It’s that time again! One of our summer traditions is heading out to K-Days and soaking up the sights, smells and sounds of the midway.
Though it’s been years since we’ve taken in the rides, we’ve always reserved the right to indulge in Those Little Doughnuts and for Mack, a corndog or two.
I can smell them already…
K-Days usually tries to entice diners by introducing new items each year, and this time is no different. Here’s what I’m looking forward to at the festival, which runs July 19-28, 2013:
- Home Grown Alberta: Based on our experience in 2012, I’m a little disappointed they decided to axe the Fusion 53 Lounge, given that was some of the best food we had during our visit, and it was meant to showcase locally-sourced products. This year, K-Days will feature a showcase area called Home Grown Alberta, where “local Alberta home grown producers will sample and sell their product.” This could mean many different things, but hopefully it works out to be an opportunity of great exposure for these businesses.
New Midway Delights: Last year, Capital Ex outdid itself with cricket pizza, so I was expecting to see deep-fried butter on this year’s menu (the “freak” food of choice at the Calgary Stampede). While the menu is much tamer than I expected, I’m intrigued by items like the chimney cake (sweet dough baked around a roll and dipped in sugar). It’s a little curious why items like pad Thai and Chinese noodle boxes would be featured so prominently (hasn’t our food culture normalized some ethnic foods?), but I suppose when most midway fare is battered and fried, I suppose it’s a step beyond that.- A Taste of Canada: For those looking for something more refined than the casual midway bite, a variety of dishes representing the different regions of Canada are available in the EXPO Centre. They include a lobster roll from the Maritimes, Montreal smoked meat sandwiches and duck confit paninis from the East, salmon wraps and Okanagan peach cobbler from the West Coast and from the Prairie, pulled bison sliders and beef & barley soup.
- RibFest: I’m so happy that RibFest is back! Last year, we received our first taste of a Southern barbecue competition, with several vendors competing for our vote. Four trailers will be present this year offering up ribs and great atmosphere.
RibFest 2012
See you on the grounds!
Only Here for the Food 
Chimney cakes are a Hungarian treat. When we visited Budapest, street and market vendors and loads of bakeries had these front and centre.
You two have more energy than anyone I know. And, yum yum, too!
🙂
V
The chimney cakes sound similar to this great street dessert we had repeatedly in Prague called “Trdelnik”. It was a dough wrapped around these wooden rollers and cooked over coals in the street, it was then rolled in either sugar, cinnamon or a almond/sugar mix. Though I think Wikipedia can explain this better than I can. Either way, they tasted pretty awesome if you got it fresh off the fire. Because it’s dough that’s wrapped, it kind of comes off in these thin ribbons. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trdeln%C3%ADk)
We’ll need to use that energy to burn off the calories we consume :).
Great to see that this treat has made its way to Edmonton!
I hope the KDays version is as tasty as the one you remember!