BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Great music may fill the air at Musikfest, but the mouthwatering food being cooked across the festival is also sharing the spotlight.<\/p>\n
69 News Reporter Sydney Kay tasted her way through the festival and gives us a look at what\u2019s on the menu, along with new items this year.<\/p>\n
Feastin\u2019 at the fest! Music isn\u2019t the only thing on the minds of guests at Musikfest, it\u2019s also what\u2019s on the menu and new vendors this year are switching things up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have catfish, po’boys. I got platters, but our special thing is gator. The gator skewer is the number one seller for us right now,\u201d said Chef Douglas Duke, the executive chef at Magnolia\u2019s Soul & Spice<\/a>.<\/p>\n Alligator and crawfish are the specialty of Magnolia\u2019s Soul & Spice on the Northside near Zinzenplatz.<\/p>\n \u201cDoug is from Georgia, I\u2019m from Louisiana, so we combined the Cajun and the soul food together and we came up with this,\u201d said owner, Barbara Stefani.<\/p>\n They say the number one question is: what does gator taste like?<\/p>\n \u201cIt tastes like chicken, like a dark thigh-type of chicken,\u201d Chef Douglas said.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for a more traditional dish, Waffl\u2019d has your breakfast craving with a sweet and savory twist, such as its mozzawaffle.<\/p>\n \u201cMoving onto these really wacky flavors just kind of gives us an opportunity to say, \u2018Hey, we tasted I don\u2019t know this waffle with pepper,\u2019 thinking that would be really good in a waffle why don\u2019t we try it,\u201d said co-owner Cara Clair.<\/p>\n The couple has already sold more than 770 waffles on the Southside near the Wind Creek Steel Stage.<\/p>\n They\u2019re working double-duty, juggling this business alongside full-time jobs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just kind of blocked off our PTO for this year. We\u2019re like, \u2018Let\u2019s throw it all into Musikfest,\u2019\u201d added co-owner Steven Clair.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just guests that need to be fed at the ten-day festival, but also the performers.<\/p>\n That\u2019s one of the many things that keeps the Levy Restaurants at ArtsQuest busy.<\/p>\n \u201cWe like to really bring our team’s roots together, so we have a Dominican menu, South American Menu, and of course Pennsylvania Dutch. My favorite shoofly pie is on the menu tonight. My grandmother used to make that,\u201d said Chef Julie Marble, the executive chef at Levy Restaurants at ArtsQuest Center.<\/p>\n Bringing together all types of flavors for those putting on a show and others who have been counting down to it.<\/p>\n \u201cFor you it\u2019s a Tuesday, but for these folks, it\u2019s like the time of their year. They saved up to come to this show and have a great time and watch this band. They\u2019ve been waiting all year for it,\u201d added Martin Durban, the director of operations at Levy Restaurants at ArtsQuest Center.<\/p>\n And there is lots of time to check out all of the food because Musikfest runs through Aug. 9.<\/p>\n Did we catch you at the festival on Monday? Check out our photo gallery here!<\/a><\/p>\n Visit 69 Newsplatz on Spring Street, located between Festplatz and Plaza Tropical at Musikfest 2026.<\/p>\n