120 S. Broadway
Lebanon, OH 45036
513.932.1990
website
There are so many little shops to visit in pleasant, historic downtown Lebanon, Ohio. Many of them are little eateries or local attractions that have been in business forever, drawing in plenty of curious people traveling between Cincinnati and Dayton. The Golden Turtle is certainly one of the more popular. The entire county knows this place for its wonderful chocolate confections, especially truffles and candies. But who are we kidding, despite will dip just about anything and chocolate and the results are some really creative and interesting confections that tend to bring people back time and time again.
The menu is overwhelmingly creative, and you can’t ignore the chocolates while you were here.
- Chocolate Truffles: These are an absolute must for your first experience getting something to eat here; not the least of which because there are so many flavors. There’s a mint option with a sweet coolness to it; a raspberry option with that deep and fruity flavor; a nutty hazelnut variety. White chocolate. A box of a dozen will bring you back.
- Chocolate turtles: These caramel and nut confections are popular everywhere, but especially so in a place like this, where a small box of them is a popular memento.
- Chocolate honeycomb: Hidden gem, one of my personal favorites because it relies on that nice, crunchy sweet honey and a satisfying snap when you bite in.
- Chocolate covered pretzels: Double dipped in either light or dark chocolate. This has always been awesome; the salty pretzel heightens the palette a little and makes it rock.
- Caramel thins: Little caramel wafers are the local take on salted caramel. Love it.
It feels like nice fine chocolates thrive in small-town America as the cities go to other newer and sometimes garish desserts. So being able to associate a small town shop like this one with a peaceful, comfortable hamlet like Lebanon is absolutely a boost to the feeling of the place, and to the chocolates too.
This little shop is charming in a special kind of way. Not pretentious. Old-fashioned and very community focused. It’s a genuinely charming place. And if the ambiance wasn’t nice enough, it’ll be the chocolates that bring you back. That’s just the way it should be.
Recommendations
- Most of the chocolates come in prepackaged boxes, and are ideal gifts.
- The truffles are absolutely a must to try first.
- You can buy chocolates piecemeal too, which I recommend if you’re adventurous because there’s such a wonderful variety here.
Another Food Critic 