Bacon Grilled Cheese - © 2015 momwhoruns.com

Menu Madness: This Year’s New Fair Eats

It’s been about a year since we ran a series on ultra-nutty foods on offer at the Fall Fairs ’round and about, notably at the CNE in Toronto. Well…They’re out to top themselves in the nuttiness department this year with an artery-hardening parade of deep fried fare…

S&M Burger - © 2015 helpwevegotkids.comThe provocatively-named S&M Burger. (S&M stands for ‘Spaghetti and Meat Balls’.)

Okay… Let’s focus on the nuttiest, newest ides to hit the Midway this summer:

Chicken Waffle on a Stick – What’s so new about that – aside, maybe, from the stick? For one thing, a whole Chicken Tender (the original ‘Chicken Finger’ cut; the thin strip from the back of the breast) is dipped in Waffle Batter, stuffed in a waffle-shaped mould and deep-fried. It’s dusted with Powdered Sugar and drizzled with Hot Sauce just before service. Sounds a little incongruous, but reviews, they say, are predominantly ‘thumbs up’. $8. My take: Looks nice, but $8 seems a little steep.

Bub’s Bad Boy Burger – Hold onto your Antacid bottle! This one is a Burger in name only. More like a pile of sinful deep fried, grilled and baked (?) goodies, any one of which would normally constitute a mean on its own. Here’s the line-up – er, pileup: Start with a large spicy beef patty, add a piece of Honey Garlic Fried Chicken (boneless, we hope!), Put those on a bed of Sliced Cucumber, Tomato and Buttermilk Coleslaw, then top with Pepper Jack Cheese, Wasabi sauce, a squirt of Sriracha and some Mayo. And bracket that between a pair of Jamaican Beef Patties. There are other equally outrageous Bub’s burgers available. $8 to $12. My take: Lots of food, if you like it really hot, and reasonably priced compared to other fancy Burgers ’round town.

Corrado’s S&M Burger – A slab of Fried Spaghetti help together by Mozzarella Cheese, a nice Beef Burger made from the house Meatball blend, topped with a generous slurp of Marinara Sauce and stacked on a big Onion Bun. $14. My take: S&M = Spaghetti and Meatballs. Sounds nice and more herby than spicy. But at $14, its a little steep for what you get. On the other hand, it is a big mouthful!

Bacon-Wrapped Grilled Cheese – This intriguing-looking thing is a regular white bread sandwich lavishly stuffed with a mix of Mozzarella and Cheddar. Dipped in Egg and wrapped in a lattice-work sheet of Bacon Strips, then deep-fried, of course. $10. My take: Looks really good! Probably about 800 to 1,000 calories and more fat than you can imagine. But I’d eat one. Especially if I was in the middle of a day-long wander ’round the Ex…

And finally, just because you knew there had to something involving Poutine…

Poutine Balls – This one features nuggets of Cheddar Cheese Curd wrapped (like little Scotch Eggs) in Mashed Potatoes, rolled in Bread Crumbs and deep-fried. Topped with more curds and a rich German style beef Gravy. In various sizes; $7 to $10. My take: The servings look a little small, based on the photos I’ve seen. But those may have been little samplers made up specially for the media tasters at the fair food unveiling event. Can’t help thinking, though, that these little guys look at lot like Cheese-filled ‘Tater Tots’, which come frozen from the factory, ready to toss in the fryer. One hopes the purveyor puts more effort into them than that.

There’s lots more in this post from Toronto Life Magazine, including some over-the-top cold treats, as well.

I think I gained five pounds just writing this…

~ Maggie J.