There are a lot of reasons to be excited about Calgary Stampede 2018, and one of the biggest ones is all the new Midway foods and drinks. This year’s 50 new dishes include two-foot mini doughnut towers, ice cream cookie dough sandwiches, buffalo chicken perogies and more unusual options like mini doughnut balls topped with a prairie oyster.
To help you navigate this year’s new foods and drinks, we’ve divided them up into some key categories: foods made with animal parts, oversized foods, hybrid foods, deep fried foods, traditional-ish foods, foods wrapped in carbs and dishes with a dose of fruits and veggies. Many of these foods would’ve fit into multiple categories, giving you the best of both worlds.
Read more about this year’s new Stampede foods (including additional items like a fish and chips dog and cotton candy lemonade that take the total to 63) at calgarystampede.com
Foods Made With Animal Parts
Cheesy Chicken Hearts
photograph courtesy of calgary stampede
Chicken hearts inside a crispy, cheesy pocket actually sounds pretty tasty.
Goat’s Head Soup
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF CALGARY STAMPEDE
This Jamaican dish is probably the only soup you’ll find on the Stampede grounds. It’s made with a goat’s head broth, dumplings, tripe, carrots and yams.
Prairie Oyster Balls
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF CALGARY STAMPEDE
The name of this dish doesn’t lie – that’s a real bull’s testicle on top of a pile mini doughnut balls. There’s also blueberry compote, whipped cream and crushed nuts.
Oversized Foods
Foot-Long Hot Dog Grilled Cheese
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For when you’re really hungry and can’t decide between a hot dog and a grilled cheese sandwich.
Giant Squid on a Stick
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Think of it like calamari, but giant and on a stick.
Stampede Sized Meatball
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Covered in tomato sauce and oozing mozzarella cheese, the only thing missing from this one-pound meatball is a mound of pasta underneath it.
Two-Foot Mini Doughnut Tower
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For those times when a bag of mini doughnuts just won’t cut it.
Unicorn Buckets
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Share this two-litre drink with a friend to keep from getting dehydrated during Stampede. It comes in a bucket filled with fruit, bursting boba bubbles and soda.
Hybrid Foods
Beef and Chicken Pho-ritos
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When pho (yes, the soup) and burritos collide. Imagine all the ingredients you’d get in pho (including rice noodles, protein and bean sprouts) tucked into a tortilla.
The Big Pickle Tornado
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF CALGARY STAMPEDE
This is the evolution of the Big Pickle Dog from last year’s Stampede. The main difference is that this year, the pickle-stuffed hot dog has a deep fried tortilla exterior instead of a corn dog exterior.
Hot Ice Cream Donut Sandwiches
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You’re going to need lots of napkins to manage this treat – it won’t take long for the ice cream to melt between two hot doughnuts.
Ice Cream Cookie Dough Sandwiches
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This treat is basically two desserts in one.
Sushi Doughnut
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The Happy Fish food truck lets you choose between crab meat or smoked salmon on a doughnut-shaped mound of rice.
Deep Fried Foods
Bacon Onion Bombs
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There are lots of layers to this dish, which features a deep fried crispy exterior covering layers bacon, onion and meatballs.
Deep Fried Banana Peppers
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This mix of deep fried banana peppers and pickled hot pepper rings will keep you sweating.
Deep Fried Burger
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A deep fried alternative to the rest of the burgers you’ll find at Stampede.
Deep Fried Pineapple Rings
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Sweet pineapple rings enveloped in deep fried batter sounds like a winning combination to us.
Kit Kat Fries
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They’ve been deep frying Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for years, so why not Kit Kat bar sticks?
Wine & Cheese
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No, this dish doesn’t come with a glass of wine. Instead, you’ll be dipping deep-fried, wine-infused cake and cheese curds into wine jelly.
Traditional-ish Foods
Chimney Cones
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Who needs regular cones when you can get a classic summer treat like soft serve in a cylindrical, doughy chimney cake cone?
Churro Fries
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These are just like regular churros, only they’re the length of fries.
Cricket Caramel Apple
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A carnival classic, this caramel apple shakes things up with a coating of honey-flavoured crickets instead of candy.
Deep Fried Bacon Wrapped Reese’s Cup
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Fans of sweet and savoury will probably enjoy this treat, which adds bacon to the already popular deep fried Reese’s Cups.
The Hangover Mac & Cheese
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This dish blends a few classics together, including beer, potato chips, pretzels and, of course, macaroni and cheese.
Inside Out Caramel Apple
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This is a way easier way to eat a beloved carnival treat.
Kangaroo Pizza
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Calgary’s Avatara Pizza is adding an interesting protein to this new gluten-free pizza: kangaroo. We tried it and it tastes similar to pepperoni.
Korean Tater Tot Poutine
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF CALGARY STAMPEDE
They had us at tater tots, but we won’t say no to the kalbi marinated sirloin steak that comes with this poutine.
Mighty Zeus Poutine
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This dish has all the staples of a classic poutine, but keeps things fresh by adding gyro steak, tzatziki sauce and feta cheese.
Napolitano Soft Pretzel
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A hand rolled pretzel with cheese? Yes please.
Pop Rocks Mini Doughnuts
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Forget a bag of mini doughnuts – Ogopogo takes this item to the next level with crackling pop rock candy, vanilla glaze and powdered sugar.
Smoking Charcoal Ice Cream in a Cup
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One of this year’s biggest food trends, activated charcoal, makes an appearance at Stampede. Don’t be fooled by the colour – this soft serve ice cream actually tastes like coconut.
Foods Wrapped in Carbs
Bibimbap Dawg
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Imagine a bowl of Korean bibimbap, but on top of a hot dog.
Boneless Rib on Ciabatta
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It just seems right to eat baby back barbecue ribs with coleslaw at a summer event like Stampede.
Buffalo Chicken Perogies
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This dish adds a bit of heat to the perogies by adding grilled chicken with hot sauce.
Cricket Grilled Cheese
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Crickets: the grilled cheese topping you never knew you needed.
Kangaroo Stuffed Burgers
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This could be a good way to try a protein that you don’t usually find in Canada for the first time.
Meatball Corn Dog
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The classic corn dog gets a small refresh here.
Pulled Chicken Quesadilla
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When lunchtime calls, this quesadilla with Mediterranean-spiced chicken answers.
Red Velvet Corn Dog
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Usually when a corn dog gets re-invented, it’s the filling that is changed. In this case, the batter gets a much more fun look.
The Spicy Chicken Arepa
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Local food truck Arepa Boss will be whipping up these gluten-free wraps featuring spicy barbecued chicken chorizo sausage.
The Sweetheart
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This is basically another dessert sandwich. It feature a peanut butter cup and regular peanut butter between two honey cruller doughnuts.
Szechwan Prawn Wrap
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There isn’t a ton of seafood at Stampede, so try this wrap with panko crusted prawns if you’re craving some.
Dishes with a Dose of Fruits and Veggies
Banana Corn Dog
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Bananas get the carnival treatment with this dessert, which adds a battered coating, chocolate and powdered sugar.
Corn in a Cup
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A cup full of corn, cheese and chili powder may be just what you need to get one of you daily vegetable servings in during Stampede.
Flaming Hot Cheeto Bowls
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Admittedly, the only vegetables in this dish are the pieces of sweet corn sprinkled over Flaming Hot Cheetos and hot cheese sauce. That still counts though.
Frozen Chocolate Watermelon Pops
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Watermelon is still healthy if you cover it in chocolate, right?
Mexican-Style Street Corn
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Cheese and chili powder give these corn on the cobs their bright colours.
Oreo Creamsicle Delight
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Okay, it’s not technically the same as eating fruit, but you can pretend with this orange creamsicle smoothie with Oreo toppings. Plus, you get to carry it around in an actual orange.
Wat-A-Melon
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It’s hard to top a piece of refreshing watermelon, but adding watermelon soft serve is a decision we definitely support.
Watermelon and Raspberry Salad
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This is probably the healthiest dish at Stampede. And really, after a day in the sun, a bowl of refreshing watermelon and raspberries may be just what you need.
