Why do people keep coming back to The Big E every year? Because as long as you’re wandering West Springfield’s asphalt labyrinth that vaguely smells of farm animals, society’s rules are all out the window.
The Big E is “Mad Max” with carnival rides and a deep fryer. Where else can you pet a llama, buy a hot tub, eat a giant turkey leg and drink a pickle beer at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday?
It’s that same chaotic energy that makes The Big E such a magical food destination. State fairs are a reminder that food can (and should) be fun. Every now and then, it’s OK to see something crazy, breathe in the crazy smells and say, “Yeah, I’m gonna eat that.”
You can have a salad tomorrow. Plus, you’ll be walking all day.
The same is true for businesses. They get to come up with creative ideas that hungry customers post on social to spread the word.
That’s how you get an ice cream shop in Southwick making ice cream that looks like a chicken nugget. Sure, it’s a crazy idea. But for 17 days starting Sept. 12, everyone wins.
What I’m excited to eat at The Big E in 2025
1) MooNugs | From Moolicious (On Springfield Road and West Road)
So, what are MooNugs? They’re little blocks of maple ice cream that have bacon mixed in. Those are covered in white chocolate and then coated with frosted corn flakes.
The end result is a bite-sized marvel that looks like a chicken nugget. It even comes with a dipping sauce (chocolate, caramel, maple or marshmallow).
These things are so much fun. They’re visually impressive, shareable, taste good and hold up surprisingly well in the heat thanks to the coating.
2) Whiskey Bread Pudding | From Steaming Tender (On the Craft Common)
Bread pudding is one of those foods that doesn’t sound as delicious as it actually is. For decades, the Steaming Tender restaurant in Palmer has made some of the best bread pudding you’ll find anywhere.
This year, the Western Massachusetts favorite is bringing its famous Whiskey Bread Pudding to The Big E for the first time. In terms of pure flavor, this is one of the best things you can get at the fair.
The sauce for the bread pudding is electric. I have no idea how they get such lusciously sweet flavors from the caramelized sauce. I could eat a wheelbarrow full of this stuff.
3) Deep Fried Chile Relleño | From Macho Taco (On East Road)
Since we’re talking Big E, we’ve you’ve got to have a new sort of deep-fried food served on sticks. In this case, it’s a deep-fried poblano pepper filled with ground beef and topped with cheese and sauce.
It takes a lot for me to endorse eating a vegetable at The Big E. However, this is a savory-spicy dynamo that brings flavor and deep-fried novelty.
4) Lobster Nachos | From New England Craft Beer Pub (On the Avenue of States)
We’ve got a new deep-fried food. What about over-the-top decadence?
Look no further than the New England Craft Beer Pub, which is one of the fair’s most underrated food stops.
These “nachos” consist of a bed of deep-fried kettle chips topped with cheddar cheese sauce, lobster sauce and chunks of buttered lobster. The cheese sauce alone would be enough to recommend this. The lobster makes it worth seeking out.
5) The Blushing Dragon Cocktail | From The Smoking Dragon (In the Young Building)
Want something with a big visual spectacle? V-One Vodka’s new “Smoking Dragon” bar in the Young Building specializes in drinks that have “smoke” pouring out. (It’s actually water vapor from dry ice.)
Does it do anything besides look cool? Not really. But I want to make something clear: These drinks do look very cool.
6) Strawberry Dubai Cup | From Crave Café (In The Young Building)
If there’s a flashy new food trend, it will inevitably make its way to The Big E. This year’s new trend is Dubai chocolate, available at Crave Café in both crepe and strawberry “cup” forms.
I love what they do with the cup. It’s more of a parfait with strawberries mixed in. The pistachio cream is wonderfully buttery and nutty, with the chocolate and strawberry bringing pops of flavor. The crisp kataifi brings a wonderful bit of crunch as well.
It’s nice to see a new food trend catching on after all the pickle madness in recent years.
Speaking of which…
7) Pickle Sundae | From Amy’s Sweet Treats (On Commonwealth Ave.)
That’s right. The pickle plague is still infecting fairs across the country. We’ve now reached the “ice cream” stage of the outbreak.
Is this dumb? Yes. Am I going to eat it anyway? Also yes.
Other wacky pickle offerings include:
- A pickle shake from Amy’s Sweet Treats.
- Pickle Popcorn from Red’s Red Apples.
- Dr. Pepper Pickle Juice from Big Kahuna’s.
8) Broccoli Tempura | From Broccoli Bar (On Springfield Road)
Broccoli Bar was one of my big standouts from last year. But they were a bit hidden away behind the Vermont Building.
This year, they’ve been promoted to a new spot on one of the main roads. Broccoli Bar is hard to miss. They typically have the employees dancing in broccoli costumes.
Also, the food is great. Yes, I know I’m recommending another vegetable. But I swear, this one’s really good.
9) Super-sized Hot Dogs
Two different vendors are adding behemoth weiners to their menu. I plan on trying them both:
- Two-Foot Giant Chili Cheese Dog | From White Hut (In the Food Court)
- Hotdog Flatliner | From West Springfield Lions Club (On West Road)
The Hotdog Flatliner is a frankfurter spin on their already famous Flatliner Burger, which debuted in 2017.
10) Hard-To-Get Beer | From The Austrian Hideaway (In the Young Building)
This is an entirely self-indulgent pick to satisfy the beer nerd part of me.
The Austrian Hideaway will have some great Vermont-based beers on tap. Burlington Beer Company is great. But for me, the big surprise is that they’ll have beer from The Alchemist available, including their famous Heady Topper Double IPA.
Heady Topper is a famous beer that played a huge part in kicking off the popular movement of hazy New England-style IPAs. It’s also famously hard to get. For a long time, you’d need to drive out to Stowe, Vermont to get some.
It’s cool to see it pop up at The Big E of all places.
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