#makesmesmilemondays An afternoon date with my son, in our neighborhood #LoganSquare

On Saturday, I was car-less and daughter-less, so I grabbed my favorite 11-year-old son and we hit the streets of our neighborhood for an afternoon date.

I wanted to check out the wood-fired bagels at Reno - but I was also cash-less and ATM card-less, so I tried to convince Daniel to agree to lula cafe even though his lunch vote, as always, was for Johnny's Grill. Well, Daniel was in luck as there was a 45 minute wait for lula, so we headed back next door and took a counter seat at Daniel's favorite, Johnny's Grill. 

Johnny's Grill was appropriately featured in an Edward Hopper
retrospective at the Art Institute ad campaign

I always feel like I'm stepping back in time when I step into Johnny's Grill. We love sitting at the counter and watching as our food is prepared on the griddle. I love the homemade hashbrowns and omelets here; Daniel loves the chocolate chip pancakes, which he ordered, for lunch, with a side of bacon and hashbrowns (pretty much Daniel's idea of a perfect lunch). 

Then we walked over to the newly restored Logan Theatre, where a 2pm screening of Argo cost $10 for the both of us. I went into Argo clueless - I had no idea really what the movie was about - and left speechless. Based on the Canadian Caper that took place during the Iran hostage crisis, Argo kept me on the edge of my seat. Daniel enjoyed it, too, and we discussed the movie our entire walk home. (It's rated R, for language and violence related to war/terrorism, but I felt that my son could handle it).

On our way home, I wanted to stop at our newest independent bookstore, but we ducked into our local library instead.

The Logan Theatre

It was appropriate that I caught an article on twitter that same day about the resurgence of Logan Square. It's true - there is so much to see and do in Logan Square, with everything in walking distance and lots of affordable options, too (My afternoon date with Daniel cost less than $25, including lunch and a movie). If you haven't yet ventured out to our neck of the woods, check it out!