Are you in the mood for some weird food that has no business being deep-fried? What about some carnivalesque food and drinks with wacky flavour combinations and a whole spectrum of colours? Well, you are in luck then, as the 2024 Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) has rolled into Toronto, offering an interesting array of food and drinks for you to try.

The CNE is here to send off another amazing summer. This year, it runs from August 16th to September 2nd. It’s a great opportunity to not only try some weirdly wonderful culinary delights but also explore some of Toronto’s most iconic real estate: Exhibition Place. The CNE also offers rides, live music, dog shows, art shows, an air show and more! But really, the biggest draw to the CNE is the food. So let’s dive into the interesting concoctions that are being offered at the 2024 CNE!

DRINKS

Stay hydrated and cool yourself off with some of these strange brews:

• Jalapeno Lemonade: Sour, spicy, and sweet! This lemonade can be found at Alijandro’s Kitchen in the Food Truck Frenzy area
• Lavender Lemonade: A subtle addition to lemonade.
• Whipped Lemonade: OK, we are sensing a theme here! Enjoy one of summer’s most popular drinks with a twist (or a whip?). Lemonade blended with lemon ice cream creates a lemon foam to top off your drink!

SNACKS

Not in the mood for a whole sandwich or main? Eat a bunch of snacks from the list below instead:

• Deep Fried Cheese Curds (Taylor’s Version): Calling all Swifties!!! Get yourself some fried cheese curds for $19.89 at The King of Curds in Concessions. These little bites of heaven have been transformed into your Wildest Dreams being topped with a “Lavender Haze” crunch, “Lover” cotton candy, “Bejeweled” edible glitter and “Wildest Cream” icing.
• Karaage Soft-Shell Crab On A Stick: You are bound to get a couple of sideways glances if you walk around the Ex with a whole deep-fried soft crab on a stick! You can find this fried concoction topped with sriracha mayo in the Food Building at Farm to Fryer for $19.95.
• Mac and Cheetos Popsicle: Farm to Fryer has another treat on a stick for you in the form of deep-fried macaroni and cheese with Cheetos coating on a popsicle stick. While the name might sound like a dessert, it’s just a savoury fried delight in the shape of a popsicle!
• Footlong Mozzarella Stick: Pizza Pizza has decided to enter the wacky food game with a foot-long, deep-fried, mozzarella stick that’s served on a sub bun. You can choose to top it with marinara, mustard, or pickles. Located in the Enercare Centre (Hall A).
• Uni-Corn: Nothing screams mystical and magical like a cob of corn that is covered in rainbow-coloured queso! You can find this colourful street corn-inspired snack in the Food Building at Freshly Roasted.
• The Twisted Pickle: Move-over, spiralized potatoes! The spiralized pickle has entered the chat and is served deep fried on a stick where you can choose to top it with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, dill sauce, or dill chips. Find it at the Concessions at Twisted Pickles.
• SpICE Cream Chorizo Fries Supreme: So, technically, this could be a dessert but we will just keep it in the snack category. Hand-cut fries topped with cheese sauce and chorizo. Add to that a honey butter scoop of ice cream and you have “SpICE Cream” Chorio Fries Supreme!
• Cheeseburger Spring Rolls: If you are craving a burger but not hungry enough for a whole one, consider these Cheeseburger Spring Rolls. Ground Beef, American cheese and dill pickles rolled in a spring roll wrapper and fried to perfection can be yours at Smash City located in the Food Building.

MAINS

Looking for something weird and wonderful but more substantial than a snack? Check out the list below:

• Giant Samosa: While you may envision a samosa as a snack, this one had to go in the main dish category as it’s not your normal samosa. This giant samosa is filled with spiced potatoes and peas and is 12 inches long! You can find this monstrosity in the Food Building at Bombay Spice Street for $22.95.
• Kool-Aid Fried Chicken: Imagine a fried chicken sandwich from KFC except that one of the 11 herbs and spices is…Kool-Aid?!?! Well, that’s what you’ll get from Fried Chicken Sandwiches in the Food Building for $16.
• Fruity Cereal Tenders: Speaking of weird chicken flavours, at Lucky Chicken in the Food Building, you can get chicken tenders that are coated in your choice of Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Pebbles, Cheez-Its or All-Dressed Ruffles Chips.
• Deep-Fried Butter Chicken Lasagna: If you can’t decide between Indian and Italian food…then deep-fried butter chicken lasagna may just be the solution for you! Find this delicious dish at Rick’s Good Eats in Concessions for $21.00
• Uncrustables Bacon Cheeseburger: This is a classic bacon cheeseburger with one catch: the bun is actually two toasted Uncrustables. What’s an Uncrustable? A delicious, crustless, enclosed peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich. You can find this burger with a twist at Bacon Nation located in the Food Building for $19.99

DESSERTS

In reality, most of the food found at the CNE could probably be considered a dessert. But below are some of this year’s most interesting sweet treats:

• Tzatziki Cheesecake: Give me NY-style cheesecake but add a Greek twist to it! The Greeker Bakeshop in the Concessions area did just that. A slice of cheesecake topped with tzatziki, pita chips, garlic, and dill can be yours for $13.25.
• Giant Donut: Who wants a regular donut when you can have a 15-inch one? This giant donut is topped with icing and sprinkles and can be yours for $20.00 from Pancho’s Bakery located in the Food Building
• Just Peachy: For $11.99, you can get a peach crumble that’s baked inside a peach and topped with whipped cream. This is located at Eat My Bowls in the Food Building.
• Wasabi Ice Cream: We all love to dip our spicy salmon rolls in wasabi but can you imagine wasabi in ice cream form? Well, try it for yourself this year where you can purchase wasabi ice cream on a charcoal cone that is garnished with seaweed and orange sugar pearls
• Tanghulu Mochi Donut: The folks at O-Mochi, located in the Food Building, have taken your favourite Japanese rice cakes and made them into a crispy glazed donut.

Will you be going to the CNE this year? If so, which of the food and drinks above would you like to try? Which one is the weirdest? Tell us what you think below and enjoy the rest of Summer!

Sources:
https://www.theex.com/
https://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2024/08/food-at-cne-2024/
https://www.cp24.com/news/wasabi-ice-cream-kool-aid-fried-chicken-butter-chicken-corn-dog-on-cne-menu-1.7000575