Ex Eats

Ah, the Ex. The sights, the sounds, the scattered pools of vomit. It is the annual punctuation to all things summer and it promises stimulation for every last of Torontonians’ senses. Prominent among the experiences on offer at this colourful urban fair are those that have to do with food. The promise of excess and innovation is powerful here, and the tastes a coaster lover might enjoy between swells are as unexpected as they are varied.

Herewith, just a smattering of the more colourful culinary options available from the 100+ food vendors at this year’s CNE:

Walk softly and carry a big stick. Last year’s food-on-a-stick craze continues this year, with the availability of some 22 foodstuffs—including the potato tornado, caramel corn balls, Saint Cinnamon buns, fudge and meatballs—that rewrite the rules for having been pierced with a skewer of wood.

Deep-fried butter is the darling of the fair this year. Drop by Vicky Skinkle’s Sweet Treats concession stand (you know, the same place you go for your yearly fix of chocolate-covered bacon) for some of these deep-fried, drizzled-with-flavour frozen globules of fermented cream. They’re supposed to taste like a donut. Statins are extra.

Designer macaroni and cheese. All manner of this traditional favourite are on offer at the Mac & Cheesery, including breakfast mac and cheese with egg and sausage, cheeseburger mac and cheese with ground beef, and—why not?—you’ve got the deep fryer going for the butter balls already—deep-fried mac and cheese balls.

Cheeseburger in a bag. Here at Bouchard’s Poutinery, a genius makes good on inspiration with cheeseburger-flavoured Dorito chips tossed with seasoned ground beef, tomato and onion. In a bag. Bet you wish you’d thought of that one yourself.