

You can try this technique with allowances for kids and you will soon see your child heading towards saving more of their money so they can reach the amount they are striving for. Once they have reached this, they will feel more confident of what they have achieved then if you had bought it for them instead.

Another strategy you could utilize is if they save $100 in their savings account, you’ll match them dollar for dollar when they reach this amount. It will give your child more incentive to save, rather than spend their money.

Try to make a children’s allowance fun so your kid will enjoy learning about saving, budgeting and even earning money later on. This will develop great money habits for the them which will benefit them greatly later on as their financial responsibility increases when they become a teenager, then later on in their adult life as well.

Teaching-Kids-About-Money.com have a lot of great resources. Kids Allowance Teaching kids should be a fun activity. Giving your child an allowance with help them learn how to be financially responsible.

Nowadays, many people tend to be very aggressive when it comes to practicality. However, they are not that mindful enough when using grocery coupons, as one of the best ways to save on their budget and have something to spend for the next grocery day. Typically, mothers are encouraging their children to save coupons as a way of teaching them at their early age on how to value their money. Consequently, it is but natural now for you to see bundles of various kinds of coupons in every corner of the house, particularly in the kitchen. But then, no matter how you try to keep everything well organized, you cannot avoid becoming messy. Thus, you should know on how to organize these coupons well.

Coupons are indeed very beneficial especially when there are a lot of things you may need to buy the next time you go to the grocery store. It is also useful and interesting to children because they can use them to buy food and other items for their break time snack in school. This is also an effective tool in learning to value things that can be handy in the future.

Organizing grocery coupons is quite easy. One way is by sorting them by category. For instance, if you have coupons for foods of different variety such as snacks, processed foods, fruits, drinks and so much more, segregate them according to each kind. Sub categorizing them will make it even easier to organize them well. This seems to be tricky but eventually, it would become second nature. It is even better if you give a definite task to your children, as it would be helpful for them to be trained in the art of home economics instead of merely playing computer games or watching television.

One easy way to organize the grocery coupons is by putting them in different envelopes that you should clearly mark as to the contents. Put these envelopes in a box in the kitchen, the obvious place for them, for ease of access. Put it in visible place so you would not forget those, next time you go out for your groceries.

You could also consider color-coding. For instance, use a blue marker to color an envelope blue for drinks, green for fruit and veggies and red for meat and poultry products. If you have sub categories within each envelope, then use paper clips to keep different types in some sort of order. The savings that can be made can add up to a reasonable amount of money which a lot of us don’t realize, so take full advantage of what is offered for free through using grocery coupons and keep them in order to maximize your savings.

Effie Keily is a mum who loves to shop with grocery coupons that she found online. Grocery coupons contain some different coupons that you can save when you go for grocery!