Garlic Fest, a dignitary event on every Eastonian’s calendar, made its annual return to downtown Easton last weekend. Featuring over 130 vendors, three of The Lafayette’s news editors took a break from the hard news and substituted it for some good garlic. Here’s what we tried:
A plain pretzel – plain, simple and full of garlic
Courtesy of Pretzel Revolution, this simple pretzel was the first item ordered. A traditional soft pretzel with added garlic flavor, it had a doughy and simple taste on the inside and a balanced flavorful aftertaste.
Perhaps the pretzel was made fresh on the brisk Saturday morning (we were one of the first customers of the day), but it was one of the better pretzels Andreas had ever had. The garlic didn’t distract from the chewy taste, which is a must for any pretzel.
Pretzel Revolution also sold other garlic-themed items, such as spicy garlic chicken stuffed pretzels and garlic pepperoni pizza stuffed pretzels.
Rating: 
/5
Garlic masala fries – a secret sauce
We next had to hunt down garlic fries, with this order courtesy of our business manager Rae Shepard ’26. These were garlic masala fries, colder than we would have liked, but fresh with a hint of garlic and a garlic masala sauce.
Cooked by Aman’s Artisan Indian Cuisine, this recipe is garnished with fresh greens, onions and cilantro. Aman’s website claims that their garlic masala sauce is a “secret,” and the fries always sell out.
This was a shared item during our first afternoon of Garlic Fest, and we would recommend it for future travelers.
Rating: /5
Fried mac and cheese “waffle” – Surv Restaurant serves up garlic twist
This next purchase was a unique taste test. The Lafayette spoke to Garlic Fest voyagers for some food recommendations and this was on the list. This fried mac and cheese “waffle” was small and a bit pricey for the size ($11), but it was delicious. It was topped off by a garlic maple aioli drizzle, which surprisingly contrasted well with the mac and cheese. We didn’t taste a ton of garlic in this, but this food packed a punch in a small bite.
Surv Restaraunt, located one mile north of Lafayette College, also offered chicken meatballs with garlic dill yogurt and popcorn chicken with soy garlic sauce.
Rating: /5
Garlic knots – a classic
One day later, and after a contentious debate in the news chat on what to try next, we selected arguably the most classic garlic food: garlic knots. These garlic knots came from the Easton Main Street Initiative fundraiser.
What stood out the most, however, was not the garlic, but the overpowering sweetness and slightly undercooked doughy texture. We also wished for the addition more of salt and pepper as well. Still, we appreciate the knots for helping us power through the last of our Sunday tabling shift.
Rating: /5
Garlic calamari – A delicious mix of garlic and seafood
We had our hearts set on 3rd & Ferry’s garlic calamari from the moment we spotted their vendor stall just two spaces down from us tabling at the information booth. The calamari — fried to order and topped with garlic, garlic relish and garlic aioli — was worth the $12 price tag. While the relish was a tad salty and did make it a bit soggier than ideal, we attributed at least part of that to the sheer amount of time it took us to take a photo before we started eating. Despite these qualms, the calamari lived up to expectations, delighting our tastebuds with the intensity of its garlic flavor and freshness of the seafood.
We split this between the three of us before heading out on Sunday night.
Rating: /5
