Delicious drinks and savory bites: what’s new at the Big E this year

A table with many of the offerings available at this year’s Big E Media Food Preview event.

WEST SPRINGFIELD — With the Big E right around the corner, local media was once again invited to try out some of the new additions to the fair and as always, the taste test did not disappoint. From barbecue ribs to delectable crepes, a new cream puff flavor and delicious drinks, there are plenty of new choices for everybody who attends this year.

The Big E Bakery

As with each of the past few years, the Big E Bakery brought a new cream puff concoction, opting to create an espresso flavored cream puff for this year’s fair.

Managing Editor Lauren LeBel said she was a fan of this year’s twist.

“I love everything espresso flavored, so I was very excited when I saw that it was this year’s cream puff flavor. The traditional shell, topped with powdered sugar, was fresh and sandwiched the espresso filling together quite well. The espresso flavoring itself was perfect — not too powerful, not too weak,” she said.

The Big E Bakery will have locations in the New England Center, the Avenue ShowPlace and at Gate 9A.

Storrowton Tavern

As always, Storrowton Tavern brought its best with a sampling of chili and cheeseburger chowders in bread bowls along with corned beef and pastrami Reubens.

Staff Writer Tyler Garnet said he liked the chili bread bowl.

“The chili in a bread bowl was a warm and comforting bite that got me excited for the fall season. The chili itself was delicious and you can’t beat being able to eat the soft bread that it came in,” he said.

Lauren said the corned beef Reuben was the best thing she tried.

“The corned beef was topped with coleslaw, making for a flavorful bite. I could have gone back for 10 more! This is one food that I will definitely be searching for at the fair,” she shared.

Storrowton Tavern will be located at the Avenue of States.

The Nook

The Nook offered chocolate covered strawberries, but will be offering much more once the fair kicks off and will have additional fruit, marshmallows, pretzels and churros.

The Nook will set up shop in the Better Living Center.

NOLA Cajun Kitchen and Bar

Over at NOLA Cajun Kitchen and Raw Bar was their famous Asian sticky ribs, which were finished with Thai chili crisp, sesame and green onions. This was a huge hit among the staff, with many calling it their favorite food they tried.

Staff Writer Ryan Feyre wholeheartedly agreed with this sentiment and said, “This is easily the best food from the Big E media tasting event in maybe three years. The meat fell right off the bone and the Thai chili crisp provided a subtle maple flavoring to deftly achieve the classic sweet and savory balance.”

Staff Writer Trent Levakis was also a fan.

“Immediately upon my first bite, I was quite confident it was going to be the best thing I ate all day. That’s not a knock to the other lovely options that were available, but just to say this was right up my alley and was a treat. The flavorful dish is perfect for walking the fair or sitting down with multiple servings and making a sticky mess that will be worth it,” Trent said.

I have to agree with Ryan and Trent — the person that was working NOLA’s booth said that the ribs were going to be “life-changing” and as someone who loves barbecue and ribs, I was completely blown away and only wish that we were able to capture my initial bite on camera.

NOLA Cajun Kitchen and Bar is located on New England Avenue.

W.A.V.E. Mocktail Cart

The W.A.V.E. Mocktail Cart offered a mocktail based on everybody’s favorite green ogre. Dubbed “Shrek’s Swamp Water” this mocktail is made with pineapple juice, sour mix, blue curacao, lemon-lime soda and topped with a gummy frog.

The W.A.V.E. Mocktail Cart will be located at The Front Porch.

V-One Vodka

As we seem to mention every year, V-One Vodka always brings out hits among the news staff with favorites over the years including last year’s Taylor Swift inspired Taylor’s Lavender Haze Lemonade that everyone loved. This year, they had two new drinks to try, the White Christmas Martini, which was made with V-One Original, white cranberry juice, lime juice and orange liqueur, as well as the Blushing Dragon Cocktail, which was made with dragon fruit juice, coconut water and lime.

Whenever I saw Executive Editor Chris Maza walk over with the dragon cocktail, which was smoking as it was made with food-safe dry ice to give it a smoking effect, I had to try it. As with any of V-One’s specialty drinks, they are dangerously refreshing and I was a huge fan of the dragon fruit flavor.

Tyler said he was impressed with the White Christmas.“The White Christmas Martini came in a plastic ornament which got me excited for

Christmas in August. The cocktail, made with V-One Original, white cranberry juice, lime juice and orange liqueur was dangerously delicious with every sip,” he said.

V-One Vodka will have their Krakow Smoking Dragon Bar and their Spirited Christmas Bar set up in the Young Building this year.

Ferrindino Maple

This year, Ferrindino Maple will be offering a Warm Apple Maple Creemee Sundae, which they describe as “Deconstructed apple crisp made with our Maple Creemee Soft Serve, warm apple pie filling, baked maple oats and our organic maple syrup drizzle.”

Prime Editor Debbie Gardner said she was a fan of the sundae.

“This combination of warm apple pie filling topped with Ferrindino’s own soft-serve maple ice cream, then finished with a drizzle of the farm’s organic maple syrup and baked maple oat granola, is a perfect blend of warm comfort with a cool finish. The maple flavor in the ice cream and drizzle is subtle enough to complement, not overpower, the apple compote and the maple oats give the sundae a nice crunch as a finishing note,” she said.

Ferrindino Maple will be set up at the Better Living Center and Craft Common.

New England Craft Beer Pub

Over at the New England Craft Beer Pub, they were sampling their Lobster Nachos, which were kettle chips topped with buttered lobster, cheddar cheese sauce and Lobster Newburg drizzle.

Tyler said the nachos were one of his favorite dishes at the sampling.

“The kettle chip nachos were a good choice as they stayed crispy and did not get soggy under the butter lobster, cheddar cheese sauce and Lobster Newburg drizzle,” he said.

New England Craft Beer Pub will be located at the Avenue of States.

Macho Taco

Macho Taco offered samplings of their AL Pastor Street tacos, which are made with slow cooked pork loin served on a corn tortilla topped with pineapple pico de gallo and a house salsa. They also offered Deep Fried Chile Relleño, which is a battered and deep fried poblano pepper filled with ground beef, cheese and jalapeños topped with queso fresco and chipotle aioli.

A big fan of their tacos from last year, I knew I had to try what they had this year, and I was not disappointed. The tacos were a great mix of sweet and savory with the pork and pineapple pico complementing each other quite well. I was told that the house made salsa was going to be spicy, but it wasn’t that spicy because of the sweet flavoring of the pico, but I savored every bite.

Macho Taco will be located at East Road. As a warning, I would get in line early if you are planning to try their offerings this year because last year, their lines were gigantic and rightly so.

Sam Adams Beer Garden

The Sam Adams Beer Garden is offering a local smash burger alongside a special Sam Adams Anniversary Ale. The burger is made with local beef from Autumn Mist Farm, cheddar cheese, greens, tomato and topped with smash burger sauce. The Anniversary Ale is a Sam Adams Specialty Brewed Pale Ale with a low ABV to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the beer garden at the fair.

I’ve been a big fan from afar of Autumn Mist Farm, often seeing their posts on Facebook, but have not made the trip to try their food, so, I was glad to have a burger made with their beef at the fair and it was just as good as it looked. The beef was tremendous, and I will definitely be finding my way over there or stopping at the Beer Garden when I make my annual trip to the fair. I felt that the sauce left a little to be desired as it felt quite neutral compared to everything else on the burger, but I was still happy with the end product.

Tyler was a fan of the Anniversary Ale and said, “Although I do enjoy beer, I recommend everyone to try it as it is very flavorful, but not as heavy as an IPA.”

The Sam Adams Beer Garden is located at the Avenue of States.

Harpoon Beer Hall

Over at Harpoon Beer Hall, fairgoers will be able to try their Hot Honey Tango, which is two crispy, beer battered colossal shrimp skewers topped with hot honey with a kick of Tajín with a lime on the side which they said is important “because every good dance needs a twist.”
As a fan of both hot honey and fried shrimp, the Hot Honey Tango was one of the first things I tried, and I am happy to report that these were a hit. The flavorful mix of hot honey and shrimp was something that works so well because shrimp is extremely versatile with what you can pair it with. The fair portion sizes were something to behold as they are two giant shrimps. This is something I will be going back for during my annual trip.

Trent said the shrimp was another winner of the day.

“This treat packs a punch flavor-wise and was a great quick bite that would seemingly fit right in for walking around and eating at the Big E,” he said.

Harpoon Beer Hall will be located at New England Avenue.

Wurst Haus

Like last year, Wurst Haus brought a variation of its Schnitzel Sandy, this time topped with a paprika sauce. The sandwich is a gigantic pork cutlet topped with a smoky paprika sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan on a warm pretzel bun.

I don’t think I can properly describe how big the pork cutlet is without showing a picture, but as with last year, I was a fan of what they brought. It was delicious but the sauce was messy so it would be a great idea to grab some napkins alongside this gigantic sandwich.
Wurst Haus will be located on CommonWealth Avenue.

Moolicious

Coming off the popular Moo Bomb sundae they brought last year, I was curious to see what Moolicious was going to bring to the fair this year. This time, they are bringing MooNugs, which is maple ice cream, loaded with applewood-smoked bacon dipped in a white chocolate shell and rolled in crushed frosted corn flakes and served with marshmallow, caramel and chocolate dipping sauces. Alongside the MooNugs, they are also bringing their Ronnie Pop popsicles, which are homemade popsicles that come in a variety of flavors.
Debbie spoke highly of the MooNugs.

“Their MooNugs are an eat-with-your-fingers frozen confection, no spoon needed! Here, ‘chicken nugget’ size dollops of maple-flavored ice cream have been infused with applewood bacon, then encased in white chocolate and rolled in frosted corn flakes. Served with your choice of maple syrup, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce or marshmallow for dipping, the nuggets are a shareable treat that is the perfect fuel for Big E trekking,” she said.

After trying the root beer pop, Lauren said she was a fan.

She said, “With various flavors to choose from like coffee, watermelon and much more, the popsicles make for a refreshing treat that fairgoers would enjoy on a hot day. Plus, the pops are made with simple, wholesome ingredients. A win-win!”
Moolicious will have locations at Springfield Road and West Road.

The Steaming Tender

New to the Big E this year, the Steaming Tender brought their signature Whiskey Bread Pudding, which features golden-baked bread blended with custard, their secret whiskey sauce and finished with a swirl of whipped cream.

Debbie said the pudding was “to die for.”

She shared, “It’s pure decadence in a cup. The Whiskey Bread Pudding from the Steaming Tender, an iconic restaurant in Palmer, is simply too good an indulgence to pass up!”

The Steaming Tender will be at the Craft Common.

Broccoli Bar

Another newcomer this year is the Broccoli Bar. They offered a Broccoli Tempura, which was a gluten free crispy fried tempura battered broccoli drizzled with maple-siracha sauce. This was another big hit among the staff this year.

Lauren said this was her new favorite way to enjoy broccoli.

“I’ve never enjoyed broccoli more! If all broccoli was made this way, I’d eat more of it. The batter was not greasy — it was light and delectable. And as someone who does not enjoy spicy foods, I thought it was topped with the appropriate amount of maple-siracha sauce — not taking away from the goodness on the inside,” she said.

The Broccoli Bar will be located at Springfield Road.

Crave Café

Another new addition to the fair this year is the Crave Café and they offered a Strawberry Dubai Cup and their signature sweet crepes. The Strawberry Dubai Cup is made with strawberries, pistachio cream, rich hazelnut chocolate and crisp kataifi, layered and topped with roasted pistachios. The crepes came in several varieties including s’mores and strawberry.

I was a fan of the s’mores crepe, but I would be careful as the one I had was extremely hot as they used a small blowtorch to heat the marshmallows.

Lauren said she enjoyed the Banana Nutella Crepe they offered.

“I typically don’t like Nutella, but the presentation of the Strawberry Banana Nutella Crepe is what pulled me in. It was a sweet, but light treat, that had a nice ratio between its ingredients, topped with a dallop of whipped cream. This one definitely took me by surprise as I truly enjoyed it,” she said.

Crave Café will be in the Young Building.

Calabrese Market

At this year’s event, Calabrese Market sampled some of their Italian wines and other wine drinks. For the Italian wines, they had a Tenuta San Jacopo Chianti, a Tenuta San Jacopo Chardonnay and a Tenuta San Jacopo Rosé.

Debbie said that she was a fan of the sangria they were offering.

The Italian Sangria from Calabrese Market, which makes its home in West Springfield, brings authenticity to a beverage we in America often take for granted. This combination of rich red wine infused with fresh peach cubes offers a full-bodied flavor that’s dry, slightly tart, but very refreshing.

That’s just a small sample of what people can expect from this year’s Big E, which returns Sept. 12-28.