Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Street Food: The Ex! (aka CNE aka The Exhibition)

THE EX!!!

Everyone has wonderful memories of the Exhibition, starting from childhood, into your teens, and finally with your next generation. Nothing is more unforgettable as the food you eat there. Here is a quick rundown of the essentials I had while there
Corn Dog





Location: Midway Superdogs
Price: $6.00 CDN, jumbo
Taste: I am so happy this year they brought back the use of the footlong to make the jumbo corndogs, not just two regular hotdogs strung on head to tail. The midway makes the best tasting corndogs with the most cornmeal in the batter.


Corn Dog - Take two

Location: Honeydew
Price: $4.00 CDN, jumbo
Taste: They also use footlongs to make their jumbo. Honeydew is by FAR the cheapest jumbo corndog you will find at The Ex! The batter is not quite as good as the midway; a little doughier, a little sweeter, a little less cornmeal. But, with the savings all fried food can be made equal.

Tiny Tom's donuts


Location: Outside food building, TTC/Go train gates
Price: $3.50/dozen -$1 OFF (2 "taste of cents" coupons, from toronto star)
Taste: With or without the coupons i would have bought these. The coupons are just a little bonus. I miss the year round Tiny Tom's they tried to open at Dundas Square a couple years back. Now, the ex is once again the only place I can get them. I had the apple cinnamon flavour, and was in instant nirvana. I used to beg my mother for these whenever we were there.

Ice cream waffle

Location: Midway, outside western exit to the Direct Energy Centre
Price: $3.00
Taste: This is the BEST ice cream waffle stall at the ex. THey make them fresh, not retoasted like most others, and give a fairly large portion. As icing on the cake, they are also the cheapest, as many of the other stalls sell them at $4.00 each.

Cheese fries


Location: Wings-N-Fries, Kids' Midway
Price: $6.00 CDN
Taste: After being unable to find the original and BEST truck where the cheese fries SHOULD have been bought (they moved it!). I was tricked into thinking that this place would be as good as it was the year prior, and fill the void. The fries were soggy, yet overcooked, and the portions were incredibly small! About an hour later, I found the truck (Fries on Broadway) I was originally looking for parked outside the western exit of the Direct Energy building, and it was not retired as previously thought. Thank god for return visits, because this food pick needs a do-over!

Beavertail


Location: Beavertails, Ontario Place
Price: $3.75-4.25 CDN +tax
Taste: Mmmmm! Beavertails! Nothing like fresh fried dough to pick up your day! If you are going to have a beavertail (and you must!), then the best place to get one is to cross the bridge to Ontario Place. I shared a cinnamon and sugar and maple beavertail with my partner. NOTE: Killaloe = cinnamon sugar and lemon.

Caramel Apple

Location: Northwest Fudge SHoppe. Food BUilding
PRice: $3.50CDN
Taste: The largest of the lot, for the lowest price. The Caramel is oogey gooey good and they use granny smith apples.


Butter Chicken Roti

Location: Indian Food, Food building
Price: $6.99 CDN +tax
Taste: Okay, so technically this isn't an "EX" eat, and it's not even on their menu. I asked the nice lady by the counter to make me a butter chicken roti, and she did! After all the junk food I had throughout the day, I needed some "detox". This roti was AMAZING east indian roti. There was a ton of meat and made me want more! So much better than Ghandi!

Unphotographed:
Coffee

Locations: Wandering Bean, Direct Energy Building (1.75 for large)
Wandering Bean, Arts, crafts, and Hobbies (1.75 for large)
coffee Time, Food Building (1.55+tax for jumbo)
Taste: Wandering Bean-1 (BEST, hot, fresh, no lineup, but out of cream)
Wandering Bean-2 (Lukewarm, stick with stuff from the espresso machine, heats baby bottles for free)
Coffee time (typical cupajoe found all over the city, but HUGE lineups)

Fudge
Locations: Arts, Crafts, and Hobbies
Price: 3.25 for 1/4 lb
Taste: They are the best tasting fudge of the Ex, much better than the ones in the food building. The fudge is made by a little ole grandma, manning the booth. Too bad they do not give samples anymore. Either know what you like or take a risk.

Freebies:
Gillette razors
Secret bodysprays
Herbal Essences haircolour
Oh Henry, taste of cents coupons
Spring water, cooler in Horseplay area
Levi's bandana
e2 energizer batteries, with exchange of old batteries
Pizza slice, for kids during pizza making workshop

Things I didn't get:
Swedish waffles, just didnt feel like it this year
Funnelcake, Canada's Wonderland is SO much better
Deep Fried Mars Bar, saving it for my second visit
H. Salt, rather spend the money on Harbord, Jaspers, Caz's or B&B
99c Spaghetti, saving it for my second visit


street food, food, snack, the ex, cne, exhibition, streetfood, food festival, food fair, fair, beavertails, corndog, fries, caramel apple, corn dog, candied apple, funnelcake, deep fried, fudge

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey...what do you mean no cream! I swear we were out of cream for one 1/2 hour at the end of one day, I don't think it was even a Wednesday!!! But, maybe you didn't ask for more?? Always more in the fridge.

Or maybe you were the guy who was agreable about the lack of cream in that unfortunate 1/2 hour? Tall, dark hair, around 20 something?

About the other booth having lukewarm coffee.....that's rare too but speak up!

Thanks for checking us out and exspect to see more of us on the street!

Or catch us at the Royal Winter Fair, also a meca for street food. Try the Pork Council's offering and the Beef with horseradish on a Bun. Wow.

We're smaller but still have 2 locations. One will always have a line up though.....

We owe you a HOT one!!!!

Jennifer of the Wandering Bean

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