CINCINNATI — Taste of Cincinnati 2023 will take over the streets of downtown Cincinnati May 27 through May 29.
The festival, started in 1979, is the nation's longest running culinary arts festival and attracts over 500,000 people each year.
Like the last 44 years, Taste of Cincinnati will feature restaurants and food trucks from all around the Greater Cincinnati region; in 2022, more than 50 vendors signed up to participate, serving hungry patrons taste-sized portions of menu favorites.
Applications for vendors interested in participating in 2023 are being accepted now. In 2022, organizers received a record number of vendor applications, but pared festival participants down to 36 restaurants and 18 food trucks.
When visitors have eaten their fill, they'll be able to grab a seat and listen to live entertainment at any of the multiple stages stationed throughout the festival.
Taste of Cincinnati returned to Cincinnati streets last year, after the festival was forced to cancel two years in a row for the COVID-19 pandemic. Restaurants and food trucks cooked up food options ranging from street tacos and meatball subs to salmon nuggets and frozen cheesecake on a stick.
After it was all said and eaten, many restaurants went home with new titles, having been named "Best of Taste" in categories of appetizer, soup/salad/side, entrée or dessert.
Here are the "Best of Taste" winners from 2022:
Restaurant Gold:
- Soup/Salad/Side — YouYu (Hard Rock Casino) — Bulgogi French Fries
- Appetizer — Council Oak Steak and Seafood (Hard Rock Casino) — Wagyu Meatball
- Entree — Alfio's Buon Cibo — Veal Short Rib Ravioli Creamy Truffle Marsala Sauce
- Dessert — Pompilio's Restuarant — Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cannoli
Restaurant Silver:
- Soup/Salad/Side — Thai Express — Papaya Salad, Sticky Rich with/without Chicken
- Appetizer — Alfio's Buon Cibo — Korean Barbecue Pork Empanada
- Entree — Sweets & Meats BBQ — Smoked Pork Rib Tips
- Dessert — The Cheesecakery — Salted Caramel Truffle Cheesecake Cupcake
Restaurant Bronze:
- Soup/Salad/Side — Herban Vegans — Gumbolaya
- Appetizer — Sawasdee Thai Cuisine — Tod Mun
- Entree — Sweets & Meats BBQ — BBQ Slider & Side
- Dessert — Alfio's Buon Cibo — Chocolate Caramel Tiramisu
Food Truck Gold:
- Soup/Salad/Side — Texas Joe Tex Mex — Nopales & Calabaza Vegan or Vegetarian Bowl
- Appetizer — Dine-In Hawaiian — Fried Musubi
- Entree — Buffalo's Best — Chicken Wings
- Dessert — House Cafe and Catering — Cannoli French Toast
Food Truck Silver:
- Soup/Salad/Side - House Cafe and Catering — Truffle Mac & Cheese
- Appetizer — Wicked Hickory — Smoked Meat Nachos
- Entree — Off the Hook — Cod Nibbler
- Dessert — SugarSnap! — Salted Caramel Brownie Sundae
Food Truck Bronze:
- Soup/Salad/Side — Wicked Hickory — Dirty South Shot
- Appetizer — Off the Hook — Shrimp Fritters
- Entree — MamaBear's Mac — Bruschetta Grilled Cheese
- Dessert — Streetpops — Strawberry Rose Cream Streetpop
Watch Live:
