What would a burger be without a side of golden, delicious French fries boiled in oil until crispy on the outside and pillowy on the inside? It’s unfortunate that hard-working chefs have to stand over a boiling vat of oil when the temperature on Sir Winston Churchill Square is approaching that of the surface of the sun, but sometimes greatness demands sacrifice.
Sausage Mozza Corn Dog, Gangnam Street Food (Booth 21, 4 tickets)
If you’ve had the potato corn dog and the cheese corn dog and you’re looking to up your Korean hot dog game, fret not, Gangnam Street Food has you covered. It’s a hot dog, wrapped in cheese, battered and then deep fried. It’s exactly what it sounds like and exactly as delicious as your brain is imagining. You have three options for toppings, but you can’t go wrong with creamy mayo.
Spiral Potato with Beef Tallow Mayo, Joanne’s BBQ House (Booth 34, 3 tickets)
This take on a deconstructed French fry needs … more. A spiralized potato is placed on a stick, deep fried and then sprinkled with beef tallow mayo. Yes, the “mayo” is in powder form here, providing the only flavour on this fried potato. There’s unfortunately not enough of it to cover the entire potato, so uneven bites waffle between bland and nicely salted. The potato is decently cooked but not crispy enough, a single well-cooked texture throughout that could have benefited from a few crispy bits. Another minute in the fryer and a few extra dashes of “mayo” could have made this dish truly great.
Bannock Taco, Kokom’s Bannock Kitchen (Booth 17, 4 tickets)
I did not realize that the taco/bannock mashup was the fusion dish this food festival was crying out for. It’s a pillowy, fried bannock topped with seasoned meat, lettuce, shredded cheese and salsa. Simple? Yes. Delicious? You bet your butt it’s delicious. It’s a new idea that has come out of left field to completely surprise me, a new favourite of mine that is literally impossible to oversell.