Five crazy things to eat at the CNE this year - NOW Magazine (2024)

It’s time to start planning out your annual food coma. The Canadian National Exhibition has a reputation for serving up crazily unhealthy, amazingly delicious treats every year – and 2015’s round of recipes does not disappoint. You might want to wear pants with an elastic waistband.

Timbits Poutine

When you think about iconic Canadian food, what’s the first thing that pops into your head? Timbits? Poutine? Well, now you can have both. Kind of. This incredibly sweet concoction is inspired by poutine, but there’s no fries or cheese curds involved. Instead, you get a cup full of Timbits covered in whipped cream and sprinkles. It comes in flavours like birthday cake, maple cinnamon French toast and chocolate salted caramel.

Find it at Tim Hortons in the Food Building.

Actual fries

If you prefer the more traditional salty style of poutine, there’s still plenty for you. But in true CNE style, it’s extravagant. Poutine balls are golden deep-fried mashed potatoes stuffed with cheese curds, served smothered in gravy and topped with even more curds. And then there’s fries topped with garlic aioli and snow crab, seasoned with parsley and dill.

Find the poutine balls at Vienna and the crab fries at Jake’s Lobster, both in the Food Building.

Sweet treats

Why have one classic dessert when you can have two in one? It turns out that Oreo cookies go even better with red velvet cake than they do with milk. The cookies come deep-fried in cake batter with cream cheese icing on top. Also check out the banana split, a chocolate and fruit-filled ice cream concoction inside a steamed bun.

Find the Oreo at The Funnel Cake Shop and the banana split at Far East Taco, both in the Food Building.

Chicken waffles

Combine dinner and breakfast with this classic combination. One version comes on a stick, with layers of chicken and batter dipped in icing sugar and Frank’s Red Hot sauce. For a sit-down meal, try the chicken waffles topped with four scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Find them at Chicken Waffle on a Stick on the west end of the grounds (near the Press Building) or Fran’s in the Food Building.

Burgers and sandwiches

These aren’t your average lunchbox or family barbeque standards. You may have tried grilled cheese with bacon in it, but have you tried bacon-wrapped grilled cheese? The burgers this year are also an ambitious bunch, including one with spaghetti and meatballs, one topped with chow mein noodles and a third with Jamaican beef patties as a bun.

Find the grilled cheese at Bacon Nation and the burgers at Corrado’s Authentic Italian (the spaghetti one) and Bub’s Bad@ss Burgers, all in the Food Building.

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