As any New Englander knows, September means it’s time for the Big E, one of the largest fairs in the country. Even though it’s located in Springfield, Massachusetts, it is a multi-state fair with people from all over New England. Despite it being a popular fall day trip for University of Connecticut students, I had not been during my last three years at UConn. Growing up in Massachusetts, the Big E was a yearly tradition for my family, but I hadn’t been able to go since starting college. I was more than ready to go back. Of course, I was excited about the rides, the tiniest horse, and all the other attractions, but I was most excited about the food.
My fondest memories at the Big E were watching my brother try the glazed donut burger (spoiler: I was not that brave this trip), trying a snack from each state, and finishing the day with fried Oreos. I typically would get the same couple of things from the Big E, but this year the attention around the fair on social media grew significantly. I had never seen so many videos about the Big E on my for you page. The videos ranged from rating the food, what drinks to get, and showing how packed it was. Despite the crowds, I was determined to filter through all the different stands and TikTok recommendations to find my new favorite foods at the Big E.
Fried Cheese: 7/10
I started the day strong with the fried cheese. I had seen this on social media and it was one of my must tries. It came with a side of marinara and the serving size was huge. The first bite was nice and hot and I got a great cheese pull. Even though it was the size of my head and I wanted to save room for later, it was gone in just a few minutes. I typically do not reach for a mozzarella stick but this was so much better than that. The fried cheese was one of my favorites of the day and lived up to the social media hype.
Pickle pizza: 9/10
I wish every pizza shop put this on their menu. The pickle pizza exceeded all my expectations. This was all over my TikTok and recommended by multiple people. As a pickle lover, I was hopeful, but I figured there were a lot of ways it could go wrong. It was available at the same stand as the fried cheese and we got them at the same time. It was a white sauce base with cheese, pickles, and a white sauce drizzled on top. The base was delicious and had a dill flavoring. The amount of pickles was also ideal as it covered most of the pizza without overpowering it. I would recommend the pickle pizza to any pickle lovers as it was the highlight of my day.
Connecticut Baked Potato: 6/10
Later in the day, we went to each of the statehouses. We stopped outside of the Connecticut house to get in line for their baked potatoes. The line for the potatoes was very long but moved quickly as the employees took your order and made them in front of you. At this vendor, they had a lot of options of toppings and types of loaded potatoes. I got a loaded potato with butter, cheese, and pulled pork. The best part of the potato was the pulled pork. I wasn’t sure about adding it as a topping but it turned out to be my favorite part. My only issue with the potato was the ice cream scoop amount of butter. It was partially my fault for not looking but I got a huge bite of butter at one point. I enjoyed the Connecticut baked potato, but there were baked potatoes at other stands and statehouses that might be worth trying instead.
Bonus Samples: 7/10
The next place we went was not an official food booth, but a center where vendors were selling inside. Wandering around we got offered different snacks at each booth. The two I tried were jerky and a variety of dips. I tried a spicy jerky which as a jerky hater was better than most out there and the spice level was perfect. I also tried dips from another vendor, and they kindly gave us a bunch of pretzel sticks to dip with. Both of these were not what I’d typically get but were worth trying if you love dips and jerky!
Loaded Nachos: 5/10
To end the day I had some loaded nachos. These were not my favorite but good for the time being (I was hungry and about to leave). It was intimidating to take a bite because I thought I was going to make the tower of food collapse. The cheese and chicken were my favorite parts of the nachos but overall they weren’t super flavorful. They are a decent late-night snack but considering the amount of really good food at the Big E it wouldn’t be my first choice.
By the end of my day trip to the Big E, I was kicking myself for waiting so long to come back. Even though this year was a bit crazy with lines and people, I remembered how much I loved trying all the foods. My day was mostly filled with savory foods and lots of lemonades and ciders. Next time I would try to get actual desserts instead of having drinks as my dessert. I also would get the fried cheese and pickle pizza again and highly recommend them. I’m still dreaming of the pickle pizza and trying to find where I can get a slice year-round.