Enercare Centre — Attraction in Toronto

The Mozzarella Dog Odyssey: A CNE Adventure Full of Twists and Turns

My visit to this year’s Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) was supposed to be a simple quest to indulge in the Footlong Deep Fried Mozzarella Stick from Pizza Pizza—an item that had been on my radar since I first heard about it. What I expected to be a straightforward foodie adventure quickly turned into a series of confusing detours across multiple buildings and through conflicting information.

It all started with the CNE website’s claim that the Mozzarella Dog could be found in the Food Building. After navigating through the crowded and aroma-filled aisles, I located the Pizza Pizza stand, only to be informed that the Mozzarella Dog was not available there. Instead, the person behind the counter directed me to the Enercare Centre, setting me off on an unexpected detour.

Once I arrived at the Enercare Centre, the confusion only deepened. The Pizza Pizza stand wasn’t listed under the food establishments in the map’s written index, leaving me to wonder if I had been sent on another wild goose chase. However, after asking around, I was told that the stand was near one of the stages in the center of the building. Finally, I spotted the stand on the map—though this crucial detail was oddly missing from the index.

Relieved, I made my way to the Pizza Pizza stand, but my journey was far from over. After waiting in line and finally reaching the counter, I was told that the Mozzarella Dog wasn’t actually sold at that stand. Instead, there was a dedicated counter just around the corner specifically for selling the dog. I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation as I walked over to yet another line.

When I finally reached the dedicated Mozzarella Dog counter, I found myself faced with three different versions of the dog to choose from. As I deliberated, I asked the person manning the counter for her recommendation. To my surprise, she admitted that she hadn’t tried any of them and mentioned that she thought they might be too greasy for her taste. Despite her hesitation, I decided to go with the All Dressed version, hoping it would live up to the hype.

Unfortunately, the Mozzarella Dog turned out to be a bit of a letdown. While the crispy exterior and melted cheese were enjoyable, the overall experience was underwhelming. The All Dressed version was somewhat dry, a common issue I’ve encountered with other Pizza Pizza sandwich offerings. It lacked the flavorful punch I had been hoping for, and I couldn’t help but feel disappointed after the effort I had put into finding it.

Important Notice for Google Maps Users:

While you’re enjoying the amazing food offerings here at the Enercare Centre during the CNE, I wanted to take a moment to alert fellow Google Maps users about an upcoming change that could impact how you use Google Maps Timeline.

Recently, Google started notifying users that “Your Timeline is now created on your device,” which might sound like a simple update. However, this change is more significant than it seems. Come December 2024, Timeline history will only be accessible on one device, meaning you’ll lose the ability to view your location history across multiple devices, including on the desktop via the web.

This is a major shift that Google hasn’t communicated clearly. The new policy limits your Timeline history to just one device, and unless you’ve clicked through the recent notifications and enacted the changes now, you might not realize what you’ll be losing until it’s too late.

For those of us who rely on accessing our location history from various devices or prefer the convenience of desktop access, this is a big step backward. I encourage you to check your Google Maps app, review your settings, and consider giving feedback to Google if you’re concerned about this change. Don’t wait until December to find out that your Timeline history is no longer available where...

Now one of the highlights of the CNE is the dog show. So naturally I headed down there. Get there early because ever seat is taken. Everybody seems to love the dog show. This year the entrance is from the inside of the booths that sell clothing. Last year and previous years the entrance was separate with access from the long hallway. The space seemed a lot smaller this year. The only seating was on the sides and front ..no seats in the back. The theme this year was magic called abracadabark. They had a cute reminder to tell you the show was about to start by having a dog bite a long rope which is lowered from the ceiling in the middle of the stage. This was repeated about three different times. They played a sound effect of a bell to give the illusion that the dog is ringing a bell. I thought that was very innovative. To start the show keeping with the theme of magic a man came out holding a small metal bucket and pretending to pluck coins from mid air and placing them in the bucket. As far as I can see this was the only part of the show that had any element of magic. Being a magician myself I could have suggested many other acts with dogs in keeping with the magical theme. The show was very similar to other shows in the past but because the venue was smaller this year they could not have a competition of two obstacle courses at the same time. Upon entering or leaving they had a poster of a new movie with a dog as a feature star that they wanted everyone to take pictures with and upload to there social media. Beside the busker stage was a Muskoka themed area with big wooden chair and a kiosk selling beer. I did not see any sand or a mini lake which could have been more fun. For 3 days at the beginning of the CNE they have a gamers paradise area located where the ice show used to be. Oh and this was the biggest disappointment for many people who I spoke who are seasoned CNE goers. They all loved the ice show. Anyways the gamers area had a gigantic selection of video games from retro to modern. In the middle of the area was a stage with interesting talks along with some great giveaways. Going through the main coliseum there was the usually hucksters selling all kind of products for your home. New this year was a piano lounge located in middle of the main halls. They had an alcohol bar and a musician playing soft music on a Yamaha grand piano in the middle of the venue. The style of music was background music....

An immense, cleanly designed building; not whole lot of atmosphere in the exhibition area. It does its job though as a venue for big events. I have been here for the garden show, British Show a number of years ago and annually for the Royal Winter Fair.

Always an amazing time and for a number of years I have made it a point to go yearly to this show of agriculture. I went regularly as a child in the 1980s/1990s and have so many happy memories of the horses (I was always amazed at the sight of the draft horses), the petting zoo, and what was always a favorite of mine, the Superdogs show.

There have been several changes since my childhood visits. The petting zoo was once able to be walked through; while they still have a popular petting zoo you can no longer mingle with the animals in the corral, I can imagine they no longer due this due to liability issues but you can still pet/feed the animals through the fences. There was once a popular Celebration of Dogs that featured several breeds and you were able to talk to the breeders and pet their dogs; this is no longer. There are more vendors, selling various gifts, farm equipment, and food to a larger degree than I remember, so to me, it seems like it has become more commercial.

Edit for the 2022 edition; a confomation based dog show was back after several years. Sadly the petting zoo wasn't here and I miss the Christmas trees; I'll take it over the entertainment stage that is there now

Edit for the 2023 edition: Sadly the conformation dog show wasn't brought back. A petting zoo of sorts was brought back but I feel Rockton World's Fair did a better job with their farm animal/agricultural education tent though pretty similar. I fee it is important to have hands-on encounters to get a better appreciation of the many breeds of livestock that are out there and lets face it, how many city-based kids get to experience the fun of hand-feeding and/or petting a friendly cow, a goat, horses, etc? It's through these petting zoos that I learned to love farm animals!

Still, regardless of the changes, a yearly must for me and an experience I recommend for all, regardless of your age; there is a lot to take in, learn and enjoy at the Royal Agricultural...