Canadian National Exhibition (Food Building, Princes' Boulevard, Toronto, Ontario)
It's almost the end of summer, and that means the Ex is back for another year of rickety rides, rigged games, and all the food you shouldn't eat.
The first attraction we hit was the Food Building. Andrew had a list of about ten things to eat, and they were all deep-fried except for the donut burger.
Deep-fried cola. It's more expensive than the deep-fried slushie and deep-fried Kool-Aid.
I noted that the pieces sticking out of the cup looked like tentacles. It's basically a broken funnel cake topped with syrup, whipped cream, and cherries. Andrew said that he tasted the cola flavour, but it was like "weird Coke".
There was a bit of a line for this place, as it sold the infamous doughnut burger. There was also the behemoth burger (grilled cheese sandwich as the bun of the burger).
Krispy Kreme burger ($8-something). Approximately 1500 calories.
It's a thick burger with processed cheese, lettuce, and tomato slices sandwiched in between two Krispy Kreme doughnuts. The vegetables were crispy and necessary to cut some of the sweetness away. The icing on the doughnuts were partially melted from the heat of the burger. I thought the actual meat was okay, but I could've done without the Krispy Kremes. They were way too sweet and didn't really do their job in holding the burger together. Andrew seemed to enjoy it though.
There's an option to make it "epic" by adding bacon and an egg, but that seemed like a death wish.
Mac & Cheesery. This was the place I was excited for.
They offered different variations of mac and cheese, but I went there for the deep-fried mac n cheese. They also had deep-fried cheese curds, but they looked a bit dried up and not very exciting. They sort of reminded me of popcorn chicken.
Deep-fried macaroni and cheese.
Andrew's batch had round chunks, whereas three of mine were shaped like rectangular prisms. They looked like fried tofu. My first bite into the crispy shell revealed a hot, gooey, and cheesy interior. It was good, but it needed salt or more seasoning. I went back to get some of their Frank's RedHot sauce and that made it taste more complete. It was deep-fried kid food, and I liked it.
Deep Fried Mars Bars (and Vachon cakes, and Pop tarts, and Oreos, and Twinkies).
The deep-fried Mars bar isn't a new idea, but deep-fried Vachon cakes sounded interesting. ($5) Got the Jos Louis, but the Ah Caramel! might've been a better order.
It might've been a good idea in theory, but it was a mess to eat. The Jos Louis was too big and soft to be held up by the stick. The batter was thin, but a bit soggy. That might've been because we waited a little while before eating it, though. I think the deep-frying ruined the snack, which was a perfectly fine thing to begin with. The extra chocolate sauce also seemed unnecessary.
Deep-fried Mars bar.
Andrew said this was much better (and easier to eat).
I think the deep-frying melted the cream in between the two cake layers in the Jos Louis.
Steak & Cheese
Spicy fries and Sprite ($5-something, but it should've been $3.50 + tax.) I got ripped off.
They tasted like McCain fries. Again, I got ripped off, and I was left feeling very displeased.
Would I return? Probably. The deep-fried mac and cheese wasn't bad, I couldn't find the deep-fried butter, and I might try the deep-fried cheese curds and grilled cheese burger. Plus, it's not every day that I get to feast on fair food... just two weeks out of the year.
Admission to the CNE is $5 after 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. General admission is $16 otherwise.
Total damage: 876543456787654 calories.
Related articles:
My previous visit to the Ex
http://norecipes.com/blog/2011/04/28/fried-mac-cheese-balls-recipe/
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link! That looks so fancy!!!! Must try.
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