New England’s (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island) the Big E 2016 celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016, and its creations were as creative (and calorie-bursting) as ever!
First up, the Big Tast-E Burger. It’s the winner of a fan contest to come up with a new burger for the Bud & Burger Pub’s debut to the fair. The third-pound of beef is seasoned with basil, oregano, and garlic and topped with American cheese and pepperoni. The grilled brioche bun it’s served upon is drizzled with Italian ketchup.
Continuing the naming trend, the Hot Diggid-E Dog takes a cheese-infused hot dog, wraps it in bacon, and tops it with Boston baked beans and more cheese.
The Craz-E Burger’s a bacon cheeseburger with glazed donut for buns.
Or, if you prefer to start your morning right, you can opt to have waffles for your bacon cheeseburger. You know, for health reasons.
Because this is New England, there’s clam chowder, offered in a bread bowl. It’s New England-style, of course. Where did you think this is, New York?
Speaking of regional delicacies, there’s Stuffed Clams…
…and Lobster Rolls.
The Big E 2016: (continued)
Unique to no region but the state fair, we have giant food, like this 18-inch bratwurst.
Or this One-Pound Meatball
And there’s weird food, like Skippy’s Dare Pizza. It’s a white pizza that uses peanut butter as sauce and tops it with Provolone cheese and bacon. The stand kept tally of how many people tried it, which can’t be a good sign.
You wouldn’t know by the taste, as these Noah’s Ark of burgers–available in camel, alligator, and kangaroo–look and taste like any plain ol’ beef patty. Your wallet will feel the difference, as they’re $9.25 each.
Is the Garbage Bowl name apt or not? It’s a pile of fries, onion rings, and a slab of bacon tangled up with a hot dog and cheeseburger. The $8 portion looks a little wimpy, by state fair standards.
The Flatliner Burger is so massive it has to be held together with two skewers. It’s two patties with cheese, bacon, French fries, chili, and cheese sauce.
And state fairs also serve things on a stick that shouldn’t be, such as salmon.
The Big E 2016: (continued)
Anyway… Moving on! This Poutine comes swimming in vegetarian-friendly gravy that one writer calls “meaty dream sauce” and “cheese curd clouds from Canadian poutine Valhalla.”
You can top your Tots-a-Lot with combinations like the above Chicken Tot Pie–which involves diced chicken, peas, carrots, and chicken gravy–as well as Shepherd’s Pie, Pulled Pork, and Totchos.
In the “actual nachos” category, these Ultimate Cowboy Nachos are topped with barbecue sauce, shredded cheese, and sour cream.
The 28-ounce Beer Boot comes with a trophy: This lanyard boasting of your accomplishment for finishing the libation.
Is it cruel irony or culinary innovation to serve a chopped up, blended, and juiced fruit in its former husk? Either way, this Watermelon Juice looks delicious and deserves a lanyard all its own.
The chicken in this Chicken and Waffle Cone is dipped in waffle batter and deep fried, making it an inception of the waffular variety.
The Big E 2016: (continued)
Starting our deep-fried section this time, we’ve got some scallops.
And a Bloomin’ Onion (lawsuit filed by Outback in 3…2…1…).
Bonus shot because who’s seen a raw Bloomin’ Onion?
Another vegetable in the deep fryer? Zucchini, cut up and served like fries.
And mushrooms, which are not. I’d love to see them fry-ified!
Also joining the deep-fried produce pals are bananas, topped with peanut butter, chocolate, and caramel.
The Burger Bomb, a pastry-wrapped, deep-fried cheeseburger, is served in a pool of goulash. Appetizing…
Deep-Fried Mac & Cheese Bites with Bacon are really just big ol’ balls of cheesy pasta, deep fried and topped with more cheese and bacon.
But why bother with all those fillings when you can just deep fry the dough itself? At least this offering comes with maple syrup and bacon.
The Big E 2016: (continued)
Even drinks are deep fried at the fair, like this Deep-Fried Piña Colada. It’s made by soaking pineapple in vodka, dunking it in batter before encasing it in coconut flakes and deep frying it.
Similarly, the Deep-Fried Cosmo combines cranberry juice, triple sec, and vodka, chills it enough to batter and deep fry it, creating a “semi-solid, semi-liquid” goo.
And you can get this martini deep-fried, not shaken nor stirred.
Bridging the gap between deep-fried and dessert, we have Deep-Fried Pumpkin Bites…
…Deep-Fried Apple Pie…
…a Deep-Fried S’more on-a-Stick…
…and Holy Cannoli, deep-fried cannoli served with creams both ice and whipped.
Also anointed, if in name only, the Holy Cow takes a glazed donut hole, crams in vanilla soft serve, and decorates it with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and powdered sugar.
Bonus bite-through shot.
Another bovine bounty, these Moo Nuts are ice cream-stuffed donuts.
The Big E 2016: (continued)
And did you think we left beer behind too? Nope! Meet Beer-a-misu!
The Dessert Ball features the Big-E’s infamous cream puff stuffed with ice cream and topped like a sundae with whipped cream, hot fudge, and a cherry on top.
Another dessert ball, the Ice Cream Cake Ball, returns from its debut in 2015.
Check out this Apple Pie with Cheddar Cheese. Believe it or not, but the flavor combination works. Somehow.
A refreshing-looking Rose Berry Farm Strawberry Shortcake.
Maple Needhams are otherwise known as Potato Fudge, an eccentric mix of potatoes, coconut, and maple syrup served in a chocolate candy coating.
This Blueberry Pierogi Sundae began as an unintended collaboration. The owners of Millie’s Pierogi would plop their pierogis in a cup and walk down to the nearby Moolicious to top the treat with vanilla soft serve. But this wasn’t precisely portable, so Moolicious offered up a waffle cone, and voila! Taste-wise, the vanilla soft serve decked in whipped cream, blueberry sauce, fresh blueberries, and cinnamon sugar, flavors which meld beautifully together and hide a still-warm pierogi underneath.
Wow… Is that… Fresh fruit at the fair? That’s the surprise of the century!