Pictured: Wings and Peanut Butter-Bacon sandwich from Brixx Ice Co., loaded nachos from Hickory River Smokehouse, hummus from Pasha Grill, Italian sausage sandwich from Giovannis Italian Cuisine, Empenada from El Meson.
A dozen of the Miami Valley’s unique restaurants converged on RIverScape MetroPark this weekend for the Taste of Miami Valley, the definitive place to try the cuisine Dayton has to offer. While the rain put a damper on the festival’s kick off, the grills ran hot and most everyone cooked through the weekend to give Dayton a sample of the best local cuisine. No easy task to figure out who’s got the best grub, right?
Another Food Critic, by invitation of the folks at DaytonLocal.com and the Miami Valley Restaurant Association, had the opportunity to be a food judge in this year’s Taste, alongside Amelia Robinson from the Dayton Daily News, Alexis Larsen from the Dayton Art Institute and fellow blogger J. Hunter Johnson. Hard to decide who won, but we had 11 categories, and several dozen delicious dishes were presented to us.
Some of the contests:
- Soups: Clam chowder from The Docks took top spot, narrowly edging out a Tomato Bisque by CoCo’s Bistro.
- Fries: Amber Rose showed off some amazing Chili Cheese Fries, which topped the fantastic Parmesan Fries from Roost Modern Italian.
- Appetizer: Jeet India showed off a delicious veggie samosa that blew everyone away. Though there was also great hummus from Pasha Grill, bacon-wrapped crab from The Docks, Loaded Nachos from Hickory River Smokehouse, and Hummus from Shish Wraps.
- Barbecue: Hickory River Smokehouse blew the judges away with their pulled pork and barbecued ribs. Brixx Ice Co. had a strong showing with their wings.
Loved the turnout for the event! Definitely inspired me to try some restaurants I’ve never been to before.
Another Food Critic 