Every year, the CNE seemingly asks one important question before opening day: how weird can the food possibly get? In 2026, the answer includes everything from pickle-flavoured coffee and cheesecake rolled in dill pickle chips to spicy Sichuan peppercorn ice cream and a Kraft Dinner smoothie. Yum? Maybe.
Our social team got an early taste of some of this year’s wildest CNE eats, so we’re sorting them into three highly scientific categories: what’s good, what’s gross and what’s worth trying at least once.
Of course, taste is subjective, and this is the CNE, after all. So head to the Ex, take a bite of, well, just about everything, and be the judge yourself.
The Big Dill pickle coffee
Where: Greekery Bakeshop, Outdoor Concession
Price: $13
Verdict: Gross
Pickles are usually a welcome addition to just about anything, but coffee might be where we draw the line. The Big Dill takes an iced Greek coffee, whips it until it’s smooth and foamy and adds dill pickle flavour to the mix. And it looks tempting enough with its creamy, frothy top, but the briny pickle-coffee combo might be a bit much for the taste buds. Good news: if dill isn’t your thing, Greekery is also serving up the Pig Me Up, a double espresso mixed with Belgian white chocolate and smoky bacon flavour, then topped with cold foam!
Cotton Candy Wafflelicious
Where: Jerk Dogs, Food Truck Frenzy
Price: $17
Verdict: Good
Imagine a jerk dog randomly falling into a vat of cotton candy and somehow coming out…alright? Whatever the case, somehow it works. The Cotton Candy Wafflelicious starts with a crispy waffle-battered jerk chicken hot dog, then goes full carny mode with blue cotton-candy cream, pink-and-white coconut crumbs, fresh cotton candy and the CNE’s Sweet Heat sauce. You’ve got savoury, spicy and sweet flavours all balancing each other out, and it’s surprisingly good (don’t let that cloud of cotton candy scare you off).
Korean Fried Chicken Ramen Taco (Buldak Taco)
Where: Los Vietnamita Taqueria, Food Truck Frenzy
Verdict: Worth a try
A regular taco shell clearly wasn’t exciting enough for the CNE, so Los Vietnamita Taqueria made one out of Buldak instant noodles instead. The crunchy ramen shell is stuffed with fried chicken coated in the CNE’s Sweet Heat sauce, kimchi and cotton candy aioli. That unexpected sweetness might throw you off at first, but it’s equal parts weird and delicious enough to earn at least one bite.
Pickle Cheesecake Pop
Where: Mr. Pickle, Outdoor Concession
Price: $18
Verdict: Worth a try
Just when you thought we were done with pickles: the Pickle Cheesecake Pop is a New York-style cheesecake served on a literal stick, dipped in chocolate and rolled in dill pickle potato chip crumbs. The first bite isn’t exactly promising, and maybe this won’t become the next big dessert trend, but the combo of sweet chocolate and salty, tangy pickle-chip coating kind of grows on you.
“The Szechuan Sizzle” Spice Cream
Where: Caf-eh TO, Food Building
Price: $11
Verdict: Good
We may have found the CNE’s weird ice cream winner of the year! Caf-eh TO’s Szechuan Sizzle Spice Cream tops vanilla soft serve with Sichuan peppercorns, savoury chilli oil and a crunchy chilli garnish, giving the sweet treat a spicy kick. Sounds a little aggressive, maybe, but tastes surprisingly good.
KD Smoothie
Where: Booster Juice, Food Building
Price: $6.69 for a snack size, $10 for a large
Verdict: Worth a try
Perhaps no 2026 CNE creation has generated more questions this year than Booster Juice’s KD Smoothie, and seriously, who wouldn’t be curious to see how that cheesy flavour works in smoothie form? The smoothie combines the KD Shaker Original Cheese flavour with mango, pineapple juice, vanilla frozen yogurt and skim milk. We can’t exactly say cheese powder is the secret ingredient smoothies have been missing all along. Still, this might be the ultimate bragging-rights drink of the CNE this year, so maybe try it at least once.
Sweetcorn Wasabi Lemonade
Where: Alijandro’s Kitchen, Food Truck Frenzy
Price: $7.50 regular, $10 large
Verdict: Good
Sweet corn. Wasabi. Lemonade. We had questions, too. But this unlikely combo is actually one of the good ones! Alijandro’s Kitchen mixes sweet summer corn and wasabi into a lemonade finished with a Tajín rim, creating a drink that’s equal parts sweet, spicy and super delicious. After pickle coffee and cheese smoothies, consider this a palate cleanser, perhaps?
Of course, these aren’t the only foods testing the limits of good judgment at the CNE this year. Other wild creations tried include lobster on a stick; dill pickle eggrolls (seriously, what’s with the pickles this year?); smash burger dumplings stuffed with hamburger, cheese, dill pickles and griddled onions; footlong butter chicken taquitos packed with butter chicken and basmati rice; and even S’mores Deep Fried Pizza Pizza slices! You can check out the CNE’s featured food lineup here.
The CNE opens Friday, Aug. 21, at Exhibition Place and runs through Monday, Sept. 7. Food Truck Frenzy, where some of the wild creations above are being served, runs from Aug. 22 through Sept. 7 along Princes’ Boulevard.
Before you head over, check out the 10 best ways to get a discount on admission to the CNE!