Continuing my tribute to The Big E, the best (multi-) state fair in the US, with everyone's favorite reason to go:
THE FOOD.
Every September, the hype begins to build over what new foods will be added to The Big E's already-massive menu. Local news MassLive has been publishing a list of the new food choices a few weeks before opening day every year. Here's an article from 2019 complete with a photo gallery. They also publish a guide on where to find various foods.
This entry is gonna be a long one, but even still - I'm only scratching the surface of what The Big E has to offer for food choices. There are SO many I haven't yet had the chance to try. This post features some of my favorites and things I've tried that I recommend. I chose what to include here based on what I had photos of, more or less.
I've attempted to group these into categories that make sense.
First up: Two of The Big E's most famous and popular offerings -
The Cream Puff and the Maine baked potato.
I never really cared for cream puffs til these ones. They are a pretty recent addition - 2002 was when they were first introduced. They're massive suckers, about the size of a softball, full of rich cream and dusted with powdered sugar, simple and fantastic. They make eclairs as well, basically the same ingredients but a different shape. Last year, they introduced chocolate ganache covered cream puffs, but nothing can top the original in my opinion. Every year, the Cream Puff stand is one of my last stops - I buy a couple to take home at the end of my day at the fair. Even though The Big E is officially closed this year, you can buy 'em to go via drive-up window.
Next up - one of the most controversial foods at The Big E: The Maine baked potato, which can be found at - you guessed it - the Maine state building.
You choice of toppings are any or all of the following: Butter, sour cream, imitation bacon bits, and chives. I always go with the works. And they load it up into huge, fluffy Maine-grown potatoes.
There are those who swear the Maine potato is overhyped, and swear that the baked potato from a nearby vendor called Billie's is as good or better, without the long wait in line - but I vehemently disagree. I am #TeamMaineBakedPotato all the way. It's not officially fall to me til I have it. When I go to The Big E with my BFF, that's our first stop - it's tradition!
. . . . . . .
Next: Beverages!
Another semi-recent addition to The Big E's many consumable attractions is the Wine Barn, where local winemakers from New England & New York offer wine tastings for free with the cost of your admission. There's usually 4 or 5 wine stations to visit, each offering 5 to 6 wines to sample. You have the option to purchase bottles of wine as well. The only downside to this experience is that it's usually a long wait to get in, probably at least half an hour on a semi-busy day.
Right next door to the Wine Bar is a cafe where you can buy wine, cheese plates, and other beverages by the glass - including these bomb-ass fruity & refreshing wine slushies.
If you're wanting a non-alcoholic beverage, plenty of places have you covered. Yeah, there's the usual soda and lemonade, but if you're at the fair you may as well try some of the special regional offerings. It's a New England fair, so there are several options for maple-flavored sodas, milkshakes, and slushies.
The maple-lemonade slush is to fucking die for, the perfect balance of tangy and sweet. Both the regular maple slush and the maple-lemonade can be found in the Massachusetts building. And while you're in the MA building, you may as well grab a refreshing Polar Seltzer to wash down all the sugar.
Everybody in New England knows: Polar Seltzer > La Croix
. . . . . . .
Next: Local Produce, Fruits & Vegetables
Some fresh locally-grown food options can be found at the fair, including these gorgeous raspberries and apples in the Massachusetts building.
These lovely fresh fruits are some of the best bargains at the fair, too.
Another good deal: The giant dill pickles, which can be found at a barrel-shaped stand near the Craft Commons.
If it's tomatoes you crave, check out this bruschetta salad from the Connecticut building: fresh tomato wedges, sweet basil, fresh mozzarella, balsamic vinegar, and mini wedges of crusty bread.
Ah yes, Marion's - located near the Wine Barn. It's one of many fried dough-fried everything spots at the fair, but infamous for a couple of its gimmick foods that everybody was talking about the year they were introduced - and must have remained popular enough to stick around every year since:
. . . . . . .
Next up: Sweets, Ice Cream, and Desserts
So many amazing things to choose from - you could easily fill up on just the sweet stuff. Here are some of the various things I've enjoyed over the years.
Pumpkin cheesecake with caramel drizzle and soft serve vanilla ice cream
Blueberry pierogi (dumpling) ice cream sundae in a waffle cone (left)
Finnish pancake with pure maple syrup (Massachusetts building) (right)
Dole Whip & peach sorbet in a frozen peach (left)
Non-dairy apple cider sorbet from J. Foster Ice Cream, Connecticut building (right)
Fried Pina Colada - one of the hyped 'new foods' for the 2018 season.
Is it a drink? Is it a dessert? Yes.
Apple cider doughnuts sprinkled with cinnamon sugar from the Massachusetts building - another food we buy to go, rather than eat while we're at the fair.
Apple pie with sharp cheddar cheese, and apple cider slush from the Vermont building.
They also offer hot cider, which can be found at other various locations in the fair as well.
Fried Jellybeans and Fried Kool-Aid.
Yeah, they sound super weird, but they're honestly some of my absolute favorite, must-have Big E foods. I'm sure fried Oreos are great and all, but for me this is where it's AT.
Fried Kool-Aid is literally just cherry-flavored fried dough balls: they add cherry Kool-Aid to the batter, and then sprinkle the finished product with cherry Kool-Aid powder. I add powdered sugar because I'm extra.
Fried Jellybeans are regular fried dough balls with grape and cherry Jelly-Belly-style jellybeans added. The heat of the fryer melts the jellybeans, and the result is rather like a fresh, hot jelly doughnut. It tastes way better than it has any right to.
One of my most recent visits there, I asked if they'd do a special request: if they could make a hybrid version by adding the jellybeans to the Kool-Aid batter - and they said yes. The resulting abomination was AMAZING. The absolute best of both worlds. It paired well with my wine slushie. I know I'm the absolute pinnacle of culinary sophistication, so don't be jealous.
Bless this fuckin' mess.
. . . . . . .
And speaking of sugar overload:
Next up is MAPLE EVERYTHING.
This is a New England fair, so if you want to find pure, real maple syrup, you have many places to find it - particularly in the state buildings. There's straight up maple syrup in bottles ranging from single-serve carry-on-friendly minis, to gallon jugs.
The maple grades go from lightly colored/flavored to deep, dark robust maple. Some spots offer samples to taste so you know what you're buying.
Fresh batches of maple sugar candy made while-u-wait
There's a trend among some local maple producers of creating flavored maple syrups. I'm a huge fan of real maple syrup and was skeptical about messing with perfection, but the ones we tried at Maple Craft Foods in the Connecticut building were amazing. The flavors complement each other and don't overpower one another. I recently had some of their gingerbread maple syrup with pumpkin pancakes and it was life-changing.
. . . . . . .
Miscellaneous Foods!
What sort of fall festival would it be without some fresh kettle corn? Let me add a shameless plug, yet again, for my brother's business, Good Ole Boys Kettle Korn. He's had a booth at the Connecticut building for the past several years where it has been extremely popular. You can buy some online via his website!
Speaking of the Connecticut building - if you like pizza, you've got to try a slice of Skippy's Dare from Randy's Wooster St. Pizza at least once. It's a white pizza with a thin layer of peanut butter, melted provolone cheese, and bacon. It's crazy popular and regularly sells out.
Clam chowder in a bread bowl - from the Massachusetts building.
You can get lobster rolls here too, but I prefer mine warm with butter instead of cold and with mayo.
Arepas! Crispy corn batter and creamy cheese melted in the center, kinda like a grilled cheese made with cornbread. So good.
Tot-choes! Nachos made with tater tots and covered with taco fillings.
Macaroni and cheese from the Granville Country Store, featuring their own artisan cheddar cheese. There is usually a line for this spot, which also offers grilled cheese and other cheesy goodness. They sell out of stuff often!
Chicken and waffle bites from The Deep South Food Company. The chicken and dipping sauces were A+ , but the waffle cone was kinda stale and disappointing.
Warm, buttery lobster roll from the Connecticut building. Bloody expensive, but worth it.
Sundae Supper Keg Tots - giant bacon/cheddar stuffed tater tots covered with pot roast, garlic mashed potatoes, pub ale cheese, and sour cream.
And finally, for this installment of Great Food at the Big E: The Hot Wisconsin Cheese stand
We tried two things - the jalapeno cheddar cheese sticks and the Swiss-N-Rye - which is a soft, deep-fried rye bread stuffed with amazing melty swiss cheese & comes with a mustard dip. New favorite.
. . . . . . .
This concludes today's long entry!
If you've been to the Big E, I'd love to hear about your favorite foods in the comments.
Next time: A few more miscellaneous fun things to love about The Big E.
No comments:
Post a Comment