Mac and Cheese, Please

Returning items to IKEA and eating Mac and Cheese has been something of a theme around here as of late.

Needing a quick snack after an afternoon of hauling around some improbably named items, I felt a stop at the IKEA cafe for some of their Macaroni and Cheese would be just the thing to fill me up.

IKEA Macaroni and Cheese

Hmm.

If you think that IKEA is mostly bland and full of cardboard, have I got the Macaroni and Cheese for you!

Actually, it wasn’t that bad, though the noodles were over-cooked to the point where it seemed only the most tenuous of molecular bonds were holding them together. It had a homogeneous and slightly gritty texture with a strong hint of “cheddar”–not cheddar, but “cheddar” (quotation marks necessary)–that I couldn’t quite place.

It wasn’t until I was almost finished eating the IKEA Macaroni and Cheese that I realized what it reminded me of: a hot, fully-chewed mouthful of Cheez-It brand crackers. Except that I hadn’t chewed the Macaroni and Cheese yet.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but it went down okay.

This is about the lowest grade of Macaroni and Cheese that I would willingly eat again. It’ll do in a pinch, but I wouldn’t make a pilgrimage for it.

Family gatherings are sometimes occasions of joy and sharing, comfort and togetherness. And sometimes they are just occasions of your parents breaking your stuff.

As a result of my father’s use of the Sacred Mac and Cheese Colander to drain some spinach–apparently with extreme prejudice–I no longer have a working Sacred Mac and Cheese Colander.

Lo! The Sacred Mac and Cheese Colander is dead:

My love for you will never die.

Long live the Sacred Mac and Cheese Colander!

(Your weeping is appreciated.)

Looking for an Alton Brown recipe for oven roasted broccoli, my eyes saccaded upon this tasty little morsel on FoodNetwork.com:

America Loves Mac & Cheese

That’s right… the #1 and #3 spots belong to Mac & Cheese: DOMINATION!

Spoon.

On a recent trip to Barbados I had the pleasure of sampling one of the nation’s specialties: macaroni pie.

The noodles are thin and quite long, around two inches or so, and usually a mild tomato sauce works nicely with the cheese.

You can find it everywhere–it’s often featured on the menu in the hundreds of rum shops that dot the island, emblazoned with Banks Beer or Mount Gay logos. It’s served for lunch and dinner and makes a great snack.

I had my first mac pie at the weekly Oistins Fish Fry, where it seems half the island turns out for a night of food, drink, and dancing. The noodles were long and tender and the tomato sauce was hearty. There wasn’t much of a crust on top, but overall it was very satisfying.

Oistins Mac Pice

But mac pie isn’t not just a roadside staple or festival fare. I had my finest macaroni pie at David’s Place, a pleasant restaurant overlooking the sea.  This was some high class casserole, my friends. Not as creamy as a traditional American macaroni dish, but the light notes of tomato and the fluffiness of the dish, almost quiche-like, made this one of my favorite meals on the island.

Macaroni Pie at David's Place by the Sea

If you ever find your way down to the beautiful island of Barbados, the people are friendly, the rum flows freely, and the macaroni pie is fantastic.

My business trip to Seattle last month turned out to be very mactacular.  On the same day as the Beecher’s Experience, I went out for dinner at the swanky El Gaucho.  For the dinner event, there was a set menu, and much to my surprise they brought out this amazing dish of what looked like, no, could it be!?  Was this another top ten candidate?

Being that my top ten list isn’t yet full pretty much every mac that crosses my path is a candidate, but this one looked positively worthy!

Gaucho Mac and Coastal Cheddar Cheese

This tangy little number has enough crunchables on top to soak up excess juices while simultaneously (and magically?) remaining crispy and luscious. It’s got a coastal cheddar cheese sauce that practically leaps off your fork, flies screaming into your mouth and punches your taste buds in the face with FLAVOR! The consistency is perfect–not too soupy and not too spackley. The $12 price tag may scare you away, but the serving is big enough to share with 4 - 6 people, and for a mac this good, the experience alone is worth the price of admission.

I’d like to take this opportunity to lie and say that I put that spoon in the picture in honor of my blog cohort Jesec who eats his mac with a spoon. Even though Jesec was not present, my thoughts were with him as I upheld my membership status in the clean plate club.

Oh, everyone at the table tried it, but I finished it.  Trust me on that one.

As a side-note, during the dinner I became friends with some of the other folks at the table who seemed to know a little more about mac and cheese than they had first let on.  As I started talking about the shapes of pasta, one of them stopped me in my tracks and using his blackberry, directed me to both the English Wikipedia article on macaroni as well as the Italian article about maccheroni.  In these articles, it is revealed that Penne is a TYPE of maccheroni!

Penne. A type of maccheroni.

So, those of you thinking that elbows are the only true macaroni, think again. Jesec, I’m lookin’ at you…

This one is a big ol’ “Winner”.

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese in Seattle, Washington touts their mac as the best mac.  Well, being in Seattle on business, I just had to put them to the test.

At the famous Pike Place Market, you’d be hard pressed to find any locals that don’t know of this magical elixer of goo, this lucious noodle-laced nectar that is the “‘World’s Best’ Mac & Cheese“.  In fact, I got slightly lost on my way to the humble cheese shop and was directed there in no time by a friendly mac & cheese loving passer-by who claimed that his wife’s mac & cheese is better than Beecher’s.  I asked if he knew that Beecher’s is actually the “World’s Best” and he seemed to dodge my question, not wanting to offend the Pike Place mac & cheese mafia, I assume.

Beecher's Cheese Gnomes in their natural habitat

At Beecher’s, they make their own cheese, which seems pretty cool.  You can even watch the Cheese Gnomes as they go about their business on the other side of the glass.  It was kind of like being in an aquarium while eating seafood (which literally and honestly happened the night before), though, so I turned around as to not be put off as I ran their two types of mac & cheese through our rigorous macandcheeseplease tasting process.

<-- "World's Best" & Mariachi -->

The two macs & cheese that they offer are the “World’s Best” Mac & Cheese and the Mariachi Mac & Cheese. Let me tell you, eating two of these back to back is definitely a feat of endurance as the sauce is mighty. Each of these macs has a very nice consistency, the cheese is tart, and the noodles are cooked just right.

In the “World’s Best”, there’s a slight hint of peppery goodness that tickles the palatte in all the right ways. Aside from the aforementioned pepperiness, this mac is your baseline.  It is standard mac.

In the Mariachi, they’ve thrown in some peppers, tomatoes, and other vegetables that were difficult to recognize, but that reminded me of onions and corn.  This mac is spicier, but not too spicy.  It’s got a nice subtle zing to it that I dare say even children could abide.  This is like mac+.

I would say that each were equally good, and that you really couldn’t replace one for the other.  They are macs for different occasions.  But, are they the World’s Best?  Or at least, is the one pictured on the left?

My verdict is that no, they are not the World’s Best.

But they are mighty good.  In fact, these macs definitely make it into my top ten list.  If you are ever in Seattle and you’re looking for a good mac, you really should treat yourself to a Beecher’s mac.

These are definitely “Winners”.

At lunch today, a friend suggested the Mac n’ Cheese from Baby Blues BBQ in West Hollywood. He liked that they use big noodles and said they mix BBQ seasonings in with the cheese. Sounds really good.

We’ll check it out and get back to you.

Keep those suggestions coming.

I think a Mac & Cheese celebration (as they put it) sounds like a fantastic idea. In fact, that’s why I was searching for it… let us know if you hear about any coming up.

You can bet that Lance Glass’s winning recipe will be tried. I just can’t believe that photo–the crusty edge bits are usually the best part of a homemade dish! What were they thinking?!?

We’re both vegetarians, so fillers like crab and bacon are out (they don’t belong in a true mac & cheese, anyway, in my opinion). But still, a couple of places to try:

Yelp’s The Cheese To My Macaroni

March 31

Good for the heart and the soul. Art! It’s everywhere! LA Art Weekend takes over Cold, frosty, and unlimited: Los Angeles gets a beer festival The feathers will fly: Los Angeles Pillow Fight hits Pershing Square The Pavilion gets Tavernous: Westside Tavern is now open! You should be in pictures: The Yelp Photography Club shows off their shots!

Macaroni and cheese: Whether dressed up with truffles or classically prepared, the combination of these two main ingredients can whet taste buds and brighten smiles as quickly as they can stimulate a heated conversation about the perfect recipe. Does Yelp dare tackle the two most coveted words in the comfort food vocabulary? Oh yes, we dare. ‘Cause we’ve got the cheese to please! While some like their mac & cheese straight up with no frills, others go the gourmet route like Chris J, who gets his fix of at Elf Café in Silverlake: “It was amazing, the blue cheese gives it just the right amount of kick.” Speaking of which, Chris L has had a violent reaction to Ketchup’s version: “White truffle and Dungeness crab mac & cheese: Just as mouth-watering, sock me in the face, knee me in the balls delicious.” Passionate aggression in lovers of this dish is also demonstrated at Nook, where Diana H’s self defense comes in the form of extra spoons: “Otherwise, there might have been a scratching fight to secure every last elbow pasta shell of what truly is the best mac & cheese in LA.” Jody M gets in her battle formation at Taste: “Be warned – everyone at your table will want to try it because they will see that spaced-out, glazed-over look in your eyes and that devilish grin across your face, like you know you’re eating something sooo good but also sooo bad for you.” Indeed, it’s not uncommon for some to experience a sense of euphoria while consuming the mac – or that could just be your arteries clogging. Chris T agrees that the mac & cheese at Baby Blues BBQ in Venice is “killer… as in ‘I can feel my heart attack coming on right now.’” Denis S prefers his death-by-cheese with a side of soul food at Roscoe’s: “If you had your choice of ways to go, this is probably one of the best.” Elise M knows it’s all worth it, though, especially at Fred 62; she claims the Mac Daddy & Cheese Balls are “The best 345983405 calories I’ve ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth.” Dan W concurs: “The next few days, all you’ll be able to think about is balls. Soft, gooey, salty balls. You’ll want to go back again and again and again and again.” You had us at balls, Dan.