Week 18: Old Brooklyn (Not New York)

Ever notice how many towns are called, 'New _________,' probably named after the town in Europe that the settlers came from? Well, during Week 18 of New Things in 2019, I ventured to Old Brooklyn. I have no idea how it came to be called that, but it is located in an older section of Cleveland. Most people go there to visit the zoo, but my friend and I decided to take a little field trip to visit some unique places that neither of us had been.

Our first stop was Brookside Reservation, part of the Cleveland Metroparks. We timed it perfectly, as the Japanese cherry blossom trees were blooming. This is called Blossom Lane. I only knew about it from following the metroparks's facebook page. Facebook was finally good for something! We walked around the park a little more, but there wasn't much else to see besides ball fields.

Next stop: Old Brooklyn Cheese Company. I've been wanting to check this place out for a few years, since it opened.

It's located in an old brick building and sells all local products, such as pickles, mustard, crackers, and anything else you might eat with cheese. I bought a jar of lemon pomegranate jam that tastes just like pink lemonade. They had sample jars for us to try with crackers before we purchased. My friend bought strawberry basil jam.

But the best part was the cheese!!!!! I could not believe how much cheese we tried. And it wasn't cubes of cheese that had been sitting out all day. You pointed to a cheese you wanted to try and they would hand slice a sliver for you. I started to feel guilty trying so many, knowing that I couldn't possibly buy that much cheese, but the very friendly employee assured us that they want to educate people about cheese. I purchased a buttery cheese that tasted like popcorn and a cheese that was infused with a local chocolate/coffee porter. Delicious!

Next stop was another place we'd heard about for a few years: Lilly's Handmade Chocolates. As you can see from the display case, it's chocolate heaven. Not a ton of samples, but I did get to try a chunk of pistachio/cranberry chocolate and a chocolate covered cherry. It's pricey, being handmade, and most pieces were between $2 - $3.50. I bought 4 pieces that my husband and I cut in half to try. The best one had a coconut filling in dark chocolate (similar to a Reese's cup) and topped with toasted coconut.

I also bought this bag of pecans. OMG, they are FABULOUS! Dark chocolate, booze and nuts . . . can't go wrong with that combo! Two women run the business and the one that helped us that day was just as jovial as you would imagine a chocolatier to be!

Our last stop of the day was Metropolitan Coffee.

 

I treated myself to a chai latte. This was the view from the sofa where we sat. It had a very neat vibe and I hope to introduce the place to some other friends. A great day of trying new places!