Buoyant with background harp music, more than 400 connoisseurs pursued their quest for the best Thursday at Taste of Duveneck, the Cincinnati Art Museum's ninth annual showcase for restaurants and caterers.

        Some of the guests wandered through galleries, comparing notes about favorite meals from the past. A sampling:

        • Event chairwoman Jennifer Gibson, North Avondale: “It was at Gravetime Manor, a 16th-century manor just outside of London. All the produce was grown in the kitchen garden.”

        • Jeanne Dinnerstein, East Walnut Hills: “Sonoma Mission Inn in California on my honeymoon 15 years ago.”

        • Anne Wilson, Mount Lookout: “The Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. We had excellent French food.”

        • Joe Moran, Hyde Park: “The Shelbyville Horse Show in Kentucky. Bistro 535 catered it. There were a lot of celebrities. The beef was good, but expensive.”

        • Bud Burgett, Hyde Park: “A little sidewalk cafe not far from the Vatican in Rome. The cannelloni, the veal scallopini and the tiramisu were wonderful.”

        • Henry Lurie, East Walnut Hills: “About 15 years ago at La Prarie in Avignon. We sat under the trees in a monastery garden.”

        • Janice Flanagan, Park Hills: “We had Black Angus beef at an upscale bed and breakfast in Wales. We were celebrating our 10th anniversary.

        The museum event netted $40,000 to help fund the conservation of a Rookwood mantel and three paintings to be installed in the Cincinnati Wing. Taste was presented by the Duveneck Association, a museum support group.

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