Taste of Cincinnati, America’s longest-running culinary festival, returns this weekend. I had the honor to judge the competition this year, and tried a whopping 62 dishes in the process.
If you don’t want to read about everything I tried on day 1 and day 2 of judging, here’s my personal picks for the top five booths that are not to be missed. You can also check out the list of the overall winners by clicking here.
Of note: I live in Over-the-Rhine and work in Covington, so my votes are a bit skewed. Plenty of great booths and food trucks at Taste—like Mazunte, Jay’s Nyam and Jam, or silver medal winner Chino’s Street Food, for example—are places I can (and do) eat at regularly, so I focused specifically on items that aren’t available in Cincinnati’s urban core; if you don’t live near the city, your level of experience may differ. And regardless of what I choose here, just about everything at the festival is worth your time. Make sure to explore on your own!
Walkerbar Bakery, Findlay Market zone
Walkerbar’s “Aley Monster” ice cream was one of the best things I’ve eaten all year. Jordan Starks, founder, CEO and head chef at Walkerbar, has been making a name for herself for some time now with her small-batch ice cream delights.
This flavor, a “quadruple cookie” flavor named for her brother, was no exception. A chocolate chip cookie ice cream base filled with cookie pie crust, frozen bits of cookie dough, and chewy chunks of actual chocolate chip cookies came together for an ice cream flavor that I’m still salivating over two weeks later.
My fellow judges seemed to agree with me, too, as the ice cream took home the gold for Best Dessert—an honor that Starks has already won once prior for her “Judgy Jenn” flavor, which was made of baked brie, ginger pecan praline, fig jam and salted honey swirl. Whatever Walkerbar ends up serving at Taste of Cincinnati this year, it’ll be worth trying.
Sawasdee Thai Cuisine & Sushi, Findlay Market zone
The amount of food you’ll get at this booth is frankly ridiculous. While my fellow judges didn’t agree with me, I ranked Sawasdee’s Chicken Massaman Curry at #2 in the entree category, which sports a giant drumstick in curry rice and vegetables for literally $10. Everyone, however, was in agreement that their mango sticky rice was one of the best desserts of the day, coming in at second place. They’ll also have potstickers and a papaya shake available at the festival, and while I haven’t tried those two items, I’d be willing to bet that they’re pretty darn good.
Alfio’s Buon Cibo, restaurant zone
Alfio’s was a universal favorite from everybody I talked to. Their short rib penne—slow-braised meat over penne tossed in a mushroom, cheese and truffle spinach sauce—took home the gold for Best Entree, while their Korean BBQ empanada won a silver medal for Best Appetizer. Needless to say, this is a necessary stop on your journey through Taste of Cincinnati.
Fusako, food truck zone
Fusako has literally never disappointed me once. I’ve already praised their food multiple times in the pages of CityBeat, whether it be for their “Sexy Hash” at Asian Food Fest or for the Street Corn Gyoza, which won the gold medal at Taste this year in the “Best Snack” category. (I also ranked it #1.) But my favorite item at Fusako is the Katsu Curry Coney, a mainstay on their menu that serves as an homage to Skyline, Gold Star and the like. It takes your average coney and piles it up with a chili-flavored curry, pickled ginger, sesame, green onion and (of course) a giant mound of shredded cheese. Guarantee you’ve never had Cincinnati chili like this before.
Mama Afrique Nigerian Cuisine, food truck zone
Looking back, the the braised oxtail over smoky jollof rice from Mama Afrique is probably one of the best—if not THE best—items I had during the entire judging process. (It ended up winning the bronze in the entree category.) After how good the oxtail was, I’m excited to try their take on puff puff, a West African street food similar to a doughnut hole with a crispy exterior, and suya—meat skewers dusted with yaji, a peanut-forward spice rub. They’ve also got jerk chicken on the menu, too. I know where I’m going first at Taste of Cincinnati. The only question left is what to order.
