What’s New and Best at Taste of Cincinnati® 2019?

Nation’s longest running free culinary arts festival announces:

• Best of Taste Winners
• Zero Hunger Zero Waste partnership with Kroger
• Inaugural Eat & Run 5K details
• Entertainment collaboration with Cincinnati Music Accelerator
• Party on the Purple, Signature Cocktails, Kroger Treasure EmporiYum Mobile Experience, more.

Taste of Cincinnati photos and logos may be downloaded here.

CINCINNATI- May 7, 2019- Taste of Cincinnati^®, presented by Kroger and produced by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber made several exciting announcements for the May 25-27 event. They include:

NEW ZERO HUNGER ZERO WASTE PARTNERSHIP WITH KROGER
In 2019, Taste of Cincinnati will reduce its carbon footprint by five percent.  Beyond 2019 – as part of a total five-year plan - Taste of Cincinnati will work to reduce its carbon footprint by an additional 5% - each year - between 2020 and 2023.

Here’s how this bold plan will be put into action:

1. The Shelterhouse, a Cincinnati organization that provides shelter, safety and nourishment to more than 200 homeless men and women, will pick up extra food from Taste of Cincinnati restaurants and food trucks at the end of each event night.
2. Kroger and Taste of Cincinnati will educate and work with event restaurants and food trucks to ensure a high percentage of restaurants and food trucks use compostable paper products and utensils throughout the weekend. 
3. Taste of Cincinnati restaurants, food trucks, beverage distributors and sponsors will have designated areas to break-down and dispose of all cardboard – which will be recycled.

NEW THE INAUGURAL EAT & RUN 5K, PRESENTED BY 26.2 FROM MARATHON BREWING

The inaugural Eat & Run 5K at Taste of Cincinnati, presented by 26.2 from Marathon Brewing, is Sunday, May 26 at 10 a.m. – with a start and finish line at Sentinel and Culvert Streets in downtown Cincinnati. Along the route, participants will enjoy bite-size samples from some of our Best of Taste winners.

Eat & Run 5K participants will receive a commemorative medal (above), t-shirt, and a 26.2 brew from Marathon Brewing at Taste of Cincinnati. Prizes will be awarded to the first, second and third place finishers in the men’s and women’s categories.

Registration is open now for the Eat & Run 5K - at TasteofCincinnati.com.

NEW TASTE OF CINCINNATI COLLABORATES WITH CINCINNATI MUSIC ACCELERATOR

Taste of Cincinnati is working with the Cincinnati Music Accelerator, and its CEO Kick Lee (right), to program select entertainment throughout the weekend. The Cincinnati Music Accelerator serves as an entrepreneurship program for musicians, recording artists, DJ's, and producers.

In total, Taste of Cincinnati will feature more than 45 entertainers on five stages throughout Memorial Day weekend. The complete entertainment line-up will be announced soon.

JUST ANNOUNCED 2019 BEST OF TASTE AWARDS 

Mystery judges visited Taste of Cincinnati’s April 29 food truck takeover on Second Street, and local media partners sampled and judged restaurant entries at Findlay Kitchen, April 30. Here are the 2019 Taste of Cincinnati Best of Taste winners and runners up:

Restaurant Best Dessert

Third Place (tie): Spumoni Cannoli – Pompilio’s
                            Black Forrest Cake – Oakbrook Bakery

Second Place: Crème Brulee – Market Street Grille

First Place: Apple Quince Bread Pudding  – Alfio’s buon cibo

Restaurant Best Appetizer

Third Place: Bacon Wrapped Shrimp Kisses – McCormick & Schmick’s

Second Place: Gnocchi Bolognese – Alfio’s buon cibo

First Place:  Lightning Wings – Revolution Rotisserie

Restaurant Best Soup-Salad-Side

Third Place: Thai Papaya Salad – Sawasdee Thai Cuisine

Second Place: Gods’mac Grippos Mac & Cheese – Tickle Pickle

First Place: Cambodian Chicken Taco - Mahope

Restaurant Best go Vibrant!*

Third Place: Buns N Roses Black Bean Burger with Cashew Cheese – Tickle Pickle

Second Place: Poke Cupcake – Poke Hut

First Place: Cambodian Portobello Mushroom Taco - Mahope

Restaurant Best Entrée

Third Place: Gourmet Mac & Cheese – Market Street Grille

Second Place: Brisket – Just Q’in BBQ

First Place: Pork Grenade – McK’s Chicks

Food Truck Best Dessert

Third Place: Turtle Fried Cheesecake – Hungry Bros.

Second Place: White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcake- The Cheesecakery

First Place: “Make it a Sundae” Brownie – Sugar Snap!

Food Truck Best Appetizer

Third Place: Smoked Lamb Nachos – Wicked Hickory

Second Place: Lobster Poutine – Harvest Mobile Cuisine

First Place:  The Stroll – Adena’s Beefstroll

Food Truck Best Soup-Salad-Side

Third Place: Sprouts – Harvest Mobile Cuisine

Second Place: Brisket Mac – Wicked Hickory

First Place: 12 hour Braised Brisket Bowl – Texas Joe Tex-Mex

Food Truck Best go Vibrant!*

Third Place: Strawberry Chicken Taco – The Tin Man Grill

Second Place: Pink Lemonade streetpop - streetpops

First Place (tie): Swordfish Kebab with Molasses Glaze – Screaming Goat

                          Fruit Punch streetpop - streetpops

Food Truck Best Entrée

Third Place: Jerk Chicken Nachos – Just Jerks Ena’s Jamaican Grill

Second Place: Cheesy Garlic-Style Italian Beef – Adena’s Beefstroll

First Place: Smoked Rib Tips – Sweets & Meats BBQ.

*go Vibrant menu items adhere to the American Heart Association per-serving standards of 6.5 grams or less of total fat, 1 gram or less of saturated fat, a half gram or less of trans fat, 20 milligrams or less of cholesterol, and 480 milligrams or less of sodium.

34 restaurants and 19 food trucks (listed below) will participate, and more than 300 menu items will be available. Thirty percent of taste of Cincinnati’s restaurants and food trucks are brand new to the event. 

This includes the return of Rhinegeist Food Truck Alley, located just off Fifth Street on the ramp to Columbia Parkway and Taste of Findlay Market, which will once again feature rotating food vendors from Cincinnati’s Findlay Market and “foodpreneurs” from their food business incubator. The complete Taste of Findlay Market line-up will be released soon.

Since 2013, the Cincinnati Chamber has donated nearly $100,000 to support culinary and entrepreneurial growth, not only at Findlay Kitchen – but at Cincinnati State’s Midwest Culinary Institute. The Chamber will continue its support of local culinary entrepreneurs with a 2019 donation to the Findlay Market FoodPreneur Fund.

NEW KROGER TREASURE EMPORIYUM MOBILE EXPERIENCE
Kroger will be launching their Treasure EmporiYum Mobile Experience at this year's Taste of Cincinnnati. Kroger's Mobile Treasure EmporiYum will offer interactive games, Private Selection food sampling, screen printing stations for reusable grocery bags, and much more. Kroger will showcase a wide-variety of exciting activities bringing food-first to the forefront.

NEW PARTY ON THE PURPLE “TASTE OF CINCINNATI PREVIEW” PARTY
On May 22, beginning at 6 p.m., enjoy just a taste of Taste of Cincinnati at Party on the Purple – on the Purple People Bridge. Taste fans will enjoy beer entertainment and dishes from select “Best of Taste,” three days before the big event.

RETURNING FAVORITE TASTE OF CINCINNATI SIGNATURE COCKTAILSThe Taste of Cincinnati signature cocktail will return – and this year, make it a double. Taste of Cincinnati attendees can choose:

• The Queen City Breeze with Jim Beam Bourbon, Triple Sec and Ginger Ale
• Or the Cincy Cooler with Pinnacle Vodka, Lemonade, Cranberry and Mist Twist.

Taste of Cincinnati will feature more than 100 beer and wine varieties, throughout the event.

 

TASTE OF CINCINNATI RETURNING FAVORITES

• Saluting U.S. Military Veterans on Memorial Day - As Taste of Cincinnati takes place on Memorial Day weekend, the festival is afforded the opportunity to thank the nearly 200,000 U.S. Veterans in Greater Cincinnati. As in years past, Taste of Cincinnati will commemorate Memorial Day, Monday May 27, with an honor guard procession at 11:30 a.m. at the Bank of America Main Stage, off Fifth Street on North Broadway, and a free Pepsi for all veterans and active-duty military.
• go Vibrant Veggie Races return - The go Vibrant Veggie Races return the Friday before Taste of Cincinnati. Celebrity teams will compete, racing miniature vehicles crafted and constructed out of fresh vegetables. The go Vibrant Veggie Races will be held May 24, noon, at a new location, the Findlay Market Farmers Market Shed located (next to the North Parking Lot off of Findlay Street, between Elm and Race).

2019 Taste of Cincinnati Restaurants

Alfio’s Buon Cibo Andy’s Mediterranean Grille Buona Terra Gelato CMX CineBistro Conscious Kitchen Delicio Coal Fired Pizza Eddie’s BBQ El Vaquero Mexican Restaurante Eli’s BBQ Izzy’s Joella’s Just Q’in Kabobske Keystone Bar and Grill LaRosa’s Mahope Market Street Grille

Mazunte McCormick & Schmick’s McK’s Chicks Mecklenburg Gardens Melting Pot Oakbrook Bakery Poke Hut Pompilio’s Revolution Rotisserie Roll On In Sammy’s Gourmet Burgers & Beers Sawasdee Thai Cuisine Thai Taste Tickle Pickle Tom + Chee Washington Platform Woodhouse Kitchen + Bar

2019 Rhinegeist Food Truck Alley

Adena’s Beefstroll Best Thing Smokin Food Truck & Catering Cheese N Chong Empanadas Aqui Fire on High Harvest Mobile Cuisine Hungry Bros. Just Jerks Ena’s Jamaican Grill Marty’s Waffles Slice Slice Baby streetpops

SugarSnap! Sweet Treats Sweets & Meats BBQ Texas Joe Tex-Mex The Cheesecakery The Chili Hut The Screaming Goat Tin Man Grill Wicked Hickory Bold = Brand new to Taste of Cincinnati

Taste of Cincinnati happens May 25-27, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday. It will be held on Fifth Street, in downtown Cincinnati, from Main to the ramps of I-71 and Columbia Parkway. Born in 1979, Taste of Cincinnati is the nation's longest running free culinary arts festival. In 2018, it enjoyed a record-tying crowd of 550,000. Learn more at TasteOfCincinnati.com.

About the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber
The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber grows the vibrancy and economic prosperity of the Cincinnati region. It does this by serving as a bold voice for the interests of its 4,000-member businesses and their more than 300,000 employees. The Chamber is committed to expanding the region's talent base by attracting new residents and finding new ways to connect employers to skilled workers. And, by harnessing the power of Cincinnati USA’s unique offerings, implementing regional vision, and through intentional inclusion in everything we do, the Chamber is on a path to help transform this region into the hottest city in America. 

For more information, visit www.cincinnatichamber.com.
Contact: Rich Walburg, Communications Director, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber
513.579.3194 Direct, 513.205.7424 Mobile, rwalburg@cincinnatichamber.com.