MassMutual Center hosts annual Taste of The Arena event

by Dennis Hackett | Oct 2, 2026 | Dining, Dining and Entertainment, Features, Hampden County, Local News, Springfield

Moolicious’s Campfire Stick.
Reminder Publishing photo by Ryan Feyre

SPRINGFIELD — Ahead of the Springfield Thunderbirds preseason game on Sept. 25, local media and influencers were invited to the MassMutual Center for the third annual Taste of the Arena event, giving media the opportunity to try the new food at the MassMutual Center ahead of hockey season.

Alongside Managing Editor Ryan Feyre, I took the opportunity to sample every food item I could at the event.

This year’s food vendors include Urban Deli, Fry-Ology, Fan Faves, Bear’s Smokehouse, Fry & Coop, Chick-fil-A, Lola’s, Rival Burger Co., Wooster St. Pizza Shop, Moolicious Farm, 413 Express and Novelty Foods.

While many of the vendors offered standard fare concession food with plenty of options for grab and go fried foods, sandwiches and arena staples like sausage and peppers, three of the vendors stood out among the rest: Lola’s, Bear’s Smokehouse and Moolicious.

Bear’s Smokehouse

Connecticut barbecue staple Bear’s Smokehouse will be at the arena this year. As a big fan of barbecue, I’ve always had my eye on trying Bear’s so I was glad to have the opportunity. For the tasting they offered brisket and pulled pork sliders with a couple of options for barbecue sauce.

I’ve never had a piece of brisket I didn’t like so that was my choice, with a helping of a sweet barbecue sauce on top. The meat was tender and very good. Personally, I am more of a fan when the meat is cooked in barbecue sauce, but Bear’s offering of sauce was perfectly sweet and paired well with the brisket.

Ryan also decided to go for the brisket and enjoyed it.

“When Bear’s operates as a vendor-style entity with a condensed menu, their food can hit on all cylinders. In this scenario, that’s exactly what happens. The brisket itself is charred and tender, and the sweet barbecue sauce I slathered on it accentuates the flavor. The potato hamburger bun was the perfect pillow for this simple yet effective dish,” he said.

Bear’s Smokehouse’s barbecue brisket sandwich.
Reminder Publishing photos by Dennis Hackett

Lola’s

I may be a little biased, but Lola’s is one of my favorite places to go for Mexican food, whether that’s burritos, tacos or so much more. Seeing they were in the arena made them a high priority on my list to check out and I am happy to report I was not disappointed. At the tasting, they offered chicken empanadas and walking tacos.

The empanadas immediately caught my eye and I have to say it was my favorite thing I tried at the event. Served with a side of sour cream, the empanadas were a delight with a crunchy outside and a tasty inside with the chicken, which had a little spice to it. I did not try the walking taco but I may have to on my next visit to a Thunderbirds game.

Ryan did, however, try the taco and gave it high praise.

“Easily my favorite of the bunch. Loaded with sour cream, lettuce, pico de gallo and tomato, the dish was deceptively versatile in the sense that it can function as a taco or shareable nacho dish. I’d use a fork to start, but once you hit the Doritos nachos, you can start picking at it. Excellent blend and has a nice kick in its aftertaste,” he said.

From left: Lola’s walking taco. The chicken empanada from Lola’s.
Reminder Publishing photos by Ryan Feyre and Dennis Hackett

Moolicious

I feel like we have grown quite familiar with Moolicious over the years with their appearances at many Big E media tasting days so I was excited to see they are going to be at the MassMutual Center this year. They will be offering popsicles along with the concoction they came up with for the Big E this year, the Campfire Stick, which as you can expect is a frozen, ice cream s’more.

I did not try the Campfire Stick, but a few bites into his, Ryan remarked that it was elite, and was glowing in his review of the sweet treat before he almost ate the entire thing.

“If the ice cream truck rolled up to my house on a hot day and had this, I’d buy one for my entire condominium complex. What a perfect encapsulation of a quintessential summer day; the hard chocolate coating reminds me of those July Connecticut beach visits, and the graham cracker marshmallow mixture brings me back to those evenings sitting around the campfire with family; sweatshirt smelling smoky. The entire dessert is also surprisingly compact. Nostalgia at its finest,” he said.

Already full from many of the foods we tried, I went for the strawberry popsicle as a safer option and I was not disappointed. It’s hard to do a popsicle wrong but Moolicious does it so right. The popsicle had a great, natural strawberry flavor and was one of my favorite things I tried at the arena.