Revenge of the Big E: The Big Eat Strikes Back

It's Sunday night, but we're finally coming out of our food-induced comas from our second visit Thursday night. After 5pm, it's only $5 to get in and what we didn't know was apparently the whole town of Westfield, MA was also there that night. It wasn't nearly as busy as last Sunday afternoon however. We met up with Ian & Tina Rodriguez and the kids. AJ and Brady got to stay with Nana Aviles. We did another quick tour of the states getting some of the usual fare - I swear my potato was much larger this time around! Our quest tonight was the deep-fried Oreos. After checking out the "Craft Commons" in search of a Christmas ornament, some of the other booths we missed last time and the petting zoo, we located our nirvana. And man were they good! Next year we have to try the deep-fried cheesecake and the meatballs on a stick (we hear those are deep fried too!). But for now, Oreos are definitely the way to go! Sadly the Big E ended earlier this evening, but we'll be back next year - with our appetites!

The Big E - aka the "Big Eat"

On Sunday we took our annual trip up to the "Big E" aka the Eastern States Exhibition in nearby West Springfield, MA. Our friend Lisa and Mom Aviles joined us on our trip. We knew it was going to be a busy day being a weekend, but we were still able to enjoy the festivities. Our tour began at "The Avenue of States" - which features replicas of each New England state capitol. Each building features unique items from each state - including FOOD which is how we started our day. The highlights: Lobster Rolls from Maine, Baked Potatoes with pulled pork from CT (yes, potatoes from CT and not Maine - trust us, they are worth it!), Cabot cheese, cider donuts and fresh cider from Vermont, Del's lemonade and clamcakes (fritters) from Rhode Island. We also sampled some maple kettle corn, cheesecake, gelatto and the famous Big E eclairs. It's a good thing we did a lot of walking around the fairgrounds as well as to and from the car!

We're debating a return trip later in the week to sample the things we missed - the giant turkey legs, deep fried veggies, deep fried Oreos, candied apples and various meats on sticks. And of course we need to see the completed version of this year's "butter cow" sculpture.