If you’ve ever been to the Calgary Stampede, you know that the Midway food is pretty crucial to the experience.
Each year, the food trucks assembled at the Stampede come up with wilder and wilder concoctions, with flavours taking inspiration from all over the world.
Over 50 new menu items are set to debut at the Calgary Stampede in 2024, and we at Dished were lucky enough to go and get a sneak preview of what we can expect.
Jackie, La Vaquera – Arepas Ranch
Charlie Hart/Dished
If you want to step away from fried food but still chow down on something hearty and delicious, you can’t go wrong with an arepa.
For 2024, the new arepa is filled with slow-cooked brisket, coleslaw, pickles and homemade maple Jack Daniels sauce. This was hands-down one of the best things we tried. Flavourful but without being too heavy.
The Aloha Lemonade – Family Squeezed Lemonade
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Any seasoned Stampede goer knows it isn’t a real stampede without lemonade. This year, Family Squeezed is serving up its award-winning lemonade, loaded with smashed pineapple and coconut jellies. It was a fruity and refreshing take on a stampede classic.
There’s even a spicy version for the more daring (but be warned, they aren’t messing around with the spice).
Cowboyaki – Happy Fish
Charlie Hart/Dished
Crispy on the outside and tender in the middle, Happy Fish’s Cowboyaki is packed with meat floss, seaweed, octopus, pickled ginger and cabbage, brushed with a good helping of teriyaki sauce and salad dressing.
If you’re a seafood lover, these are a must-try.
Lobster Bao and Golden Spider Crab Bao – The Dumpling Hero
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This bao offers an Asian twist on a New England classic, the lobster roll. The pillowy steamed bao is packed with lobster meat, celery, scallions and house mayo.
In addition to lobster roll vibes, The Dumpling Hero has also brought back a stampede favourite: the Golden Spider Crab Bao. It features a whole soft-shell crab coated in buttery garlic salted egg yolk sauce. It’s a definite crowd-pleaser.
Momos on a stick – Mumbai Bites
Charlie Hart/Dished
One of the best snacks we tried was Mumbai Bites’ Momos on a stick. This Indian-style dim sum has either vegetable or chicken momos drizzled in a fusion sesame sauce. It is served on a stick, which is convenient for busy stampede days.
The dumplings were bursting with flavour and we can definitely see ourselves revisiting when we need a break from corndogs.
Ube coconut little donuts – The Little Donut Bakery
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We love mini donuts here at Dished, and these ube-flavoured treats are just delicious. The bright purple dough is infused with notes of vanilla and pistachio and is served up with ube cream and sweet coconut.
Even if you aren’t a coconut fan, you can get the ube donuts with powdered sugar and rainbow sprinkles instead.
Fire Roasted Gator Pepperoni Pizza – Avatara Pizza
Charlie Hart/Dished
If you want to get adventurous with your pizza toppings, why not opt for some alligator? Avatara Pizza’s Stampede offering is a thin-crust pizza, loaded with tomato base, mozzarella and hand-crafted alligator pepperoni.
The pizza was good and you wouldn’t really be able to tell you’re eating alligator, but it’s still fun Stampede novelty.