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Cricket Grilled Cheese is one of the more daring options offered at the Queen City Ex this year August 1, 2018. (Britton Gray/980 CJME)

Taste of the Queen City Ex: cricket grilled cheese

By Britton Gray Aug 1, 2018 | 8:05 AM

From thrill rides to live music and outrageous food, it’s easy to tell the Queen City Ex is back in town.

Gates for the annual fair opened on Wednesday at noon and the food vendors brought some daring new options to tempt or test people’s taste-buds.

Members of the media had the chance to test their palates on options like cricket grilled cheese and kangaroo burgers.

For those who want to try something new but don’t want to leave their comfort zone, Wiggle Chips is offering a meatball corndog.

The dish includes two deep-fried meatballs covered in marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese.

“I was trying to infuse different flavours, so I came up with an Italian flavour so I said ‘Hey let’s try meatballs’ and that’s how we came,” explained Derek Collins, owner of Wiggle Chips.

For cheese connoisseurs out there, the fair is bringing in cheese and wine — all deep-fried of course.

The cheese is tossed in a batter and then into the oil. The wine batter and jelly is created using a wine crush powder, which is made from seeds and skins of grapes from a winery before they are fermented — meaning there is no alcohol in the mix.

Phillip Davis, owner of Deep Fried Cheese, said the inspiration behind the mix was to take a classic snack and bring it to the carnival.

But as always, there are food options for the more daring of food consumers.

One of the main attractions this year is a grilled cheese sandwich with the added protein of crickets.

James Thomas, cook at the Grilled Cheese Truck, said they wanted to put together a novelty food item for Queen City Ex goers.

“One person will maybe buy one, there will be like a group of four and they’ll have fun with it and take pictures then the dare is on,” Thomas said. “I dare you to eat it.”

He described the crickets, which are brought in from Ontario, as tasting like an unsalted sunflower seed with a little nutty flavour.

If someone’s worried about missing out on the tasty delicacy, they need not be afraid of supplies running out— they’ve brought in around 65 million crickets for the week.

Another food item for the more exotic pallet is a burger with an outback twist — ground beef stuffed with real kangaroo meat.

Jason Au, owner of Handmade Burgers, said the kangaroo is processed in Calgary and thought it would be a good idea to add a twist to a burger.

“I’m not too sure if you can find kangaroo anywhere else besides the Ex so come on down and give it a try,” Au said.

He said kangaroo is commonly eaten in Australia but isn’t something often found in Canada.

And for those with a sweet tooth, specialty cheesecake brought in from Ontario also gets the deep-fried treatment.

To top off the sweet, gooey cheesecake, a white chocolate drizzle is added.

Gates open at noon everyday except for Sunday, when they open at 10 a.m. for a pancake breakfast.

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