Worth a Try: Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese is one of those dishes that everyone loves. It’s creamy, cheesy, and comes in all different forms and flavors. Here, we’ve compiled a list of our 10 favorite places to indulge in this comfort food.

S’MAC, New York, New York

In the heart of the East Village, you’ll find S’MAC, a restaurant dedicated entirely to macaroni and cheese. The brainchild of Caesar and Sarita Ekya, the eatery serves 12 varieties of mac and cheese that are made from scratch every day with fresh ingredients. Favorites such as 4 Cheese, All-American, and Napoletana are topped with bread crumbs and grated cheese and broiled to form a golden crust over the cheesy goodness. Each dish, whether you order it in Nosh, Major Munch, or Mongo size, is served to you piping hot in an iron skillet.

SMAC All American by Michael Seto 13

West 5Seattle, Washington

West 5 opened 11 years ago in the quirky neighborhood of West Seattle and continues to charm locals and visitors with its inviting retro-chic vibe. Continually winning accolades for their happy hour and mac and cheese, the restaurant combines old school and new to create fresh and tasty dishes. The Astral Mac n’ Cheese is a blend of five cheeses, including local Tillamook Cheddar, and uses radiatore pasta to hold the sauce better. Each order is topped with a bread crumb crust and baked to order. And here’s an insider tip: you can customize your mac with a variety of different ingredients, including bacon, sausage, broccoli, and tomatoes. Just ask your server about it. 

Mac the Cheese, Atlanta, Georgia

This hard-to-miss plaid food truck hit the streets of Atlanta in 2012 dishing out mac and cheese bowls. Heavily influenced by their grandmothers’ cooking, husband and wife Beau and Tiffany Hodson knew comfort food was their cuisine of choice. Their mac and cheese uses high quality cheese and a béchamel base, which makes it both creamy and delicious. Toppings such as pulled pork and buffalo chicken will have you coming back to this truck day after day, no matter where they’re located. Follow Mac the Cheese on Facebook and Twitter for their daily location.

Mac the Cheese credit to Christina Bearden with RedFlyStudio Fairbairn Lizzio mjsalwed0388 0 low

Mad Donna’sNashville, Tennessee

Locals in Nashville can often be found enjoying a great mix of comfort and American-style food at Mad Donna’s. This family-friendly restaurant and lounge on the east side of Nashville is housed in the historic two-story Radio Café building. Soon after opening, the owners realized a mac and cheese dish seemed like a necessary addition to the menu. They started out with the Radio Mac, a four-cheese macaroni, and then featured The Original Donna with bacon and sun-dried tomatoes (now a staple on the menu) as a special one night. This led to other suggestions by the staff, and now they have six flavors of mac and cheese, including White Truffle, Habañero, and Chicken Pesto. 

Frog Hollow TavernAugusta, Georgia

Right in downtown Augusta is Frog Hollow Tavern, where owner and executive chef Sean Wight prepares and serves exquisite farm-to-table entrées. Wight aims to bring affordable and exquisite together in his cuisine, which leads to innovative and beautiful presentations of his food. For his Smoked Gouda Macaroni and Cheese, he layers lasagna noodles with smoked Gouda, cream cheese, Cheddar, Vidalia onions, and garden herbs for an eight-layer dish that aims to impress. 1282 Broad Street.

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AmberjaxDallas, Texas

Fresh fish is the specialty at this Dallas market and grill, but the Lobster Mac ‘n Cheese at Amberjax is more than worth a try. The dish is a delectable blend of a creamy five-cheese sauce over bow tie noodles and topped with sweet Maine lobster. This family-owned and operated restaurant offers lunch and dinner menus featuring fresh catch items that change daily, but luckily you can get the Lobster Mac any day of the week.