We Rank the Wacky Foods at the 2025 CNE From Worst to Best

An ideal summer in Toronto consists of a few staples. Some of our favourites include a day at the beach, a concert at Budweiser Stage and attending as many markets and food festivals as possible. But of course, it wouldn’t be summer in Toronto without the CNE.

The Canadian National Exhibition is returning to the city for the 146th year to help wrap up summer in the best way possible. Opening on Friday, August 15, the 2025 CNE offers attendees an array of new experiences that seem endless. Notable experiences include an unforgettable dinner in the sky, a morning coffee party, a drag brunch with some of Canada’s most well-known drag performers and the infamous CNE airshow on Labour Day weekend.

And it wouldn’t be the CNE without the lineup of crazy and wacky foods that are sure to turn heads (and maybe some stomachs). Previous years have included crazy concoctions such as wasabi ice cream, tzatziki cheesecake and a pulled pork sandwich between two Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Well, the food for this year is perhaps the craziest yet with over 30 new food items available.

Butter is the trendiest item this year with a variety of butter-infused dishes like butter ice cream, butter burgers and butter soda. Other notable new items include chicken nugget cookies, Labubu-inspired cheese curds, a Fruity Pebble corn dog and churro pizza. And if you’re looking for a crazy twist on the classic cotton candy, try The Bacone from Greekery Bakeshop. It’s oh-so-Canadian and features a spicy habanero bacon cotton candy, which will leave your mouth on fire. Read on for our ranking of some of the wacky 2025 CNE foods from worst to best.

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12. Lobster Ice Cream from Blue Claw Canada

Blue Claw Canada serves up some of the best lobster rolls in Canada and we will gladly be picking one of those up at the CNE this year. However, we hope that we never see the words lobster and ice cream in the same sentence again. Real chunks of lobster are served in soft serve ice cream and it was not our favourite. We love lobster and we love ice cream, but we are gonna stick with them served separately.

Related: A Classic Lobster Roll That You Can Make All Summer Long

11. Deep-Fried Frozen Watermelon from Mr. Pickle

Frozen watermelon is battered and fried to a crisp and then sprinkled with powdered sugar in this sweet treat. We don’t think this is what Harry Styles was thinking about when he wrote “Watermelon Sugar”. The juiciness of the watermelon prevents the batter from fully deep-frying in the middle, leading to a goopy and watery bite. But hey, we’re glad we tried it!

10. Biscoff Fried Chicken Crunch Ice Cream Sandwich from Los Vietnamita

Buttermilk fried chicken is rolled in Lotus Biscoff cookie crumbs and then topped on a sandwich with vanilla ice cream, maple chilli sauce, a Lotus Biscoff cookie, carrots and daikon. The flavours of the fried chicken in this sandwich are amazing. And in our eyes you can never go wrong with Biscoff. However, there was far too much going on with this sandwich, which is why it lands in this spot.

Related: No-Bake Biscoff Cheesecake

9. Butter Ice Cream from Legend Dairy

This butter soft serve ice cream is described as sweet, salty, savoury and highly addictive. We have to admit that we thought this would be at the bottom of our rankings. But this cool treat ended up being pretty good, tasting a little bit like butterscotch.

8. Butter Dirty Soda from Dirty Sodas

Yes, the butter dirty soda does have real butter in it! It’s a twist on the classic root beer float with a butter foam instead of ice cream. Dirty sodas are trending everywhere right now, especially with Crumbl launching the bevvys in Canada. Plus, when we heard there was a drink with butter and root beer, we instantly thought of the Butterbeer from Harry Potter.

Like the butter ice cream, this drink tastes a lot like butterscotch. It’s creamy, sweet and could definitely cool you down on a hot summer day.

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7. Maki Sushi Corn Dog from Deep Fried Co.

A hot dog on a stick is put into a sushi roll and then covered with a cornmeal batter before being deep-fried. It is then topped with spicy mayo, soy glaze, plus all the typical sushi accoutrements like wasabi and ginger. The maki sushi corn dog is a great salty bite, especially if you like sushi! With the hot dog in the middle, it reminds us a lot of spam musubi, which is also available at multiple food vendors at the CNE.

Related: Spam Musubi is the Perfect Picnic Snack

6. Smash Burger Tacos from Smash City

This melty mash-up of a taco and smash burger with a special sauce is a showstopper and absolutely delicious. The crispy tortilla, lettuce and smashed ground beef pair perfectly with the melty cheese and creamy sauce.

Related: Viral Smash Burger Tacos With Secret Sauce

5. Lox Pickle Boat from Pickle Bar

Almost nothing beats an everything bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon and a pickle on the side. But what if you could have all those flavours in one bite? The Lox Pickle Boat does just that (swapping out the bagel for everything bagel seasoning), and it is everything we could ever dream of!

4. Deep-Fried Maple Cookies from Legend Dairy

Classic maple-filled cookies are battered and deep-fried until golden in this sweet treat. Served with a cup of maple syrup for dipping, this is the ultimate nostalgic and Canadian treat at the CNE this summer.

Related: Maple Cookies

3. Ice Cream Sandwich Hashbrown from Ice Cream Sandwiches

Two crispy hashbrowns are sandwiched around a slab of vanilla ice cream. At first thought, this combo may sound strange. But have you ever dipped your French fries in your milkshake at a fast-food restaurant? It’s just as delicious as that! Maybe even more.

2. Meatball Mozzarella Corn Dog from Deep Fried Co.

Meatballs and cheese-pull worthy mozzarella are covered in corn dog batter, then deep-fried and served with a dipping cup of marinara sauce. The meatballs and marinara sauce are full of flavour, while the mozzarella cheese-pull rivals the ones we’ve seen from the viral Chili’s Nashville Hot Mozzarella Sticks.

1. Poutine Dumplings from Super Noodle Co.

Your choice of chicken or vegetarian dumplings are covered in a Japanese coconut curry sauce, torched with a triple cheese blend, and then topped with chili crisp, green onions and crispy garlic and shallots. Poutine and dumplings — what’s not to love? The dumplings are cheesy, creamy and full of flavour. Plus, you get a good crunch from the crispy garlic and shallots. This is a dish we’ll be craving long after the CNE is done.