Long ago, a certain South Side guy would do just about anything to woo a particular blond with a master's degree and pretty blue eyes.
He'd make up excuses to ditch his Budweiser-drinking pals at Kilroys in Lansing just to spend a few hours with her sipping mochas, making small talk and playing Scrabble at Uncommon Ground at Clark and Grace.
Chasing the blond of course was a complete waste of time. The only good that came of it was being introduced to the city's vibrant coffee shop culture -- easily missed from his south suburban barstool.
When you talk about grabbing a coffee these days, people usually think Starbucks or maybe some other chain that offers a quick caffeine fix. But it's the little coffeehouses all over town -- places like Humboldt Pie Cafe, Uncommon Ground, Cafe Luna and MoJoe's -- that you really feel the pulse of a neighborhood without feeling rushed.
Mark Konkol covers city neighborhoods for the 
