Moving on to Galena, IL - Embe Eatery & Lounge

 I moved to Galena full-time in January 2020... well, we all know what happened to 2020! As well as getting to know my new home,  working from home for the first time, and surviving my first winter in NW Illinois - COVID. Covid really made trying to get started as a restaurant reviewer pretty impossible. 

Now my second NW Illinois winter is nearly over, state-imposed Covid mitigations are reduced, and things are looking up in lots of ways!

This week it warmed up to the thirties and forties and I am getting out in the sun as much as possible. I had some items to deliver downtown tonight then said, "Let's go walk up and down Main Street!" My husband (Craig) agreed and it was glorious! No crowds - which is bad for business revenues but good for my nerves - a beautiful & sunny late afternoon, and nowhere to be except exactly where we wanted. 

We parked at the south end of Main Street and started walking north. It was a great walk in every way. We turned around and came back and as we neared our parking spot a chalk-written sign touted mushroom soup with sun-dried tomatoes... Craig is a fan of mushrooms in general. It lured us into Embe, in spite of the chicken at home thawed and waiting to be worked into a stir-fry. There was only one other table with a couple that was filled, the server/bartender was well-masked, tables were well-spaced and we decided to give it a go!  

You can find Embe's here. We both chose sandwiches and chips in addition to Craig's cup of soup. Craig had the Cuban on white, which surprised me by NOT being a pressed sandwich, but served on a nice white Kaiser roll. He declared the pork "just right." I had the Dave with the ham option, as opposed to roast beef, pork, chicken, or turkey, with melted Swiss cheese and a homemade Caesar pesto. It was so good! Thin sliced ham stacked high and a whole wheat Kaiser roll.  The sandwiches were large enough that they needed to be sliced in half to handle them well. I didn't even finish mine, despite trying to go with just the filling and leave the bread behind after a certain amount. We both chose the chips option for a side, and there is also cottage cheese or coleslaw available. The chips were bags of Maui Sweet Onion Kettle Chips, and were really crunchy and good. Craig also declared the soup delicious!

I asked for the Wi-Fi password which was something like "have the bread pudding for dessert," not the real thing, I'm not telling secrets! I said, "Good suggestive selling!" and we did! The bread pudding was warm, soft and sweet, and topped with whipped cream; SO SO good. I actually started by asking for the sauce on the side, afraid a "rum sauce" would taste too boozy to me. In the end I asked her to go ahead with the sauce and I am so glad I did! Just as we finished the place started to fill a little more with folks who were ready for a drink from the full bar and dinner. 

I general, when I do a review I try to get pictures of the food, check the location for accessibility, make sure there are clean and accessible restrooms, and a few other things that I am not including in this impromptu review. I promise to go back to Embe Eatery & Lounge and check all those things and report.  Maybe also a taste for one of their "candy bar" martinis!You know what? I won't mind doing that at all! Embe's, we'll be back! 

Any of you Galena residents - what do the HOPE signs posted downtown mean? I'm guessing something to do with Covid, but I can't help but feel personally welcomed! Thank you!