The Southern Mac and Cheese Truck

Today I went to The Southern Mac and Cheese Truck. This is from the restaurant The Southern that is right next to Lillie's Q on North Ave. I've never been, but they do have pimiento cheese on the menu, a good sign I think.

I got Crawfish, Andouille, and Pepper Jack Mac and Cheese.

Slickly packaged. But bland.

I would have thought with that description they could have brought some heat, but there is barely any, not in the cheese or the sausage. Tasted a little like Kraft Mac and Cheese with frozen shrimp, some kind of plain sausage, and maybe a few red pepper flakes throw in.

And at $11, not a great deal.

Oh well. At least there is Meatyballs Mobile, not afraid to try anything.

http://thesouthernmac.com/


Mac and Cheese Truck by dkoblesky, on Flickr

DKoblesky wrote:I got Crawfish, Andouille, and Pepper Jack Mac and Cheese.

Tasted a little like Kraft Mac and Cheese with frozen shrimp, some kind of plain sausage, and maybe a few red pepper flakes throw in.

And at $11, not a great deal.


Mac and Cheese Truck by dkoblesky, on Flickr

Sounds like a BAD deal @ $11 and not a very good meal. Did you find or taste any crawdads?

Cbot wrote:

DKoblesky wrote:I got Crawfish, Andouille, and Pepper Jack Mac and Cheese.

Tasted a little like Kraft Mac and Cheese with frozen shrimp, some kind of plain sausage, and maybe a few red pepper flakes throw in.

And at $11, not a great deal.


Mac and Cheese Truck by dkoblesky, on Flickr

Sounds like a BAD deal @ $11 and not a very good meal. Did you find or taste any crawdads?

Yes they were in there, but they seemed like frozen, then thawed and warmed, cooked shrimp.

I was able to taste 2 versions of their mac and cheese last week - the crawfish and andouille version mentioned above, as well as sun-dried tomato, caramelized onion, and cheddar. I agree with the OPs assessment of the crawfish and andouille. It was a bland disappointment. However, the other version was a vast improvement. The tomatoes and onions added nice sweet and acidic contrast. Very tasty, and worthy of a return trip. Because of that, and because my faith in Cary Taylor is strong after the shrimp and grits I had at The Southern this week as well.

The Southern's truck stopped outside of my wife's office building and her and a work friend tried it out. They tried a "basic" mac & cheese and said while fine, it was expensive for what you get and that they probably wouldn't try it again.

My only question is why Mac & Cheese? You could make so many other fun southern inspired dishes that travel somewhat well...why make only one thing?

P. Channon wrote:The Southern's truck stopped outside of my wife's office building and her and a work friend tried it out. They tried a "basic" mac & cheese and said while fine, it was expensive for what you get and that they probably wouldn't try it again.

My only question is why Mac & Cheese? You could make so many other fun southern inspired dishes that travel somewhat well...why make only one thing?

I think they are copying the Meatyballs Mobile and Gaztro Wagon idea of creating interesting food within one simple idea. Meatyballs has Thai and BBQ and even had at one time Bulls testicles, all within the context of a meatball sandwich. Probably partly because on a truck, it has to be all made and just kept warm - no cooking on a truck - which is a hotly debated topic these days.

They just maybe aren't doing it as well, although to be fair, I just had the one item. Perhaps I should give them another chance, since mcg said the sun dried tomato one was good.

Never had the mac n cheese from the truck. But had it at the restaurant once. I'm no mac n cheese connoisseur, but I thought it was some of the best mac n cheese I ever had. Really rich and cheesy with a crispy delicious top. It was a total standout compared to the other dishes we had.

I happened upon the Mac Truck today wandering outside considering where to eat and figured I'd give it a shot. Currently eating the bacon, blue cheese and mushroom. I like this one, very creamy, the blue cheese isn't too sharp (I like strong blue cheese but this cheese seems a good choice, doesn't overwhelm everything), some nice smoky/salty from the bacon. Maybe could use a little more mushroom, but all around pretty solid. It was $9 and I think plenty of food for lunch. The other option today was an italian sausage, mozzarella and hot giardinera.

I had the white truffle, grilled asparagus and white cheddar today. Not mind blowing but decent and plenty of food for $9.
I also tried the spicy chorizo, monterey jack and cojita. This was the better of the 2.
I wouldn't walk a mile for it but when they park right on my office front door it's a nice change of pace.

I was considering putting my experience in the "worst thing I've eaten lately" topic, but since there's a dedicated topic, and now a free standing store at 70 E. Lake, I'll add my two bits here.

I had "today's special" of cheddar and broccoli.

I was already apprehensive about paying $8.85 (including tax) for any macaroni and cheese but figured, what the heck, maybe it will be great. I was also not happy being given a flimsy spork with my carry-out order. But I was still looking forward to it. And the crunchy crust on top gave me hope.

Blah. No discernible cheddar flavor, let along a powerful rush of aged cheddar that I was hoping for for my big bucks. Little green bits of what probably wasn't really powdered broccoli (is there such a thing?) but might as well have been for all it added. No real dairy flavor at all. Just an oily bunch of macaroni with a nice crust. I threw most of it out, saving myself at least some calories and unpleasantness, if not money.

I won't be back.