The Beanhive

Over the weekend we found ourselves in Galesburg and I was looking for Kaldi's Coffeehouse on East Simmons Street, but instead I found The Beanhive, which used to be called Kaldi's.
The coffee shop had several customers sitting at tables or in comfy chairs visiting and enjoying coffee and the shelves were lined with Leaves N Beans coffee beans, roasted in Peoria Heights.
In addition to coffee The Bean Hive offers sandwiches including a vegetarian option, cookies and smoothies. They also host live music events.
My husband ordered a latte with an extra shot of espresso and was informed that for the same price he could have a triple shot, which he was all over.

Vintages Tasting Room & Wine Garden

A couple of weeks ago we visited Galesburg's Seminary Street, and wandered into Vintages Tasting Room & Wine Garden.
There were a couple of people at the tasting bar sampling wines, and as I looked past them, I remembered the quaint back room complete with bistro tables and chairs from the last time I had been in.
The tasters soon moved aside, so my friend C and I stepped up to sample the wares.
She is more of a sweet wine drinker, and even told our hostess she wanted something "syrupy sweet", which made the lady chuckle. I went straight for the reds.
First I sampled the 2005 Castillo De Fuendejalon Crianza. It was not the oaky wine I normally prefer, but it was nice.
The wine samples were poured through an aerator, which we had never seen used before, and there were crispy cracker bites on the counter to cleanse the palate between samples.
The hostess suggested I try the 2008 Dornfelder sweet red wine. I hesitated, not being a huge fan of German reds, but went for it, and was pleasantly surprised. I figured I needed to grab a bottle of that to put away for our annual fall German party. Plus, I need to get in the German mode for our upcoming trip.
C decided to try it too and liked it.
I gave my husband a ring, who was down the street at the pub with C's man and told him about the samplings. They popped over and he agreed about the Dornfelder, but also wanted a bottle of the Castillo, so I took both to the counter. Taking notice of the sign that asked for payment via check or cash if possible vs. credit cards, I broke out the rusty checkbook to help a local biz.
The wines were both in the $12.99-$14.99 price range.

Kaldi's Coffeehouse & Tearoom

I spent many years visiting Galesburg, both for work and pleasure, and never knew about a little gem called Kaldi's Coffeehouse & Tearoom.
Located at 124 E. Simmons Street, Kaldi's was brought to my attention by a lady who used to work at the Register-Mail. She informed me that the shop was right behind the newspaper, and that there were wonderful ginger cookies to be had there.
We made it in on a recent weekend, to find a cozy, casual, hip hangout fairly full of patrons on a late Saturday afternoon. StfRon and I ordered our coffees, then perused the pastry selection. I scored by finding a ginger cookie, which I'd been thinking about for many months since I'd heard about it, and StfRon went with a brownie topped with goodies.
We sat down to enjoy the free WiFi for a minute, and to sample our treats.
My ginger cookie was crumbly and delicious, with a subtle ginger flavor, and StfRon's brownie had a layer of white mint near the top, which gave it a York peppermint patty cool mint sensation.
Spending a short hour in Galesburg made me realize how much I miss it, and I made a personal vow to visit every few months from now on. This is a town that respects historical buildings, and has a lot of unique businesses, and it's not far from home.

Landmark Café & Creperie

I had an event to attend in Monmouth this weekend, so I took advantage of the drive and stopped for some shopping in Galesburg.
My event provided lunch, but when I drove by the Landmark Café & Creperie on Seminary Street in Galesburg, I felt a sense of loss at having not been able to eat there this time.
I have enjoyed lunch at the Landmark dozens of times over the years while doing some work in town. The owner, Phil, has always made me feel welcome as a lone diner, and I've never felt out of place in this quaint restaurant.
I have enjoyed looking at the antique toys and trinkets arranged near the ceiling along the back wall.
And I've always enjoyed the food. The Landmark, serving Galesburg for almost 30 years, offers several meal and dessert crepes, in addition to great soups, sandwiches, hummus, roasted garlic and a featured quiche and coffee each day.
I have tried the tuna crepe, which was actually quite good. My typical meal is the Healthy sandwich with a cup of spinach bisque, the Landmark's signature soup. I'm always thrilled when the viennese with cinnamon is the coffee of the day, but the cherry coke is a great second. They make it themselves with cherry syrup and top it with a cherry.
You can also order bean or ground coffee to take and enjoy at home.
Even better, on a nice day, you can enjoy your meal on their brick patio swimming with ivy and potted plants.
On the rare occasion when I have room, or occasion for dessert, the crepes cannot be beat. These are big enough to share, or you can get a half order. They even have a turtle crepe. Mmm.
I certainly miss my once or twice a month visits to Galesburg, and the Landmark is one of the places that tops my list.

Galesburg Antique Mall

I've enjoyed shopping in Galesburg for probably 12 years or more. The Seminary Street area is so quaint and full of unique stuff, and it's only gotten better over the years.
I remember the Galesburg Antique Mall, on the corner of E. Main Street, this beautiful red building with the copper turret-like corner, from years ago. I would make my way to the upper floor and stand in the turret and daydream of having the whole floor as my personal apartment.
The mall is full of great furniture, antique silver, collectibles, garden accents and much more.
You can easily spend an hour browsing in this historic building.

Farmer's Markets

We're coming into that great time of year where farmer's markets are having their heyday. There are many, many local farmers offering locally grown produce, even some grown without the use of pesticides.
The farmer's market at Peoria's Metro Centre is celebrating 30 years in operation. With about 15 farmers participating here, there is a wide selection of fresh produce and flowers. They operate Monday-Saturday from 8 a.m. until sold out. The kick-off this year is June 1, and, as reporter by the Journal Star, if you're one of the first 1,000 people, you could receive a tote bag to use to cart your goodies around.
Want something closer to Kickapoo or Dunlap, or not a morning person? The Shoppes at Grand Prairie is starting a farmer's market June 6, which will run Wednesdays from 4-8 p.m. They plan to have about 18 farmers and local music as well as cooking demonstrations.
Galesburg has a farmer's market near Main St., operating from 8 a.m.-noon on Saturdays.
Pekin's farmer's market operates downtown on Capital St. Thursdays from 4:30-6:30 p.m. with about 20 vendors. This market starts mid-July.
The popular Peoria Riverfront Market is back in gear starting June 2. In addition to all of the locally grown produce and flowers, there are several artists with booths here, and live music. I also love to pick up some bread from Peoria Bread Company. The market runs Saturdays from 8 a.m.-noon.
With all of this great fresh produce available, why would you want to pick up your produce at the local chain grocery or big box store? Who knows how long and how far that turnip traveled on a truck before it found you?
Now, if we could just get Washington to start a farmer's market!

Uncle Billy's Bakery

Yet another wonderful place in Galesburg is Uncle Billy's Bakery, 83 S. Seminary Street. They ground flour on the premises and everything is made from scratch, from whole-grain breads to cookies, muffins, cakes and pies. They also serve coffee and tea to accompany your treats. I stopped in there recently and saw that they had oatmeal fudgies, one of my favorites. But there was a new addition, white chocolate fudgies. I had to try one, and I think I have a new favorite! My favorite non-bar cookie from the shop is a cocoa oatmeal cookie. I also picked up a loaf of cheddar herb bread, which is made with organic flour. The bread is wonderful when toasted and used for a sandwich.

Blue MoonLight Drive-In

The former Galesburg Drive-In was reopened in 2005 as the Blue MoonLight Drive-In, 2875 West Main St.

If you don't remember drive-in theaters from your youth, that's a sad thing. The good news is, there seems to be a resurgence in drive-ins. This one takes the cake, serving such delights as tortilla pizzas, tex-mex and pizza paninis, subs, homemade ice cream sandwiches, and, of course, popcorn.

There's nothing quite like watching a movie at a drive-in. It truly says summer!

Innkeeper's Coffee

Now for a great place a bit outside of the immediate Peoria area, Innkeeper's Coffee, located at 80 N. Seminary Street in Galesburg.
If you have not been to Innkeeper's Coffee since they moved to their new location (or ever) you are way overdue. The new location is stunning and unexpected in this town (not to say that Galesburg isn't great). They have fabulous, beautiful chocolates, great coffees (roasted in their shop) tea and wonderful baked goods.
When we sampled an apricot brandy white chocolate pastry, we were in heaven. Seminary Street in Galesburg is a great place to take advantage of unique local businesses, and you can top off your day with a visit to Innkeepers, a real treasure. Visit them online, and you can even order coffee and tea from their store: http://www.innkeepers-coffee.com/

6/20/06 - a recent trip to Innkeeper's revealed lunch choices. I tried the trio salad, with mixed greens, tomatoes, feta, swiss cheese, spinach, some ham that was so juicy and mouth-wateringly salty and a scoop of potato salad made with apples. The whole salad was scrumptious!