WEST SPRINGFIELD – If there is one aspect of the Big E that undeniably draws people it’s the food.

It’s the fact you have the ability to eat dishes that are not always readily attainable anywhere else.

To prove this point, every year the management of the Big E invites food venders with new offerings and the press together for a tasting.

A good rule is never to get between reporters and free food. If there is free alcohol as part of the deal, take a few more steps back.

This year the staff of Reminder Publishing skipped breakfast so they would have plenty of room for the tasting marathon. Not even the fact the day was really hot kept them from their annual duty.

Among the new items is a menu full of specialty burgers for The Bud & Burger Pub. These include “gourmet sliders’ that feature a combination of peanut butter and jelly on a cheeseburger, a jalapeno popper with cream cheese burger; Texas BBQ with pulled pork; and Rugged Man Chili with Five Alarm Been Beef Chili among others.

Captain Nemo’s is featuring a pot roast patty melt sandwich, and risotto balls among other new items.  Garrett DiStefano said his family has been preparing food for the past 42 years and I thought his new sandwich was one of the best things I tasted at the Big E events.

G. Michael Dobbs
    
My stomach is churning and I feel like I’m in need of an hour-long nap. I am in a daze. I have experienced Big E food.

Bud & Burger Pub – They’re making a variety of 10 different sliders. I tested out the PB&J slider. I was nervous because I’m not a big fan of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in general, however it seemed like the most obscure option and I was willing to give it a shot. I wasn't disappointed! It really was delicious.

Perhaps my favorite unique dish that I tried was the Wurst Haus' apple fitter pulled pork sandwich. I thought the cinnamon apple combination of the fritter with the sweetness of the pulled pork was a delicious combination and one that I would definitely buy again.

The lobster mac n' cheese was fantastic, however I think this dish is “old news” at this point. This was a big trend a few years ago, so for lobster mac n' cheese to be just coming to the Big E now seems a bit behind the times. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed it!

Payton North

My first preview of Big E fair food did not disappoint, although, next time I may skip breakfast beforehand.

The Cajun Chicken Mac & Cheese from the Storrowton Tavern was probably my favorite dish of the day. I am not a huge fan of any kind of spice, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the mac and cheese had only a mild kick. The texture was perfect combination of creamy and crunchy, and the chicken was cooked perfectly. It was light and didn’t make my stomach feel too full.

Out of the variety of options offered by the Bud & Burger Pub, I decided to venture out and try a combination I had never even heard of before – the PB&J slider.  The slider consisted of Goober’s Peanut Butter & Jelly Stripes, a burger patty, a bun and some cheese. To preface, I LOVE PB&Js – on sliced bread, bagels, English muffins – and now, on hamburgers. This was a shockingly delicious combination. It was a fulfilling combination of savory and sweet flavors – kind of like adding maple syrup and sausage.

Next up were the Taco Chompers from Chompers. The Food Truck describes the dish as “crunchy balls of goodness,” and they’re not wrong. The crunchy balls of seasoned beef, cheddar cheese and crispy tortilla coating were extremely satisfying – and I’m not even a big taco eater. The balls are served with a side of salsa and sour cream. They definitely resembled the epitome of quality fair food.

Jordan Houston

It was truly a “hot” reveal when the Big E unveiled the latest additions to this year’s fair food offerings on the morning of Aug. 29. The temperature on the Storrowton Tavern patio must have hovered in the upper 90s in the sun, but that didn’t stop the media – and invited guests – from lining up to get a taste of the hearty fare and cool treats foodie fairgoers will find on this year’s menu.

From new offerings from Captain Nemo’s  – a fair staple for more than 40 years – to creative offerings by the Bud & Burger Pub and Chompers, as well as classic Big E pastries – there was something to please even the most discriminating palate.

“My father and mother started the stand, and we’re now the second generation,” said Garrett DiStefano, who was serving up samples of Captain Nemo’s Pot Roast Patty Melt, among other new offerings from the fair icon. “We’ve done a big renovation this year, put in a new bar, and kicked off a whole new menu” including a specialty bun for the Patty Melt by Bernardino’s Bakery of Chicopee, which DiStefano said is infused with both cheddar cheese and Jalapeño peppers.

This sandwich, which included a thin slice of dill pickle atop a mound of thinly shredded pot roast, got rave reviews from Reminder Publishing’s staff and rated one of the tastiest offerings sampled.

Right up there with the Patty Melt was the Peanut Butter & Jelly Gourmet Smashed Slider, one of multiple slider offerings from Bud & Burger Pub.

This sandwich boasted a pan-fried slider burger topped with white cheese sandwiched within a soft potato roll spread with peanut butter on one side, jelly on the other. This again got a staff thumbs up.

The Wurst Haus – famous for last year’s giant sausage, which will be on the menu again for this year’s Big E – came back with a sweet and savory offering for the 2018 fair – a spicy pulled pork mixture served nestled within a split, warmed, apple fritter. Called the Messy Mangus, several tasters in the crowd mused aloud if this was the Wurst Haus’ alternative to the fair’s year’s Craz-E Burger.

“People have been saying that,” Krista Siana, spokesperson for the Wurst Haus responded, adding that people look for something different when it comes to fair food and “we’re definitely playing off that idea [with this sandwich].”

The sweetness of the apple fritter and the pork worked well together, making this a tasty offering.

Storrowton Tavern went the comfort food route with two versions of mac & cheese – one topped with chunks of lobster, the other with tasty bites of Cajun-style boneless chicken. With a rich, creamy, cheesy base, either version is destined to be popular with hungry fairgoers this year.

Not to be overlooked was a novel addition to the fried food fair cuisine category – Taco Chompers from Chompers – a food truck that specializes in several items – including a cheeseburger – that come in the form of a fried ball.

Crusted in multi-colored crushed tortilla chips, these golf-ball-sized offerings combined all the elements of a taco into a two-or-three-bite snack per chomper. Served with salsa and sour cream for dipping, Taco Chompers are an experience.

The locally founded distiller V-One Vodka, which sponsors the V-One Craft Cocktail Bar in the Young Building at the Big E, also unveiled a specialty cocktail for this year’s fair – the Frozé Martini. Paul Kozub, creator of V-One Vodka, explained that the Frozé Martini was created to celebrate V-One’s new bottle, crafted by a French designer, which will be unveiled in 2019.

“It’s a blend of four ounces of a very good French rosé wine, one and one half ounces of V-One Vodka, strawberry puree and white cranberry juice,” Kozub said as he poured samples from a frozen drink mix machine.

The cocktail was a refreshing break on a hot day; appealingly sweet, but equally potent.

Another cooling treat at this ‘hot” reveal was the Ripion, a new frozen item from the popular Southwick-based ice cream purveyor, Moolicius.  Offered in three flavors – peach, lemon and orange – the frosty treat featured a hollowed-out piece of real fruit filled with a generous serving of a matching sorbet. The staff sampled the peach and lemon, both of which were cooling, delicious, and a light finish to a morning of sampling fair food.

Debbie Gardner