Best of Taste winners revealed for Taste of Cincinnati 2025. Here's the hot new list
We hope you're hungry because Taste of Cincinnati is around the corner.
This week, judges sampled and rated dishes entered into the Best of Taste competition, which represents over 80 culinary pros from restaurants, Findlay Kitchen start-ups and food trucks.
Gold, silver and bronze awards were granted in three categories: appetizers/side dishes, entrees and desserts.
Taste of Cincinnati returns to Downtown over Memorial Day weekend, May 24-26. Here are the dishes that took home the glory at the pre-event competition this year.
Gold: Hankering Southern Kitchen – Fried Green Tomatoes.
Silver: Kabobske – Street Corn Hummus and Seasoned Pita Chips.
Bronze: Alfio's Buon Chio – Korean Pork BBQ Empanada.
Gold: Alfio's Buon Chio – Braised Short Ribs over Gnocchi.
Silver: Lobsta Bakes of Main – Pan Seared Lump Crab Cakes.
Bronze: Hankering Southern Kitchen – Smoked Carolina Street Tacos.
Gold: The Cheesecakery – Black Raspberry Chip Cheesecake.
Silver: Pompillio's – Tiramisu Cookes and Cream Cannoli.
Bronze: Taste of Belgium – Lemon Poppyseed Waffle.
Gold: Honey Child Pops – Peach Thyme Soda.
Silver: Jay's Nyam & Jam – Jerk Chicken Wings with Pineapple Jerk Sauce.
Bronze: Magnificent Morsels – Shrimp & Grits.
Gold: Jay's Nyam & Jam – Jerk Chicken 'Jamaican' Bowl.
Silver: Yee Mama – Chicken & Basil Handmade Wonton.
Bronze: Sabor Alaniz – Chicken Taquitos.
Gold: Walkerbar – Judgy Jenn Ice Cream.
Silver: Olive Tree – Mixed Baklava.
Bronze: Dojo Gelato – Gooey Butter Cake Gelato.
Gold: Dine-In Hawaiian – Ono Hash.
Silver: Maw Maw's Creole Kitchen – Mutha Clucka.
Bronze: Twisted Greek – Deep Fried Feta.
Gold: Twisted Greek – Hera's Garden Gyro.
Silver: Quite Frankly – Pumba.
Bronze: Fifty West Brewing Co. – Classic Burger.
Gold: SugarSnap! Sweet Treats – Salted Caramel Brownie Sundae.
Silver: Eliza Jane's Mobile Bake Shop – Peach Cobbler Blondie Sundae.
Bronze: Davis Cookie Collection – Strawberry Crunch Sundae.
The annual food festival takes place Memorial Day weekend in downtown Cincinnati, stretching from Fifth Street between Elm and Main streets. It takes place during these times:
Saturday, May 24, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Sunday, May 25, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Monday, May 26, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Taste of Cincinnati 2025: These dishes won Best of Taste
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Disney Has Another Huge Hit at the Box Office. Is It Finally Time to Buy?
Walt Disney released a strong second-quarter report last month. Its newest film release, the live-action "Lilo and Stitch," just broke the record for the highest-grossing four-day Memorial Day opening weekend, It has five of the top-10 highest-grossing films domestically this year. 10 stocks we like better than Walt Disney › Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) might be the top name in entertainment, but that doesn't automatically mean its stock is always in good shape. It's taken a pounding over the past few years as the company goes from one problem to the next, and it's down 44% from its all-time highs. Are things starting to stabilize? The company reported solid results for the 2025 fiscal second quarter (ended March 29), and its newest film release, the live-action Lilo and Stitch, had a fantastic opening weekend. Is now the time to buy on the rebound? Disney is a huge media and entertainment giant with many working pieces. Today, it divides its business into three segments: entertainment, sports, and experiences. Entertainment covers its content, including streaming, film releases, and network TV. Sports is its sports-related content, and experiences covers parks, as well as other experiences like cruises and resorts. When everything goes well, Disney is an unmatched powerhouse. But with so many moving parts, the whole gets weighed down by any disruption. Fortunately, in the most recently reported quarter, there was success all around. Total revenue was up 7% year over year, with increases in all three segments. Operating income more than doubled to $3.1 billion, driven by increases in streaming, which had been holding back profits for too long. Streaming subscriptions increased by 2.5 million from the previous quarter, and Disney+ is now firmly profitable and growing. Even linear networks, the traditional TV channels that are on the decline, managed a small operating profit increase in the quarter, and the weakest segment was sports, which reported a drop in operating income. Disney is still figuring out the sports piece as it transitions from a cable focus to a streaming one, and it recently said that it's offering ESPN as a full, direct-to-consumer offering starting this fall. It was just announced that Disney is acquiring popular sports show Inside the NBA, and it's aiming to keep its go-to status and attract paid viewers to the new venture. Disney felt some pressure with the Hollywood strikes two years ago, pushing back film production and delaying some releases. It bounced back last year, ending 2024 with the highest-grossing film worldwide, Inside Out 2, as well as the No. 3 spot, Moana 2, and the No. 6 spot, Mufasa: The Lion King. It's doing incredibly so far in 2025, with exactly half of the top 10 highest-grossing films domestically. The most recent release, Lilo and Stitch, came out on Memorial Day weekend and is already the second-highest-grossing film of the year, with $279 million in domestic box office sales. It shattered records to take in the highest four-day Memorial Day weekend sales ever, and it's already picked up more than $600 million in sales worldwide. Like Lilo and Stitch, many of the recent hits and upcoming releases depend on the well-worn Disney model of creating franchises and churning out content based on beloved characters. Every single one of its top 10 releases so far this year is a remake or sequel of sorts. Disney has another six films set to come out this year, of which only one is a new franchise. The other five include the third installment in the Avatar movies, and the first two Avatar movies hold the No. 1 and No. 3 spots for highest-grossing films ever. Incidentally, the No. 2 spot, Avengers: Endgame, belongs to a Disney franchise, too. Disney has many films already slated for release in 2026 and further out, including the fourth Avatar film, the next Frozen film, etc. These are almost guaranteed to be huge box office hits, and the creative teams spin these franchises into more content for streaming, as well as for use in products and theme parks. Disney is in a good place today, with a profitable streaming business, hit films, and an upcoming sports launch. It just announced a new round of layoffs, and although that could contain a warning, the market usually greets layoffs enthusiastically, since a leaner organization typically leads to a stronger bottom line. I wouldn't put too many eggs into Disney's basket yet, but where it's holding today, Disney looks like it's staged for a comeback, and its stock should reflect that. Before you buy stock in Walt Disney, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Walt Disney wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $656,825!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $865,550!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 994% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Jennifer Saibil has positions in Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Disney Has Another Huge Hit at the Box Office. Is It Finally Time to Buy? was originally published by The Motley Fool
Boston Globe
9 hours ago
- Boston Globe
The conservative-friendly studio beating Hollywood at its own game
Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up The movie is one of the latest from Angel Studios, which is devoted to TV shows and movies that 'amplify light.' It successfully caters to a growing market of Americans who want values-driven entertainment and are dismayed with what they consider Hollywood's nihilism and tired storytelling. Advertisement As the lights dimmed for the screening of 'The Last Rodeo,' McDonough told a whooping crowd of family, friends, and fans that they'd see him kissing Ruvé in his portrayal of Joe Wainwright, a retired rodeo legend who has to return to bull riding in hopes of winning enough money for his ailing grandson's cancer treatment. Advertisement Neal and Ruvé McDonough were coproducers on the film, giving them the creative freedom to shape the casting. But McDonough told me that it can be a gamble for major studios to sign off on such maneuvers. He believes his project only made it to the big screen because he worked with a studio that shares his values. 'They said, 'Who do you want to play your wife in the film?' And I said, 'There's only one person's gonna play it; it's my wife, Ruvé,'' McDonough told me. 'And [Angel] said, 'Well, that makes sense.'' The differences between Angel Studios and Hollywood were apparent at the Texas premiere of 'The Last Rodeo,' starting with the suggested dress code on the invitation: boots and bowties. A Stetson-sporting McDonough beamed with his gaggle of five children while Ruvé stunned in a floor-length gown of denim patchwork. The stars, producers, and director of "The Last Rodeo" posed with family members at the film's Texas premiere. Carine Hajjar/Globe Staff But the overall vibe was decidedly less about couture than culture. Speaking to a mix of press, country influencers, and Southwestern personalities lining the red carpet, people involved with the film were open about how 'The Last Rodeo' deals with themes that aren't popular in the Hollywood circles they know well. The movie's director, Jon Avnett, who directed 'Fried Green Tomatoes' and produced 'Black Swan,' told me about the film's emphasis on 'the power of family.' Mykelti Williamson, who portrayed Private Benjamin Buford 'Bubba' Blue in 'Forrest Gump' and plays Wainwright's old friend in 'The Last Rodeo,' said the movie tells a story of an America that's 'actually a good place, with a lot of good people in it.' He added: 'She's not perfect, but she's worth it.' Advertisement Instead of a glitzy afterparty, Angel put on a barbecue for fans and benefactors and their families. Parents holding hot dogs looked on with half terror, half amusement as little boys fought for the next turn on an electric bull. Rodeo queens in fringed red leather and rhinestone cowgirl hats took selfies, while toddlers took wobbly steps around the various field games. If you wanted to wash it down with a beer from the drink stand, you'd have to settle for a Coke. It was unlike Hollywood in every way. And that's been the key to Angel's success. Mykelti Williamson in 'The Last Rodeo.' Angel Studios Avoiding cringe and outrage The American mainstream is in turmoil — and it's not just the 'liberal media' or lefty universities. It's many of the cultural institutions that have been swallowed up by the progressive crazes of the last decade. From Actors have always had a knack for publicly fawning over progressive causes and shaking their fists at Republicans. But those progressive sensibilities have spilled over to the way films are made, too. Now it seems as if every movie that portrays a white or male protagonist needs a remake. (I'm looking at you, 'She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.') It's safe to assume that Americans who are sick of having progressive politics shoved down their throats might also feel as if it's being stuffed into their popcorn buckets. That creates an opportunity for a studio like Angel to make entertainment for a market underserved by the mainstream. Advertisement Starting with families. Angel's cofounder Jeff Harmon says the studio began as the answer to a Harmon family problem. For him and his three brothers, Neal, Daniel, and Jordan, that problem was the erosion of values portrayed by Hollywood. 'I think for all of us as fathers, we were looking with our families at how quickly the entertainment was accelerating toward nihilism,' Jordan told me, sitting next to Jeff. Naming examples like 'House of Cards' and 'Game of Thrones,' he bemoaned the fact that 'you watch a great movie, the whole thing's great. And at the very end, the whole moral of the story is, 'Everybody's bad.'' The brothers figured that addressing this problem could make for a good business. Jordan, Neal, and Jeffery Harmon at Angel Studios in Provo, Utah, on March 31. RUSSEL DANIELS/NYT At the Fort Worth barbecue, I met Brittany Graves, a 36-year-old mother of four and member of the Angel Guild, whose roughly 1.2 million members pay a monthly fee for access to Angel's content. She told me that 'it's a lot more refreshing to watch [Angel's] movies than kind of the predictable Hollywood norm.' She describes herself as a Christian and homesteader, saying that she agrees more with 'the values that are portrayed in [Angel's] movies' than 'just being hit with cussing and soft-core and sometimes even hardcore porn' that you get from Hollywood. Nearby, Shandelyn Spadke told me that she and her husband, Trae, invest in Angel because they are 'very firm believers in conservative ideas.' As she bounced a baby on her knee, the mother of five said, 'Most of the time we have to censor and preview what they watch. But she doesn't have that problem with 'Tuttle Twins,' a children's show that Advertisement The Harmons say that Angel is essentially replacing the traditional tastemakers who turn up their noses at values-infused entertainment. 'Filmmakers have no issue making great family content; they don't have an issue making faith content, as long as it resonates and it's good storytelling, and it's done with craftsmanship,' Jeff Harmon says. What's missing are studio executives who want this kind of entertainment. 'You replace those gatekeepers — these executives that are out of touch, generally don't have normal families, don't look like Middle America; they don't look like the rest of the world — and you replace those people with the people who are the rest of the world.' Shandelyn Spadke and her baby at the Fort Worth barbecue hosted by Angel Studios. Carine Hajjar/Globe Staff That's where the idea for the Angel Guild came from. The members pay $12 and up per month for access to the programming at home — and the ability to shape it. Angel only produces films that the guild members want to see. First they vote on a 'torch,' or a proof of concept from filmmakers, like a short clip or a pilot episode. If the torch passes the guild, filmmakers can go on to produce their projects. But members also get to vote on final cuts and even provide feedback. Jordan Harmon says Angel Studios filmmakers have gotten more than 100,000 comments from guild members over the last 18 months. The Harmons believe that this is the key to Angel's high audience ratings. Angel Advertisement Wookyung Kim, Kristin Chenoweth, Seong-ho 'Jay' Jang, and Leia Jang attended the premiere of Angel Studios' "The King Of Kings" in Franklin, Tenn., on March Angel Studios Some of Angel's films deal with conservative themes or religious subjects, but it would be a mistake to lump them in with overtly conservative entertainment projects — like those produced by the entertainment studio that the Daily Wire, a conservative news outlet, announced in 2021. If titles like 'Am I a Racist?' and 'What Is a Woman?' don't give it away, many Daily Wire productions are an attempt to make entertainment out of owning the libs. Other conservative productions can be driven overtly by religion and are less concerned with production values and storytelling. Angel avoids earnest cringe and political outrage. That's because its projects aren't ever just characterized by a political or religious message. Even the New York Times The deference to storytelling over pontificating hasn't stopped critics from trying to label Angel conservative ideologues. 'Sound of Freedom,' for example, was The Harmons, who belong to the Church of Latter Day Saints, call Angel a 'faith-friendly' studio and don't allow their productions to take the Lord's name in vain. But the themes and stories they help produce are determined by the Angel Guild, and will evolve as it grows. And since it is serving an underserved market, an initial rightward tilt is to be expected. What's surprising is just how large that market seems to be. 'Our hypothesis is that we're actually going for the biggest segment of the entire entertainment world,' Jordan told me. In collaboration with the Faith and Media Initiative, Harris X Neal McDonough starred in Angel Studios' "Homestead," which had its premiere on Dec. 10, 2024, in Los Angel Studios Like the film 'Cabrini,' which tells the story of Mother Francis Xavier Cabrini's life and ministry to poor immigrants, especially orphaned Italian children in New York City. On the surface this is a story about a Catholic saint. But it deals with themes like standing up to the male-dominated church leadership and overcoming racism through her work for the poor and scorned migrants in America. The film earned a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 98 percent and Some Angel productions aren't religious at all. Tony Hale, known for his role as Buster Bluth in the hit show 'Arrested Development,' is Even though the Harmons have kept to the sidelines of the raging culture wars, they have clearly benefited from conservative victories. Like Donald Trump's which depicts an animated Charles Dickens sharing the story of Jesus' life with his son. But Angel isn't interested in sticking it to the mainstream — its intention is to become the mainstream. 'Stories are upstream from culture,' Jordan Harmon says. And Angel intends to produce 'some of the most timeless stories throughout history.' Carine Hajjar is a Globe Opinion writer. She can be reached at
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Yahoo
Diddy's Ex-Assistant Claims Rapper Kidnapped Her, Said ‘We're Gonna Go Kill' Kid Cudi
The trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs continued in New York City on Tuesday, May 27, with testimony from his former assistant Capricorn Clark, who worked for him from 2004 to 2012. Diddy, 55, is on trial for sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering conspiracy. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied all of the allegations against him. Clark testified on Tuesday that she began her career with Diddy as his personal assistant before coming back to work as his then-girlfriend Cassie's creative director from 2016 to 2018. She claimed that her former boss threatened to kill her while she worked for him — and threatened to kill Kid Cudi, who started dating Cassie, 38, while she was on a break from Diddy. Clark alleged that 'a very upset' Diddy showed up at her door in December 2011 with a gun in his hand, wearing pants that were split open at the crotch. 'Why didn't you tell me?' Clark recalled Diddy asking, referring to the fact that Cudi, 41, had been dating Cassie. Cassie's Ex-Boyfriend Kid Cudi Claims Diddy Broke Into His House in 2011: 'I Wanted to Fight Him' Diddy then allegedly told Clark to get dressed and said, 'We're gonna go kill this n****.' Clark told the jury that she'd 'never seen anything like this before,' adding that Diddy had never come to her house before and she'd never seen him with a weapon. 'The way he was acting, I just felt like anything could happen,' she noted. Clark then rode with Diddy and a security staffer to Cudi's home in the Hollywood Hills. She said she stayed in the car while Diddy and the security guard allegedly broke into the residence, although Cudi was not there at the time. While in the car, she called Cassie (who was with Cudi) to tell her what was happening and said Diddy had brought her to the house 'to kill him.' After getting Clark's call, Cudi went to the house and a brief car chase ensued. Clark testified that Diddy then asked her to call Cassie and to tell her that 'he has me and that he wasn't going to let me go until he comes to get her.' Diddy allegedly then told Clark to convince Cudi and Cassie not to call the police because if they did he would 'kill all y'all motherf***ers.' Cassie Recalls Diddy's Alleged Threat to Blow Up Then-Boyfriend Kid Cudi's Car: 'He Was Going to Hurt' Us Cudi testified last week that Diddy allegedly broke into his home in December 2011 after discovering that Cassie was dating him. The following month, Diddy allegedly blew up Cudi's Porsche with a Molotov cocktail. Over the Memorial Day weekend, Diddy's legal team asked Judge Arun Subramanian to strike a portion of Cudi's testimony, claiming that the 'Day 'n' Nite' rapper's allegations about the 2012 car explosion were 'mere speculation' and posed 'significant dangers of unfair prejudice.' Diddy's team said a 'witness generally cannot testify that in his opinion, a declarant was lying when making a statement,' referring to Cudi's claims on the stand last week that Diddy 'was lying' when he denied involvement in the explosion of his Porsche vehicle during a meeting in Los Angeles. In addition to telling her own side of the Cudi story, Clark testified on Tuesday that Diddy threatened her early in her employment because she hadn't disclosed that she previously worked for his rival Suge Knight. Clark alleged that in 2004 Diddy and a bodyguard known as Uncle Paulie brought her to Central Park, where Diddy told her 'if anything happened [with Suge] he would have to kill me.' Diddy Asks Judge to Strike Kid Cudi Car Explosion Claims From the Record Amid Sex Trafficking Trial On another occasion, Clark said she was accused of stealing jewelry from Jacob Arabo, known as Jacob the Jeweler. She alleged that Uncle Paulie searched her house and claimed she was given a lie detector test by another man who told her if she failed that she would be thrown into the East River. 'I was petrified,' she recalled. Clark claimed that she underwent five days of lie detector tests related to the alleged theft. After those five days, she was told to return to work, where Diddy allegedly never mentioned the incident or the status of the jewelry. When asked why she didn't quit at that point, she said she felt that leaving would make it look like she was guilty of something she didn't do. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support. If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
