By Chuck Martin
The Cincinnati Enquirer

PHOTO GALLERY

Photo gallery from Taste of Cincinnati.

So much food at Taste of Cincinnati, but so little time.

To narrow the field, we asked our Taste Team, a panel of readers who usually sample packaged food such as buffalo wings, coffeecake and frozen pizza, to tell us what they thought were the best-tasting things to eat at the downtown chow fest.

Celebrity judges selected the "Best of Taste" winners May 3, but we thought it would be useful to find out how the food tasted after it's prepared on site.

The 14-member Taste Team sampled 40 items (but none of the Best of Taste winners) and rated them on originality, ease of eating while standing, and taste. The team selected winners in six categories, then selected an overall winner.

The panel's overall favorite was Chicken Tawook on Skewers, moist chunks of savory marinated and grilled chicken breast, prepared by Andy's Mediterranean Grill in Walnut Hills.

Overall runner-up was the silky chocolate mousse served by La Petite France in Evendale, followed by the spicy chicken curry from Ambar India Restaurant of Clifton.

Members of the Taste Team: Gene and Bev Bare, Mount Lookout; Meg Jung, Monfort Heights; Tom and Mary Kay Levesay, Mount Auburn; Molly Maloney, Covington; Amy McMahon, North Avondale; Jenny and Rob Notton, Hebron; Barbara Wilger, East Walnut Hills; Stuart and Jessica Zanger, Montgomery, and Kathy and Chad Zollar, West Chester Township.

The Taste Team's winners

• Best food on a stick: Chicken Tawook ($4/Andy's Mediterranean Grill)

• Best spicy food: Chicken Curry ($3.75/Ambar India Restaurant)

• Best pulled-pork sandwich: Pit-to-Plate BBQ ($3)

• Best "Real Cincinnati" dish: Wertheim's Goetta Burger Sandwich ($3/Wertheim's Restaurant)

• Best Chocolate Dessert: Chocolate Mousse ($1.50/La Petite France)

• Best "Other" Dessert: Carrot Cake ($1.50/Symmes Tavern on the Green)

On May 3, celebrity judges selected the following as "Best of Taste" winners at the Hyatt Hotel, downtown:

• Best appetizer: Curry Chicken Wings ($2/Song Long)

• Best soup or salad: Lisa's Famous Salad ($3/Patoshnik's Soup-R-Wraps)

• Best entree: Chicken Curry ($3/Arloi Dee)

• Best seafood entree: Crispy Jumbo Shrimp ($4/Johnny Chan 2)

• Best vegetarian entree: Black Bean Burrito ($3/Courtyard Cafe on Main)

• Best dessert: White chocolate cheesecake ($3/Ron's Roost)

• Best "Damn Dish": White chocolate cheesecake (Ron's Roost)