Adventures at the Taste!

Kate, her husband and I decided to go to the Taste of Cincinnati last Monday for lunch. I'd been out of town all weekend, so I was excited to find time to squeeze in this annual tradition. I love going to the Taste because it's such a great and inexpensive (usually about $3-$5 per dish) opportunity to try out new restaurants as well as try new dishes from restaurants you've already had.

We went in with a few things on our "wish list" and added to it as we went along. We were all famished when we got there, so we decided to start with crab rangoons from Thai Taste, which is located in the Cheviot/Westwood area. These were okay - I mean it's hard to mess up anything fried with cream cheese in it - but I have definitely had better (from Bangkok Bistro in particular which Kate blogged about here). There was hardly any crab in them, and the bottoms were a little soggy from sitting in the sweet and sour sauce for too long. Hopefully they serve the sauce on the side at the actual restaurant because it really took away from the yummy, crunchy appetizer.

Next we tried a potato cake from Izzy's. We were torn on whether we should get the reuben or the potato cake - both are pretty legendary around the Cincinnati area. We agreed on a potato cake, which was probably a good call since a reuben may have been difficult to split between three people. It turned out to be a good choice...it was very tasty. Crispy on the outside, with a warm potato filling. I found myself eating around the edges because it was the crispiest part. See the brown edges in the photo?! Yum!

Next up we tried a Cincinnati Roll from Kyojin. This is a sushi buffet located near Fields Ertel. The Cincinnati Roll consists of spicy crab, avacado, masogo, spicy mayo, eel sauce and sesame oil. I thought this was pretty good. It was nice and light after all the fried food we started with. The roll itself was quite large and a little hard to eat in one bite, but it was pretty good and did intrigue me to try the restaurant. 

Winner of Best Entree at the Taste, the Jameson Burger from Claddagh Irish Pub was the fourth thing we tried. This was my least favorite thing. It may have had something to do with the fact that it was smothered in onions, which I hate (but removed), but Ross also didn't like this burger and he really likes onions. Kate liked it...so we really had mixed reviews. It was named Best Entree, so somebody must have really liked it!

We noticed quite a line forming at Bella Luna - probably since they had 3 winning dishes from the "Best of Taste" awards...prime rib cannelloni, lobster ravioli, and bread pudding. We decided to get in line and see what all the hype was about. We ordered the lobser ravioli and were told it was the last one of the day! We were just in time...and it was only 1 p.m.! There were going to be a lot of disappointed people after us; however I truly don't think they're missing anything. We all three agreed that this was just okay. Nothing special. The cream sauce that the ravioli was served in was a little gross to be eating outside on a 94 degree day, and there was hardly any lobster. Not something I would have awarded Best Seafood Entree - but I wasn't judging.

Kate and I had picked out just about everything else we tried, so we let Ross make the next selection. After reviewing the brochure with all our options, he decided on the Chipotle Chicken Wings from Rusty Bucket. These had an excellent flavor! They were smothered in a sweet and very spicy sauce. It was just the right amount of spice though. I hate when things are so spicy that you can't even enjoy the flavor. My only complaint is that I would have preferred a wing..I don't really like the legs, but it was still tasty.

Finalllly, after stuffing our faces for about an hour, we decided to wrap up with the Raspberry Cloud Pie from Courtyard Cafe. This was my favorite dish overall. Maybe because it was cold...and outside it was stifling hot. This was the perfect treat to end on and cool down with. This won Best Dessert last year, and they ran out before Kate could try it. This was on her "wish list" before we even got there.

Taste of Cincinnati is such a great event. There's live music, drinks and great food from all over the city. If you've never been before, I would highly recommend going next year! It's always held on Memorial Day weekend, so mark you calendars!

~Kris