Best of the Taste of Abilene

2010 marked my second "Taste of Abilene" event and I wasn't disappointed. I don't think anyone who attended could've been...For $30, it might be the best food investment you can make in town.

Here are my winners and losers from the big night.

Finger Lickin' Good - Famous Dave's Ribs: I had a couple bites of these things, but couldn't finish! When you're trying to load up on food, who has room for all that rib meat? However, everyone around me said they were A+

Best Presentation - Tru Blu Catering: Their table looked almost as good as their dessert. If you noticed they ran out of brownies, you can blame my table. I think some people had a few too many of those!

Most Talked About - Copper Creek's Cheesecake: Everyone was talking about the cake...even today.

Had to Get Thirds - Zookini's Steak: The samples were so good, yet so little. I can't feel bad about getting thirds when they were just tiny samples on toothpicks, right?

Surprisingly Scrumptious - Taco Bell Quesadilla: I didn't expect to get seconds from Taco Bell's quesadilla, but I certainly did! With the addition of some "fire" hot sauce, it was just great. I'll have to make a run for the border sometime.

Fast Food Fave - Arby's Chicken Salad: My wife said she stopped by the Arby's table out of chance and ended up loving what she found. She said their chicken salad is among the very best she's had...and might be a tad better than Chick Fil'A.

Best Sampling - Little Italy/Szechaun/TaMolly's: If my mind serves me, I remember these places each bringing four different things to sample. Now that's service!

Best Steak - Zookini's: How can you bet against Outback Steakhouse? This time, I must. Zookini's had the best of the best on this evening. What I got from Outback was a tad overcooked and Zookini's was mouth-watering tasty!

Most Popular - Lytle Land & Cattle/Sharon's: Theses places may have received more accolades if I could've gotten any closer to the table. These tables had more traffic than a Justin Bieber concert. I was able to walk away with one piece of sausage and that's all...

Too Afraid to Try - Middle East: I had two things from Middle East that I loved....I got their third item (something wrapped in what appeared to be a cooked leaf) but didn't have the heart to actually eat it. Was it good?

A Little Fishy - Perini Ranch: Perini is absolutely my favorite, but it could've been better on this night. The catfish I got was a tad cold...and cold fish isn't very tasty. The nod goes to Red Lobster for best seafood fare.

Cold, Bust Still Tasty - Mr. Gatti's: My pizza looked a few too many hours old, but who's counting?

Best of Show - TSTC Taco: I'm not sure what was inside that miniature shell, but it was greatness. It had to be the most innovative dish of the night. The taco was to die for, but the crab cake was memorable for all the wrong reasons. However, I look forward to much more to come from TSTC's culinary department. Yum!