Summer’s last bash
You could call this year’s 137th edition of the Canadian National Exhibition, which opened on Friday, a spaghetti western. That about wraps up two of the annual fair’s big attractions. The first is what you might be eating — if you’re brave or very, very hungry. The second is where you might need to be drinking after scarfing back the first.
But don’t expect your spaghetti to be served on a plate with tomato sauce and a meatball. That wouldn’t be in the spirit of the crazy food experiences the Ex serves up each year, such as its 2010 classic: deep-fried butter balls.
This year be on the lookout for Corrado’s S&M: a racy-named spaghetti-and-meatball burger. The mind boggles. Here’s the recipe: one patty is made from chopped spaghetti bound with mozzarella then deep-fried ( naturellement!), and the other patty is made from a meatball mix. Just for contrast, the patties are served up on a wholesome, whole wheat/multi-grain bun, which is then slathered in garlic spread and topped with tomato sauce and parmesan.
If you choose to top it with the X or XXX-rated versions — baked jalapeno peppers, habaneros or scotch bonnets — you may need to go Western and wash it down with a cool one from the Northern Comfort Saloon. Introduced at last year’s Ex, it’s back with a mechanical bull, performances by country artists and line dancing — to work off the S&M burger.
By then you’ll be ready for live performances by the XPogo Stunt Team, West Coast Lumberjack Show, Parkour Demonstrations or the Bon voyage! Acrobatic and Ice Skating Show with Canadian Olympic gold medallists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.
You can even get some of your shopping chores completed in between the rides and concerts. There’s lots to buy at the Ex, in pavilions specializing in arts and crafts to gourmet kitchens and warehouse outlets. It’s got to be more fun than the lineups at the malls for back-to-school merchandise, right?
Last year the CNE, which runs to Sept. 7, attracted 1.43 million visitors over18 days, proving that after almost a century and a half it hasn’t yet gone to the dogs. Unless, of course, you mean its back-by-popular-demand HollyWoof: the President’s Choice Superdogs Show. Apparently it’s the cat’s meow.