Let's go to the Food Building!

Torontonians, you have two weekends left to get yourself to the Ex. The Canadian National Exhibition features scheming carnies, rides of dubious safety, entertainment that ranges from middling to deafening (Air Show anyone?) and a smorgasbord of culinary innovation. Yes, innovation. Ex vendors boldly deep-fry what no one has deep-fried before, and the results are heavenly. Along with gastronomic breakthroughs the CNE features typical carnival fare (for Toronto): neon sno-cones, many varieties of fried dough, fries, burgers, pizzas, shawarma, dim sum, sushi, pho, falafel and more, all under the magnificent roof of the food building.

I crave Tiny Tom's conveyor belt mini donuts year-round, and seek them out at any outdoor Toronto fest, whether Word on the Street or the Weed March. This year marks their 50th anniversary and I got a little festive. My favourites are icing sugar or cinnamon, $5/dozen, or 4 dozen for $15.

Dollar spaghetti doesn't really appeal to me, but it keeps coming back year after year.

It is after all the Canadian National Exhibition and poutine is heavily featured along with other so-called national dishes.

I don't know why I thought this would be a good idea but the take-out dim sum was truly atrocious (Chinatown is cheaper and infinitely better).

The Lemon Ladies.

I admit I am late to the game on this one. I've been hearing tell of the delights of deep-fried chocolate bars for years, but this was my first taste.

And it won't be my last. The crisp batter coating is an excellent balance for the melting chocolate-caramel confection.

It was the same stand's deep-fried butter that's been making headlines. This is not in the Food Building, but rather fairly deep into the midway, near the Canadian Armed Forces display. At first I was a bit reluctant to ask people if they knew where it was fearing judgment, but everyone was happy to point the way, noting that it seemed hugely popular.

Small balls of butter are frozen onto toothpicks, then dipped in the same batter coating as the Mars bars.

After frying they are topped off with a squirt of chocolate, caramel or strawberry sauce.

When ready, the butter has melted inside the donut-like coating and biting in frees the butter from this doughy cage. I don't think I could eat more than four as they are quite rich, but it really is delicious.

Good, unpretentious, possibly fatal treats await you at the Ex! Let's go!

Sandwiches: More than fine

With the heat in Toronto this summer, I'm actually kind of grateful for my basement living situation. I will take cool and damp and dark over hot and sticky any day. I'm mostly living off of popsicles right now, but sandwiches offer a little more sustenance and so I offer you a round-up of Toronto sandwich news and a sandwich of my very own.

First of all, Sandwich Box is opening a new location at Bay and Bloor which I am thrilled about, because since the Queen St. W location shut down over a year ago, I've had to find excuses to visit the Financial District. Although in a cruel twist of fate, I will likely be graduated by the time it opens and actually work near the Financial District locations. As long as I have regular access to this gourmet Subway with excellent packaging, I'm happy. No opening date posted yet but renovations have been going on for a couple months now. Soon, I hope!

Sky Blue Sky Sandwich has been open for months but I was late to the game and have only started going this summer. They have a huge customizable sandwich menu, all named after Wilco songs (if you're into that kind of thing) with lots of vegetarian choices (if you're into that kind of thing). So far I've tried the Casino Queen (turkey with a balsamic onion marmalade, bacon, and avocado) and the We're Just Friends (chicken with roasted red peppers, Swiss cheese and red onions), both of which have been stellar though in the future I will ask for them to be buttered before grilled as they were a shade dry. The bread is craving-worthy, with several varieties (three cheese, honey-nut whole wheat, cranberry cream cheese) baked in house daily. I also tried the avocado-cucumber soup which was the perfect choice for a sweltering afternoon. The owner is incredibly friendly and happy to chat. Best of all, all sandwiches are under five dollars. There can be a bit of a wait if you come at a peak time, but there is the option of emailing your order so it's ready for pick-up. The future.

Lastly in sandwich news, two of my favourite restaurants are facing off this Sunday at Deli Duel, as a fundraiser for The Stop Community Food Centre. Caplansky's, The Stockyards and Goldin's are the names, smoked meat's the game. Sandwiches are three dollars and admission is free. Caplansky's has never failed to impress in the smoked meat department (I'm partial to the smoked meat poutine) and other deli fare. I wouldn't call The Stockyards a deli, but I would bet that their smoked meat is a contender, after having tried their barbecue options. Goldin's I have never heard of before, so I'm looking forward to tasting what they have on offer. Deli Duel is tomorrow at 1pm at Wychwood Barns, on Christie at St. Clair.

Finally, I leave you with a fancy BLT that was just the thing on a night too hot to turn on the oven. Bacon, spinach, tomato and fresh mozzarella grilled until crisp and melty. Simple and delicious.