The weirdest and most wonderful things to eat and drink at the CNE this year

It’s late August, and you know what they say: when the wasps come a-knocking, the CNE is dropping. (Wait, do they say that? Who cares?! The CNE is here!) This time, the massive 18-day festival features eight stages, 12 bars, 60 rides, 800 vendors and so much cheese. We rounded up this year’s slew of wacky food to present some of 2024’s most TikTok-able extreme eats, classified from weird to wonderful to “Whoa, that’s big.”

 Weird

Deep-Fried Pickle Oreo While the deep-fried Oreo has been around for more than two decades, the pickle version is making its CNE debut. Though it’s certainly unique, longevity may not be in the cards for this delicacy. From Sam’s Grill, the classic cookie is twisted open, stuffed with thin slices of dill pickle, closed up, dipped in minced-dill-pickle batter and then deep-fried. It’s topped with vanilla icing and fresh dill.

Butter Chicken Corn Dog If ever there was a time and place for a ground-chicken-based sausage, this is it. Also from Sam’s Grill comes the Butter Chicken Corn Dog. For this take on the classic Indian dish, the folks behind SG put a stick in a chicken wiener, dip it in a masala-spice-infused corn batter, pop it in the deep fryer, then coat it in a house-made butter chicken sauce. It’s finished with a drizzle of aïoli and a sprinkling of chives.

Kool-Aid Chicken Sandwich While we don’t suggest running through a wall to try the TikTok-worthy Kool-Aid chicken sandwich, it’s just bizarre enough to eat for a challenge. From the aptly named vendor Fried Chicken Sandwiches, the sammy is a whole breast of chicken that’s been lightly breaded and deep-fried to a crisp golden brown. It’s then dipped in a bionically sweet reduction of red Kool-Aid, placed in a hamburger bun and garnished with lettuce and pickles to cut through some of that saccharine flavour.

Crookie Sandwiches What do you get when you cross fried chicken with the hybrid dessert fad? The Fried Chicken Crookie Sandwich from our friends at Fried Chicken Sandwiches. For this simple sandwich, a whole breast of chicken is breaded, deep-fried and nestled in a chocolate-chip-cookie-croissant mash-up. It’s drizzled with chocolate sauce and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Wonderful

Dill Pickle Shooters It’s sometimes a challenge to save a tasty cocktail garnish for last, but in the case of the brilliant dill pickle shooter (where the pickle is the cup), there’s no need to. Though the container of this libation is the draw, its contents—a choice of gin or tequila mixed with tomato juice, lime juice, hot sauce and plenty of spices—definitely pull their weight.

Ube Coconut Crack to Sip From mochi-doughnut-slinging sweets shop O-Mochi comes the colour-reveal dessert beverage they’ve coined the Crack to Sip. While the sweet—but not cloying—drink also comes in the form of an affogato or a matcha latte, the standout is definitely the nutty and creamy ube and coconut version. But the real magic is in the presentation. Upon service, the purple-yam-based drink appears white due to a thin layer of frozen milk. Then, with a slight squeeze of the cup, the ice breaks and the ube bleeds through, revealing a selfie-ready lilac purple.

Deep Fried Cheese Curds Taylor’s Version From the CNE’s OG fried cheese curd peddler, the King of Curds, comes a wacky and strangely delicious take on the squeaky treat. The Taylor’s Version cheese curds are a glittery, sweet, salty ode to the artist that involve the king’s signature battered and deep-fried cheese curds plus “Wildest Cream” icing, lavender-flavoured sprinkles and a fluff of pink cotton candy. And for the final touch, a spray of edible shimmer—because, you know, “Bejeweled.”

Twisted Pickles The CNE seems obsessed with pickles of late. Some of us have been following the rise of the pickle for years; others jump on the pickle bandwagon—but that’s okay because we all get to enjoy a genius snack like Twisted Pickles. For this briny take on the popular Tornado Potato, a punchy pickle is spiralized, coated in dill batter, deep-fried, drizzled with house ranch sauce and then finished with a smattering of crushed Lay’s dill pickle chips.

Superfly Noodle There’s something to be said for a carnival dish that doesn’t require 14 feet of melted cheese to stand out. Enter the Superfly Noodle. The folks at Super Noodle company are serving a handsome bowl of air-dried ramen noodles coated in a spicy soy-based sauce and topped with proteins like torched-to-order sweet soy-marinated squid, Korean bulgogi-style beef, or pan-fried and soy-braised char siu chicken. Plus, there’s no limit on toppings (including edamame, Japanese pickles and crispy shallots), so if creating a social media spectacle is the goal, pile it high and smile for the camera.

Whoa, That’s Big

Foot-Long Mozza Dogs This year, the folks at Pizza Pizza have gone a little bit loopy, serving up half-pound logs of breaded and deep-fried cheese in 12-inch hot dog buns and calling them Mozza Dogs. Available in three flavours, the absurdly large cheese trunks are served Pep Style (with pepperoni “pickles” and tomato sauce), Ball Park (with ketchup, mustard and actual dill pickle slices) or All Dressed (with creamy garlic sauce, barbecue sauce and crushed Lay’s potato chips).

Uncrustable Bacon Burger The Uncrustable Bacon Burger is a behemoth meat tower constructed from two smash-burger patties, several strips of thick-cut bacon, caramelized onions and cheese stuffed between two toasted PB-and-J-filled buns. It may be ruinous for your body, but it makes for a good photo op.

Karaage Soft-Shell Crab Lollipop Japanese-style soft-shell crab makes its CNE debut, dressed in potato starch and deep-fried. The crunchy whole crustacean is then impaled on a stick and served with sriracha mayo.

Birria Bomb This spice-packed, deep-fried spherical take on a traditional birria taco explodes with flavour and has a cheese pull that seems to go for miles. It starts with a corn tortilla stuffed with birria—a slow-cooked stew of beef, guajillo peppers, stock and tons of Mexican spices—and mozzarella. Then it’s all rolled into a circular shape, dipped in panko and deep-fried. It’s served with the remaining stewing liquid for dipping, all crunchy, oily, cheesy, juicy and ready for a close-up.