A Trip North – a cheesebarn, Westside Market, “Big Fun” in Coventry and more
Posted by CMH Gourmand on September 27, 2007
I recently headed to the Greater Cleveland area for a social call. The weather was perfect and I had some spare time so some sumptuous culinary detours were incorporated into my journey.
For decades, the sign for Grandpas Cheesebarn on I 71 has taunted me. I never had time to stop to check the place out and I became convinced it was a tourist trap. Or so I told myself. It is at exit 186, near Ashtabula. The cheesebarn is a short 500 feet from the interstate so I figured I could drop in for a peek.
I loved it. Grandpa’s has all types of free samples of cheese as well as fudge, pickles, and other treats. They also serve sandwiches and such. They sell a vast array of trinkets and knicknacks. You should block out at least 30 minutes to look around and you might even want to grab lunch here. Grandpa’s has a wide variety of high quality cheese and other foodstuffs to purchase, so if you need a goumet gift on the fly – this is a good place to go.
The next stop was Westside Market in downtown Cleveland.
The Westside Market is an old school market with about 100 vendors selling cheese, produce, pierogies, fresh meats, baked goods, ethnic specialities from around the world, and all types of artisan foods. This a must visit for people that are even mildly interested in food.
Due to circumstances beyond my control, I ended up having a great Cambodian meal next door (instead of feasting on the goodies inside the market) at:
Phnom Penh
1929 West 25th St
216.357.2951
Wandering across the street, I discovered –
The Bier Market
1948 West 25th St.
216.344.9944
This bar serves a huge variety of Belgian and other hard to find beers. In October, a restaurant will open in this building with a chef returning from Michael Symon‘s venture into NYC – expect great food and great beer from here in the near future!
My next stop was in Coventry for a very rushed reunion tour of the culinary, toy, book, and antique treasures located on the main drag in this little burg. The two highlights were Big Fun for cool retro toys and Tommy’s for cool veggie friendly food. Tommy’s has the bonus of having a small book store connecting to it.
Big Fun
1827 Coventry Rd
216.371.4386
For more info on things to do in Coventry, check out –
And for Cleveland fun, it really does ROCK….still…
CMH Gourmand - Eating in Columbus & Ohio 
Columbus Foodie said
How funny – I was in Cleveland yesterday, went to the WSM – but saw both of the other places you mentioned (Grandpa’s Cheesebarn and Phnom Pehn) and wondered about them. Have you ever been to Gaelic Imports in Cleveland? Great stuff. We also hit Melt Bar and Grilled as well yesterday.