Editor's note: Writer Wendy Ochoa served as a last-minute judge during the Taste of Ann Arbor event.

The appetites were big but the Taste of Ann Arbor was even bigger this year, boasting 39 area restaurants - the most ever for the event - offering tastes of their signature dishes at the annual food fest.

From barbecue ribs and fish tacos to chocolate-covered pancetta, there was something for everyone’s palate at today's Taste of Ann Arbor on Main Street. Despite the occasional downpours, the weather did not suppress fest-goers’ appetites, as evident by the long lines at several vendors’ booths.

Sarah Miller holds her son Benjamin, 2, as his grandmother Deb Gumucio licks his fingers covered in frosting as the family spends the afternoon at Taste of Ann Arbor on Sunday.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

Main Street Area Association Director Maura Thomson said finalized numbers for ticket sales wouldn't be available until Thursday but estimated turnout to be between 3,000 and 4,000.  "Last year's Taste of Ann Arbor was approximately 5,000," Thomson said. "It looked like a good crowd in spite of the weather, so I'd guess today's crowd was between 3,000 and 4,000."

The longest line was at Blue Tractor's booth, which offered barbecue ribs and pulled pork sandwiches. Chef Heath Barbato was prepared this year. “Last year we ran out of food and had to close the line early. This year I ordered double the ribs,” Barbato said. This was the second appearance at the festival for the Blue Tractor.

For first-timer Bob Arbour of The Jamaican Jerk Pit, "running out is no problem," he said. They just kept sending someone back to the restaurant for more. Their line was long as well in spite of running out of food several times.

Perhaps the most unusual dish was the chocolate-covered pancetta from Chef Jason Self of Palio. This was Self’s third consecutive appearance at the event. Every year he has tried to come up with something different. He said chocolate-covered bacon is a hot trend in the culinary world this year, but he wanted to use meats from the restaurant so he chose the pancetta.

Awards were presented in five categories this year. Best Entrée went to The Black Pearl for their fish taco - a fresh corn tortilla spread with chipotle mayo then topped with a piece of fried whitefish, tomatoes, onions, cilantro and a lime wedge. The fish taco also won Best in Show.

General Manager Michael Hole was thrilled with the award. “People have just been great,” he said. They had a steady line as well especially after their award was announced.

The Best Appetizer went to The Real Seafood Company for its shrimp and scallop skewer with pineapple, mango and cilantro relish. Best Dessert went to Conor O’Neill’s for its bread pudding with vanilla sauce. Café Felix’s crab cakes won the WEMU Taster’s Choice Award.

This year's awards were announced on the Liberty and Main stage by Linda Yohn of WEMU.

The taste fest is run by the Main Street Area Association. Thomson says the event has been around for 25 years but only handled for the past 15 by MSAA. Thomson said the event is made possible by community partnerships. The Michigan Theatre sold all of the tickets throughout the day, and The Ann Arbor Jaycees were an integral part of the event as well.

This year’s fest was the biggest with 39 area restaurants.

“This year we actually had to turn (restaurants) away,” Thomson said. Thomson would love to have a bigger event, but said their biggest problem is equipment constraints for booths for the restaurants.

Food was not the only thing on the Taste of Ann Arbor menu; the musical stage was a popular spot for the day. Bank of Ann Arbor sponsored and booked musical acts for the stage at Liberty and Main.

Tom Black, guitarist of Wolfie Complex, one of several acts to go on stage during the day, was impressed with the event.

“It’s been fantastic in spite of the crazy weather. The food is great. The only downside for us was we kept smelling all the ribs from The Blue Tractor while we were playing,” Black joked.

Wendy Ochoa is a teacher in Plymouth-Canton, a journalism student at Washtenaw Community College, and an intern in the Community section.

Staff photographer Melanie Maxwell created an audio slideshow of the taste fest. Check it out here.