A Long Weekend at Joanns Bar And Grill
Joanns is a very popular family-owned restaurant in South Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. It has an old fashioned comfort charm, yet it also features some of the most innovative technology available today. I was there on 4th of July and it started off with a bang as soon as the music started.
Just moments before we walked in, a huge explosion happened right next to us. As it occurred, a blast of hot air resulted in a massive fire. As my husband frantically dived into the crowd to help a woman who had been struck by one of the fireworks (she thankfully recovered), my son suddenly yelled “MOVE!” Immediately, everyone started yelling and rushing out of the restaurant, which quickly became crowded.
My mother, my sister and I were all seated at the bar area, which faces the street. A man wearing a red cap and a white shirt approached us and asked for our names and phone numbers. He introduced himself as Bill. He invited us to try out his restaurant. I was really excited as I thought it would be fun to see what all the fuss was about. I could already picture the lively crowd at Joanns that night – lots of screaming kids, sizzle of hot dogs and hamburgers and lots of free Fourth of July fireworks.
We were all invited to try out the food first, since Bill was the owner and chef. His food looked excellent, but we were not able to eat much because of the strong pungent odor from the peppers. The place was also fairly crowded, so we all ordered burgers and hot dogs. The waitress brought out our food after we finished our burgers. I couldn’t believe how good the food was. It reminded me of the Cedar Beach Drive-In (still one of the best!)
While my stomach was hurting, my eyes were wide open – excited beyond belief! The band was fantastic – in my opinion. The music was just like the ones at Myrtle Beach, although not nearly as exciting. What I do know is that the band was great and I enjoyed every moment of it. After that, everything got kind of quiet for a while and things just started to mellow out a bit. That’s when I noticed that Bill was really enjoying himself again – he had a great accent and it was really fun seeing him and everyone else having such a good time.
The fireworks were spectacular. Everyone around me could clearly see how beautiful they were. There were just a few that I particularly remember. The Fireworks Show that night was spectacular! When I think back on that night, I really think that my favorite part of that whole event was watching the hundreds of thousands of fireworks illuminating the sky! I’ll never forget that experience.