Cheeseburger ice cream and scorpion-garnished cocktails

Dear reader,

In this week’s edition of Table Talk: cheeseburger ice cream wishes and caviar mac-and-cheese dreams. The CNE has been up and running for a week now, and the Food Building is one of the most popular attractions yet again—proving that, even with the price of groceries at an all-time high, people will still willingly fork out way too much for a four-pound taco. If you plan on participating in Toronto’s end-of-summer ritual but aren’t sure which edible experiments are worth shelling out for, read on.

It’s the end of summer, which means courageous tourists and bloodthirsty wasps alike are swarming the CNE to gorge on things like dill pickle cotton candy, veal-stuffed cannoli, Barbie-pink pasta and barbecue-sauce soft serve that bears more than a passing resemblance to a certain emoji. (Maybe I’m getting old, but I remember when $1 plates of spaghetti drew the longest lines.) In order to help you pick your poison, we’ve gone ahead and classified some of the extreme eats from weird to wonderful to What were they thinking?

King West’s newest Mexican restaurant, Silent H, makes a cocktail garnished with a dehydrated pineapple ring, a little pile of sand and a mezcal-infused scorpion—all of which are meant to be eaten. Also on the side: a cute little potted succulent, which, as far as we know, is not a snack.

After his Toronto restaurant abruptly shuttered, chef Myles Harrison packed his bags and moved to PEC, where he bought a farmhouse and recently opened Theia, his new kitchen. Here, he tells us why the closure of Crosley’s was the best thing that ever happened to him.

AI has made it easy for university students to fake their way to a degree. They argue that ChatGPT is just another study tool. But professors are panicking, and the system is unravelling. In our September issue, an inside look at the education revolution. Plus, the untold story of the Bellaria massacre; how a Toronto woman started a popcorn business in prison; where to eat, drink and party at TIFF; and more. Still not receiving Toronto Life at home? Subscribe today.