Good Eats at the CNE
Posted by Sheryl Kirby in event reviews, events, events upcoming on August 19, 2007 at 8:07 am
Immediately after entering the CNE grounds on opening day, we ran into a neighbour and her young daughter. The little girl was eating slices of fruit. Not an odd sight normally, but at the Ex, not the kind of thing you’d expect to see. The mind really isn’t able to connect watermelon slices and the midway full of vendors selling cotton candy, candy apples and corn dogs.
On one hand, I sort of felt sorry for my little friend - coming home from the fair with a big bag of spun sugar was always part of the allure when I was a kid. But given the fuss about childhood obesity, trans fats, plus additives and preservatives, I can understand why her Mom would want to limit the amount of junk. Which left us wondering if it was even possible to eat healthy, let along vegetarian or vegan at the CNE. The midway is almost a barren wasteland of healthy options; burgers, corn dogs and candy corn aren’t going to register on anyone’s healthy eating scale. We did encounter a couple of booths with roasted corn, and if you lay off too much butter, this could be considered a passable treat.
Inside that glorious Mecca to sugar and grease, aka the Food Building, all types of cuisine are well represented. There’s Greek food, Japanese teriyaki, Dim Sum, Perogi, Caribbean roti and Thai, Indian and Filipino options. Pizza slices abound, as do burgers, chips, ice cream, waffles and fudge. It’s all pretty much food court quality, though, with many chains represented. Don’t come looking for anything gourmet – this is a shrine to junk food in all its glory.
In terms of healthy options, it takes some looking. Most of the Greek places offer salads, and we found a burrito place that had vegetarian options. Veganizing the same burrito omitted the cheese, sour cream and guacamole, though, which pretty much means a wrap and some sautéed veggies. Most of the pizza places offered vegetarian slices, but let’s not get carried away into thinking that those slices are healthy. The Soupman has a booth offering samples for 50 cents, but they’re quite small. Lick’s was offering both regular and Natureburgers, so vegetarians and vegans have a couple of choices.
We also found falafels and smoothies, as well as sandwiches that could pass for healthy, if not veggie-friendly. A couple of Japanese places offered sushi, and almost every place offering fries also had huge signs advising of 0 trans fats in their products. Some items that we would consider passably healthy turned out to be crazy expensive - banh mi sandwiches that are normally $1.25 to $1.50 on Spadina ran $3.99 with a beverage here.
Maybe the Ex is not the place to come looking for healthy options, though. Maybe it’s one of the few times of the year when it’s okay to indulge, just a bit. Perhaps a beavertail, some Tiny Toms donuts, curly fries or a slab of fudge is to be overlooked for one day. After all, you can always have a salad tomorrow, but cotton candy, like the Ex, comes but once a year.
The CNE runs daily from 10am to 10pm until September 3rd.
It’s not the CNE without fudge.
Pizza and baklava. Now there’s a combination.
Naked waffles awaiting ice cream and chocolate sauce.
Day-glo squishy - to give the carny at the Tilt-A-Whirl something to remember you by when he cleans up after you.
August 19th, 2007 at 11:03 am
I love the Ex! And I agree with you completely - salad’s for tomorrow when you’re at the CNE. I opened this post and laughed out loud… just finished writing a paean to the midway last night :)
August 19th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
I dont understand the appeal of really bad food. Setting health issues aside because we all like to indulge ourselves, why not do so by getting food that actually doesn’t make you feel physically bad after eating it?
It’s just counter intuitive for any food conscious person to eat at events like that, which includes taste of danforth, hot and spicy and so on. High vendor spot costs force vendors to maximize volume and minimize quality so that they can just break even at the end of the day.
The only time I had positive experience at a similar event was last year when I stumbled by accident to the little park next to Ray Thompson hall. There was a whole bunch a small vendors from around downtown representing they food in best possible light. Coming in at $6-8 per plate, which isnt cheap by exhibition standards, we must’ve left about $50 bucks there and even bought some to take home.
What I’m trying to say is that it’s really puzzling to see endorsements to Kubo Radio and CNE food on the same blog.
August 19th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
1. The appeal of the CNE is the kitsch factor. It’s a shame that you can’t understand the appeal of really bad food, because some really bad food is really good. Even if all it does is make you appreciate the good stuff more.
2. I very seriously doubt that the vendors at the CNE are just breaking even at the end of the day. Even on the first day when we went, the Food building was crazy. No, I don’t know why - most of it is available at the average food court, but it is what it is. People like the junk food. Quit being such a snob.
3. The event next to Roy Thompson Hall you’re referring to was called “Taste of Toronto”. Based on the “high vendor cost” example you use in the previous paragraph, that event would fit the same model you slam when referring to the CNE. Makes you look a titch hypocritical, doesn’t it?
4. I was at Taste of Toronto last year. So terribly, terribly awfully horribly bad. We encountered cold food that should have been hot, wine that had been left to sit in the sun, and food from a couple of stalls that we threw away, it was so disgusting. The best stuff we had there was merely mediocre. At least at the EX you don’t have unrealistically high expectations.
5. Our writers all have their own opinions. Just because one of our writers enjoyed a visit to Kubo Radio (which, iirc, seemed to have something to do with one of the city’s top chefs sitting at a nearby table) doesn’t mean that TasteTO “endorses” the business or their food. I’ve seen *plenty* of reviews of Kubo that reamed the place.
6. Did you miss the part of our website where we point out that TasteTO is about **everything** to do with food in Toronto? From the fancy shit to the road dogs? We’re not about food snobbery here, we celebrate as much of it as we have writers to cover it, and food at the Ex is an inherent part of summer for most Torontonians. It’s too bad that you can’t share in that joy.
August 20th, 2007 at 9:27 am
I’m very far from a food snob. I don’t go to fancy-pants restaurants, don’t know any chef names and the most I’ve ever paid for a dinner was $100 bucks. My taste buds are very far from refined and I would be hard pressed to tell one red from another.
All I want is to be able to go to an event and don’t feel that I’m wasting my money. I don’t really care what the price is, but I do have a problem with a $14 admission fee to a food court.
The reason why I liked Taste Of Toronto (btw, thank you very much for recalling the name) is that that was the only time I saw vendors being proud of their product and wanted to you to come back. A business trying to win a customer goes a long way.
I’m not bashing the site or the writers or trying to be a snob. I very much enjoy this blog and read every post. I just wish to see a bit more objective view on corporate events designed to empty your pockets rather than promote local business or culture.
August 20th, 2007 at 10:04 am
Alex,
As the editor, and as an ardent supporter of local businesses (I used to run a site completely dedicated to local shops and events), I think TasteTO goes above and beyond supporting local restaurants, purveyors, farmers etc. I’m also pretty strict about the topics that we cover. I’ve turned down a lot of story pitches because they didn’t have enough of a Toronto angle.
But I also don’t think that we can ignore corporate culture completely (only the foolish would open a restaurant - even a single “local” one - and not incorporate it!), and there are a LOT of small local restaurants represented in the CNE food building besides places like Pizza Pizza and New York Fries. Places noted for their great food like Island Foods, as well as small Ontario-created chains like H. Salt Fish and Chips, Tiny Tom’s, etc.
This IS local business and local culture, whether you like it or not.
I have no problem with people railing against corporate chains when they show up in places they shouldn’t be (like hospitals!), but I don’t think anyone goes to the Ex expecting it to be high-class and ethically-minded. And I think my view within the piece is **incredibly** objective and open-minded, and I really resent your comment that it might be otherwise. I didn’t approach it from the point of view that “oh, all this food is wonderful”, I looked at it sceptically from a health and diet perspective. But in the end, enough people like the Ex just the way it is that it’s not going to change because you or I think the food is crap and not worth the money.
It’s a Toronto tradition, and it’s food-related, which makes is a perfect topic for us to cover here. You seem well enamoured with the Taste of Toronto event, and yet again I have to point out the hypocrisy of your statements, because ultimately the events are pretty much the same thing in terms of what the customer gets out of it. Again, I have to reiterate, the food I consumed and saw at that event was **TERRIBLE**. We threw stuff away, it was so gross. At least with the corporate junk food, you know what you’re getting and are seldom disappointed.
August 20th, 2007 at 10:16 am
Furthermore… we paid $10 to get onto the CNE grounds - not $14 to get into the food building. So your claim of “a $14 admission fee to a food court” is far off the mark. We did some Christmas shopping, petted some animals, and had we had the time could have watched the dog show, the bird demonstration, the equestrian competitions or the Village People concert. The food was the topic of this article, but wasn’t the only focus of our visit.
I understand that some people just don’t like the Ex - I absolutely get that. It can be tawdry, tacky and far too corporate. But it does appeal to a lot of people. That doesn’t make the event or the food served there wrong. It’s not for you? That’s perfectly fine. But please do not presume to tell me that we shouldn’t be covering it here.
August 30th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
what I have loved about this site since the beginning is the fact that the content is so diverse yet local. You guys cover literally everything local, and there’s so much content!. Some days I see 2-3 updates — overwhelming but all good.
I think covering both the cheap eats and the susurs gives all readers a good perspective and also broadens your readership. nothing wrong with that.
Anyone that complains is severely in the minority.
Do what you do, you’re kicking ass.
August 31st, 2007 at 7:30 am
Thanks Suresh. Glad to see someone gets it.
That has absolutely been our aim from the very beginning. While I think it’s important to know where our food comes from, and to support local farmers and businesses, I think it’s also important for food to be fun - and sometimes that means a little bit of junk food.
We eat three times a day, after all - it shouldn’t all have to be dour and serious.
September 1st, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Based on this review, I went to the Ex all excited about the food. I looked so forward to it!
My friends and I really were disgusted with the quality of the food though. We had to throw out almost everything out — the one exception were the Tiny Tom’s donuts.
Wanted a sausage with grilled peppers on a bun — it was diced onions with a few token green peppers and a tiny sliver of a red pepper. So asked for saurkraut instead. It was obviously just reheated from a jar, not made right. Very, very sour. The bun wasn’t toasted so within seconds it all became a big soggy mess. The sausage itself must have been overcooked or sitting around for a while (this was during dinner time) cause the skin was very thick and tough and the inside was dried out. It was sad.
One of my friends got fish and chips. The fries were acceptable,not the best but not disgusting, but the piece of fish was tiny and just okay. For $7 we expected a bit more.
Island Foods is generally good but my friend’s roti wasn’t as good as it is from one of their regular locations. Seemed rushed, not as well made.
The poutine I then got was the grossest poutine I ever tasted. The gravy came from a pot that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned out, just continually refilled, for a long time. It was truly disgusting. You’d expect a nice, thick gravy to come from that, though. Nope, it was almost clear(!), runny as hell, and they didn’t give enough to cover the top layer of fries. Very skimpy on the cheese too. That cost just over $5.
Then we tried snocones. No spoon just a skinny straw, so all we could consume was basically melted chemical-water. No love for those either.
Caramel corn was okay but bagged and cold, which was unfortunate. For $4 I’d hope for more.
Then our last ditch effort at food (we were hungry!) was pizza pizza. Good ol’ standby. Nope, it sucked too, just not anywhere as good as from the actual stores. I couldn’t believe even pizza let us down.
It was nice seeing the animals and my friend’s young daughter get to go on some rides, but overall the kitsch factor lost out to overall GHETTO and I could understand why it had been 10 yrs since I been. Really a big waste of money considering we could have gone to Centreville for rides with zero admission and half decent food of the same type. I know you go for the experience of the Ex, but I suppose I am just another person in the “severe” minority that doesn’t share the low-class taste :(
September 1st, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Whoa now. I didn’t say the food was good.
I most certainly did NOT mislead anybody with the words “the food is good”. I’m sorry you went with high expectations, but I point out more than once that the food is most definitely not gourmet.
Ghetto? Maybe, Depending on your POV. I don’t know you so I don’t know your initial perspective. *shrug* I had fun. Never promised you would.