Ema in River North, Chicago

 Ema is a bright, pretty restaurant with light, Mediterranean-inspired food.  There are hot and cold mezze, spreads, salads, kebabs and seafood.  Everything on the menu looked really interesting.  We started with a refreshing pineapple soda.  It was about 90 degrees outside and 100% humidity, so this was a perfect alcohol-free starter.  (There are cocktails, wine and beer, also).

We started with the house-made labneh, which is a thick yogurt with fresh figs, honey and pine nuts.  We also had the charred eggplant spread.  Both were delicious and a good complement.  The eggplant was smoky and savory; the labneh was creamy and sweet.

We split a Greek salad to serve room for dessert.  With the salad and two spreads, we were full, but not stuffed.

Dessert was a honey cake.  It had a texture between a cheese cake and a pound cake.  It was sweet, but not overly sweet.  

It was a perfect meal for a hot evening.  The interior is very spacious and there is sidewalk space, as well.  There was a pleasant buzz of nicely dressed people enjoying an evening out.  Excellent place!