We got our first look at the crazy new fair foods hitting The Big E this year — and the fair foods once again looking wonderfully wild.
We’ve got new locations opening up at the fair, like “Bacon Bomb” on East Road, serving bacon-wrapped burgers. There’s also Luann’s Bakery in The Front Porch, which has a Dill Pickle Cupcake.
There are also returning vendors with some wild new options. New England Craft Beer Pub is back at it with some impressive Thanksgiving Nachos. Want something new and crazy from White Hut? They’ve got Disco Fries, which put a burger-joint spin on poutine.
We got a chance to try some of the new foods coming to the fair this year at a preview event. Here’s a look at what we tried — and what we hear is coming when The Big E opens.
New Foods coming to The Big E in 2023
Thanksgiving Nachoes from New England Craft Beer Pub on the Avenue of States. Here’s a look at The Big E’s new foods for 2023. (Nick O’Malley, MassLive)
Thanksgiving Nachos (From New England Craft Beer Pub | On the Avenue of States) – Thick house-made potato chips topped with cheese sauce, stuffing loaded with turkey meat and cranberry salsa. The potato chips are hearty and tasty, providing a solid foundation for the big pile of toppings on top. Sure, it’s a crazy concept, but it packs a powerful punch of flavor from the savory pile of stuffing to the welcome zing and sweetness of the cranberry sauce.
Polish “Bomb” (From New England Craft Beer Pub | On the Avenue of States) – This is a hefty sandwich. It starts with a thick slice of jalapeno-cheddar kielbasa that’s fried up and topped with horseradish sauce, pickled onion and slaw. It also comes on a delightful pretzel bun. When you bite in, you get a crisp bite of horseradish, with the savory kick of the kielbasa coming in after.
Caramel Apple Snicker Dessert Pizza from Top The Crust at The Food Court. Here’s a look at The Big E’s new foods for 2023. (Nick O’Malley, MassLive)
Caramel Apple Snicker Dessert Pizza (From Top The Crust | In The Food Court) – This pizza is bonkers. I talked to the people who make it and I’m still not 100% sure how they pulled it off. You get a crispy, flaky pizza crust that’s topped with peanut butter, caramel, cinnamon-sugar apples, crushed Snickers candy and a drizzle of chocolate. It’s kind of like eating an open-face baklava. It’s delicious.
Nashville Hot Chicken Pizza (From Top of The Crust At The Deep South Company | On Industrial Ave.) – It’s a spicy pizza with chicken. What’s not to like? Here’s we’ve got fried chicken, hot sauce, pickles, onions and a little bit of cheese. It’s not as hot as I’d expected from “Nashville Hot Chicken,” but it’s definitely tasty.
The Dill Pickle Cupcake from LuAnn’s Bakery at The Front Porch. Here’s a look at The Big E’s new foods for 2023. (Nick O’Malley, MassLive)
Dill Pickle Cupcake (From Lu Ann’s Bakery | At The Front Porch) – This creative confection starts with a vanilla cupcake base that has some pickle worked into it. That’s then topped with a cream cheese frosting and finished with a pickle slice.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Shots with Sugar Cookie (From Lu Ann’s Bakery | At The Front Porch) – That’s right, you can get a cookie and a cup of frosting. It’s basically a better version of Dunkaroos.
Cannoli Dip (From Cannoli King | In The Food Court) – It’s cannoli filling topped with chocolate chips and fried cannoli-shell chips. These ones are particularly fresh, crispy and tasty. Also, that filling is killer.
The Cannoli Donut from Cannoli King in The Food Court. Here’s a look at The Big E’s new foods for 2023. (Nick O’Malley, MassLive)
Cannoli Donut (From Cannoli King | In the Food Court) – Now this is a proper Big E food. Here, we’ve got a glazed doughnut that’s split in half and filled with cannoli cream. That’s then topped with more cannoli filling and finished with chocolate chips, powdered sugar and a cannoli chip. I never thought of pairing a doughnut with cannoli filling, but I’m certainly all for it now.
Porky Pretzel Bites (From Wurst Haus | On Commonwealth Ave.) – These aren’t just nice, chewy pretzel bites. They’re nice, chewy pretzel bites topped with glazed pulled pork, apple sauerkraut and crispy pork skin. I was expecting this to be bogged down and heavy. Instead, it was delightfully bright and sweet.
Disco Fries (From White Hut | In the Food Court) – Don’t let the name fool you, this is basically poutine. Here, we’ve got crispy fries topped with gravy and cheese curds. White Hut then adds in their famous grilled onions along with chopped-up hot dogs. It’s a nice spin on poutine that celebrates what the West Springfield institution has to offer.
The Ferrindino Maple Bacon Hot Dog from Ferrindino Maple at the Better Living Center/Springfield Road. Here’s a look at The Big E’s new foods for 2023. (Nick O’Malley, MassLive)
The Ferrindino Maple Bacon Hot Dog (From Ferrindino Maple | At the Better Living Center/Springfield Road) – We’ve got double-maple action here. In this case, it’s an all-beef hot dog that’s grilled and then cooked in maple syrup. It’s then topped with bacon that’s also cookled in maple syrup. The infusion of maple throughout really makes that flavor sing. This is a rockstar hot dog.
Maple Cream Puff (From The Big E Bakery | Multiple Locations) – This year’s special flavor of The Big E Cream Puff is maple. This time, the big cloud of buttery cream comes with this subtle maple flavor, which isn’t overly sweet. Oddly enough, I got some notes of coffee when I tasted it.
Fried Spätzle with Cheese Sauce (From Hofbrauhaus | In The Food Court) – I like spätzle. It reminds me a lot of gnocchi. It’s really nice when topped with some spicy cheese sauce and bacon bits. Let me be clear: There’s some kick to that sauce. I respect it.
Clam Fritter Doughnut (From The Clam Box | In The Food Court) – No, this isn’t a doughnut filled with clams. (That may or may not be what I assumed). Instead, it’s a delightful, light fritter that’s savory and salty — with a bit of that familiar seafood brine flavor.
Frozen Peach Twisted Tea, Frozen Truly Wildberry (From Sam Adams Beer Garden | On the Avenue of States) – Want a slushy, boozy way to cool down at the fair? These are great picks. They’re refreshing and chill.
Island Pizza (From Sam Adams Beer Garden | On the Avenue of States) – I really liked this pizza. It’s ambitious. It’s topped with “Caribbean flavor pork” along with cheese, pickled red onions, citrus and what appeared to be banana peppers. It’s bright and filled with citrus flavors. This is a really good summer pizza.
“Color Changing” Lemon Drop Martini (From V-One Vodka on New England Ave.) – This uses lemon juice to make a blue cocktail turn purple. It’s magic! Or science! Either way, it’s a nice lemon martini.
The Big E 2023: New Locations, Other New Foods
Here are some other new vendors and foods expected to come to The Big E this year:
Bacon Bomb | On East Road – Bacon-wrapped burger with BBQ sauce
Waffleicious | On Springfield Road – Stuffed waffles on a stick with a variety of toppings
Dolly’s Honky Tonk | On Industrial Ave. – Empanadas
Calabrese Market | In The Front Porch – Popping Kettle Corn Live
Ferrindino Maple | On Springfield Road – In addition to the Maple Bacon Hot Dog, they’ll have a Maple Creemee Sundae, Maple Creemee Latte and Maple Creemee Affogato.
The Indian Restaurant | In the Food Court – Mix Parathas (Sweet and savory crepes)
Harpoon Beer Hall | On New England Ave. – Multiple versions of a Chopped Cheese, including “Classic,” “Southwest,” Bacon BBQ” and “New England Style” (which has fried lobster).
Veggie Patch | On Commonwealth Ave. – Buffalo cauliflower wings and sweet chili cauliflower
Las Kangris Food Truck | In the Young Building – Pinchos con salsa BBQ (chicken kabob with BBQ sauce (Puerto Rican Style w/garlic bread on top), pork shoulder (Pernil) sandwich, tres leches cake
Cinnamon Saloon | On Hampden Ave. – Oreo Cookie Cinnamon Bun
The Clam Box, Food Court – Hofbrauhaus Venison Sausage with spaetzle — in addition to the Clam Fritter Doughnut and Fried Spaetzle with Cheese Sauce
Angela’s Pizza | On Commonwealth Ave. – Mexican Street Corn Pizza
Cannoli King | In the Food Court – Canoli, Cannoli Donut, Cannoli Cake Bomb & Lobster Tail Pastry
Sassy’s Catering | On East Road – Potato Flights, Sweet Potato Sushi
Delucca’s | On New England Ave. – Deep fried meatballs on a stick, Italian breaded mozzarella smothered in sauce
Villa of Lebanon | In the Young Building – Baklava and honey balls
All American Craft Beer Pub | Near Gate 7 – Pickle flight
White Hut | In Food Court – Hot dog poutine, Hamburg poutine, Disco Fries
Chick-Fil-A on East Road – Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich, seasonal milkshakes
Stella’s Milk & Cookies | Near Gate 9A – Flavored muffins
Cha Feo | In the Young Building – Hong Kong waffle
Craz-E Burger | On New England Avenue – S’mores between a donut
Emma’s Cookie Dough | Hampden Avenue – White Chocolate cranberry & Bacon Berry Cookie Dough
Fluffy’s | Near Gate 9A – Pickle donut
West Springfield Lions Club | On West Road – Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich
EB’s Food For Fun | In the Food Court – Twister fries smothered in American cheese sauce topped with real bacon bits and sour cream.
Poppie’s | On Industrial Ave. and New England Ave. – Pickle lemonade
Big Kahuna | On West Road – Dorito Gyro, walking Greek Gyro
