Taste of OTR

As an aficionado of the Cuban sandwich, I was quite satisfied with the sandwich I had from Cuban Pete’s food truck at Taste of OTR. Was the best! Crafted with layers of moist juicy pork, high quality cooked ham and melted swiss cheese on pressed grilled Cuban bread, this sandwich is a keeper! Cuban Pete also has a restaurant at 133. E. Court St. open Mon.-Sat. 8am to 4pm.

We had a great time and will hope it continues to get better. The vendors that were there were good but I was really hoping to see more of the Vine Street and other awesome restaurants from OTR. Also the dishes that we tried were mostly full size which I thought was strange for a taste event. I was exited to try the MOTR pub and the Empanada truck was amazing.

I wish I would be giving this a different review, but there is a lot of room for improvement. I believe this was only the 2^nd taste of OTR so I will return in hopes that they make some improvements. We went with friends and did have a great time, however I left a tad bit disappointed for these 2 reasons. The first being if this is the Taste of OTR I really would have wanted to Taste more restaurants in OTR. We got there right at 11, and aside from Kaze and Taste of Belgium, there weren’t any other true OTR restaurants participating (there were some Findlay market vendors which was nice). Secondly, I really think they should have local Cincinnati Beer there instead of Yuengling and Budweiser. Cincinnati has so many great local breweries and I would have loved to have them represented. This event was put on by Tender Mercies, which I know is for a great cause. But even their raffle was a wheelbarrow full of crappy beer (I’m talking Colt 45 — yes apparently they still make that stuff). I even told them, I would have bought 10 tickets if it was filled with local beer. Maybe it’s just me but I look at a local Taste to try and support local restaurants and beers, I want to support our local economy. There is SOO much potential here and I hope that next year they make some changes.
However I did have some awesome food that I have to give some shout outs to. My husband and I split several things. By far my favorite was Revolution Rotisserie which is actually in Findley Market I believe so I was happy they were representing the OTR. We ordered the Ben Franklin and holy cow this was the next best thing to the lightning rod. It was a pita sandwich with chicken, roasted corn, cilantro, peppers and some sauce that was delicious. Very good!
We also tried a Pork Belly Bun from Kaze. It was pretty good, but I think overpriced. It was $ 4 for one small sandwich that was smaller that a white castle. However walking over to their booth they had no signage for what food they were even serving and no line, I wasn’t even sure their booth was open. I told them they needed a sign because so many people walk around before deciding what they want and that you had no idea what they had. As we were leaving I glanced over to their booth, they hand wrote Pork Belly Buns $ 4 on their sign and they now had a long line. Maybe my tip helped.
We also tried a Bad Girl from Empanadas Aqui. It was kinda boring for a bad girl, they’re usually a bit more spicy.

Bring an umbrella, it is rather drizzly and muggy today. That means an excuse to get some delicious Bubble Tea from Bobba Cha. We had the Passion fruit one wit 50%(less sweet) and it was amazingly refreshing. Absolutely must try the Empanadas Aui food truck, the Bad Girl is their best one. The crust is corn so it is gluten free, but more importantly it is delicious and crispy and everything I could wish for in an empanada. Cincy by the Slice has the amazing pickle pizza too.
I expect more food vendors will participate next year.

What better than a conglomerate of Cincinnati’s hottest eats all consolidated within the confines of Cincinnati’s hottest park? Taste of OTR exemplified all of the above as such treats as Eli’s BBQ, Kaze, Streetpops, Lavomatic, and a plethora of food trucks graced the grounds and perimeter of Washington Park last Saturday.
The Attendees: There were pretty many people when we got there at 11am. Unfortunately, a lot of the booths were ill-​prepared for the early crowd, but by 11:15−30 I’d say they were pretty much all up and ready. By noon, the place was really hopping with all walks of life (including a lot of puppy dogs).
The Foodstuff: The food was outstanding and, aside from the Pork Buns at Kaze, I tried all new fare. I ordered the Washington Park sandwich (citrus and ginger marinated chicken with pepperjack cheese, applewood smoke bacon, and Cajun mayo on challah), while Friend 1 and Friend 2 opted for the OTR Club (goetta, pepperjack cheese, applewood smoked bacon, Cajun mayo, and a fried egg on challah) – both from Urban Grill food truck; Churro– and Junk in the Trunk-​flavored gelato from Dojo Gelato; a bite of a pulled pork sandwich from Eli’s BBQ; Pork Bun from Kaze; and a blackberry honey Streetpop.
The Best: My favorite dishes were the Churro-​flavored gelato and Pork Buns from Kaze. While I’d had the latter, it truly was amazing and I have a feeling it’ll never disappoint.
The Feat of Note: I opted for Urban Grill in lieu of Café de Wheels. The Wheelsburger is one of my all-​time favorite burgers but, because I’d never had the former, I decided to try it. Guys, I think I’m growing up. Sorry Café de Wheels: next time I see you, I will do my part to make up for my negligence.
The Noticeable Absences: Abigail Street, A Tavola, Bakersfield, and Senate. Maybe these delicacies will tag along in future years (assuming this was the start of a wonderful tradition). I can see how choosing a dish to be able to make on the move isn’t easy, but a Taste of OTR with Senate poutine would probably be the greatest event in the history of ever, am I right? Don’t get it twisted, though. Despite those absences, the vendors in attendance were outstanding.
The Ambience: There was plenty of space for the crowds that were surely going to make the trip to Washington Park for the occasion, while bands serenaded the festival’s patrons from the stage, and the fountains served as additional entertainment for kids. All coupled with Music Hall as the backdrop, I’m not sure there is a better food festival; at least as far as atmosphere goes.
The Shocker: I tried BBQ! I don’t typically like barbeque sauce but, because Eli’s is an institution in this great city, I felt it necessary to at least try it. I didn’t love it, of course, but I didn’t hate it either.
The Rest: Taste of OTR was sponsored by Tender Mercies, so the cause was fantastic. Parking proved to not be an issue either, as there were plenty of spaces when I arrived at 11am.
Wonderful food, live music, and friends; all at Cincinnati’s hottest park. If Taste of OTR doesn’t become an annual tradition, something isn’t right.

I was so excited about Taste of OTR! I saw the posters and impatiently waited for the day to arrive. Maybe if I didn’t set myself up with such high expectations I wouldn’t have been so disappointed.
I came here right when they started on and I didn’t see a lot of the vendors I saw were going to be there. Maybe they came later on or I guess cancelled. A couple of the places were set up but didn’t have any food yet. The food I finally decided on wasn’t very good and I left pretty shortly after eating because it started sprinkling. From other reviews I see I got pretty hot later on so I guess I shouldn’t have been so put off by a little rain.
I see the potential for this to be great so I hope it they work out the kinks so it becomes the awesome event I imagined it would be.

I happily attended this event and my review will likely echo what almost everyone else has said here. Not original, but perhaps makes a stronger point?
A group of about 6 friends met for lunch and to check things out. We did eat lunch, but not the way I planned. Our meal was VERY spaced out– a beverage/​treat from Chill (20 minute wait-​and well worth it) and we waited for a few others to arrive. Then a sandwich at Urban Grill (30 minute wait and some running back and forth for ingredients– great chicken sandwhich however) and ducking into the shade. And finally Dean’s (no wait and a Med plate) and a large tea (still hot out, still trying to duck for cover).
The only thing new to me was Urban Grill, which I enjoyed, and overall I was plenty full. I didn’t expect the slower than normal pace of a food event, but clearly it worked out as I was satisfied in the end. That said, there wasn’t enough food and it wasn’t around for long enough. Bottom line.
The challenge with calling oneself a «Taste of…» and then not having enough to taste is it ends in disappointment. The benefit of having an event at Washington Park is people can stay busy. I’m glad this wasn’t away from the city, not near other food/​drink, and at a venue without entertainment. Had any of those been the case, I think I would have felt really let down, instead the event was just a bit lackluster on final thought.
In the vein of constructive criticism, it might be worth considering a DigIN styel event (Indianapolis’ taste event) which is FAR better than the Taste of Cincinnati mêlée and way more involved than this was. It could be great– with a chance to taste all the food for a set price. The challenge would be a less inclusive environment, but it’s an option. At a bare minimum, there should be more food and continued neighborhood representation.
All in all, I had a good time, but I credit the park, my friends, and my desire to support the area with keeping me of this opinion. I look forward to a revamped (well stocked) event next year.
I heard at some point Tender Mercies made about $ 50,000, so that’s a good thing no matter how you slice it.

A noble first try, but lots of room for improvement next year.
I arrived at Taste of OTR around 3. I had read some tweets earlier in the day that said many of the vendors had yet to arrive (despite the event starting at 11). I figured 3 was a good time to arrive. I was hoping the festival would be in full swing and the vendors would have all arrived. I was wrong.
By 3 many of the vendors were closing down already because they were out of food. Also, I’m not a vegetarian… I eat poultry and fish, but there was hardly anything I could eat. I know Cincinnati is known for it’s pork, but I had really hoped there would be some options for me. I ended up leaving without anything to eat at all.
I commend the effort… and it was a great turn out. I just hope some of the feedback is taken into consideration for next year.

I was working, so I couldn’t head over until later. Unfortunately almost everything was sold out, and my hungry hubby was getting grumpy. I’m sure it would have been yummy and fun (but hot) if I had gotten there earlier. Overall, disappointing :(

I met a group of friends at this new event for lunch-​good thing we did because, as the others mentioned, vendors seemed to run short on food quickly. There were also vendors in the flier/​map we were given that were no-​shows, and other restaurants you would have expected to see that weren’t on the docket (like, any of them on Vine Street?). I was pretty surprised by the crowd and the sell outs as I didn’t feel like it was exceptionally well advertised. Don’t get me wrong, we managed to have a good time-​found some good food and cold drinks. There were folks enjoying the music-​but it was pretty dang-​gone hot in the sun. We walked back through the park a bit after 10 and it was quite clear that they didn’t make it through until 11. Anything that gets people out in Washington Park and exposed to all the new restaurants/​businesses is a good thing, and I’ll probably give it another shot next year.
I’ve attended a «Taste» event in Indy, which was much larger, but their concept was different-​they charged admission and you were given a ‘passport’ which allowed you a taste at each booth. I wonder if this (much more logistically complicated) approach would work here.

My review echoes Angela’s review almost identically. Scored an awesome parking spot right out front around 6:30 and we were excited as we walked into the park. Excitement quickly turned to disappointment as almost every stand was already closed/​out of food. Really? At 6:30? What I didn’t understand is a lot of these places were a mere 5 minute walk away… why didn’t they just go and re-​stock?
It was a great idea. The space is awesome and I liked seeing all the dogs out there. This has great potential. Unfortunately this year they were very unprepared and it just didn’t happen. To be out of most everything at 6:30 is pretty bad. We didn’t even get a beer b/​c the two lines we saw for beer were huge.
I am giving 4 stars for the potential, and 2 stars for the execution, so we’ll call it even at 3. If they come more stocked next year, I’ll try it again.

Great concept that just wasn’t ready for the huge turnout. I was very excited to hear about Taste of OTR, as were many of my friends, but apparently so was everyone else in Cincinnati. We arrived at the park around 6:30 and almost all the food was sold out. There were two food trucks and two food stands (Cincy Slice and Eli’s BBQ) left selling food, and then Street Pops and Dojo Gelato. The line to Eli’s BBQ was insanely long, and while I love Eli’s, is it even an OTR restaurant? There was live music and the set-​up seemed nice, but generally it was pretty disappointing for folks hoping to sample more of the OTR restaurants through the event.

I’m in agreement with pretty much all the other reviewers. I gave it 3 stars in hopes that it will return having learned from its mistakes.
I met a friend down there at 12:20 and got a pork bun from Kaze. very tasty! We decided to do the walk around, and places were already erasing items from their menus as they were already sold out. This was probably 12:35. only 10.5 more hours to go!
We walked around and wondered why certain restaurants were not participating. The food trucks were there with long lines at the Urban Food Truck. We just decided to head over to Senate and get some grub. My friend and I wondered if the Taste of OTR was just an elaborate ruse to get people down there and parked, then be disappointed by the festival, then go to the brick-​and-​mortar (actual) restaurants. It worked on us. I even stopped by Rhinegeist for a growler fill on my way out. So yeah, it got me and my wallet down there at least.

Taste of OTR… hmmm what to say? I’ll be nice and say it was a hell of a good first try with this event!
Positives:
— A ton of local restos showed up to show their support for the community and Tender Mercies.
— Diverse Menu items
— I think the cold beer was the only thing holding me together.
Negatives:
— The event lasted from 11am-​11pm. Not a great run time for a venue as popular as Washington Park. Vendors were sold out of food some as early as 2:00. Probably should have seen that coming.
— The lines were insane, and when I mean insane, I mean INSANE. I waited in line for around 30 minutes for one item.
— It was HOT! Waiting in lines with hot sticky strangers standing next to you. Blarg. Gross. I know they can’t control the weather but this just added extra stress.
Our group ended up being fed up with the crowds and event after about an hour and dipped into a local bar to rehydrate. High five for your first go around. I hope to see this event learn, grow and prosper. We are so lucky to have so many amazing local bizzes in OTR. Cheers!

Clean skies, sunshine, and a nice breeze made it a perfect day to go. They had a decent amount of businesses there, but I was a little disappointed they didn’t have some of the more popular places like Bakersfield, Senate, etc. My mom and I did enjoy it for what was available.
My mom did buy the pork buns from Kaze, which she liked. After we stopped at Dojo Gelato and I got an ice coffee, my mom got espresso with two scoops of ice cream. One scoop was the Balsamic Cherry which she liked, but not combined with the coffee as much. The other scoop was Vanilla, which she liked more.
Since we didn’t spend much time there we ended up going down to the Findley Market.