when i was craving mac-n-cheese, i got my fix from Daly Grill in Lincoln Square (it was in my 'hood). It is a simple, creamy dish - and they serve up a huge portion. definately enough for 2.

I find their food (Southern) to be inconsistent, but I once had a really good cheddary mac & cheese here:

Skylark
2149 S. Halsted St

In any case, if you're in the neighborhood, certainly worth a look-see if only for the great Bohemian bar and the artsy-bohemian atmosphere.

I had a side of Mac and Cheese at :
Joe's Stone Crab
60 E. Grand
Chicago, IL

This is one of the finest Mac and Cheese ever. The waitress told us it was made with Fontina, white American and smoked Gouda. It was made with a spiral noodle cooked al dente, and not a pool of grease anywhere. I believe it had some panko bread crumbs on top, it was really well put together, my friend and I couldn't stop eating it. If you are a lover of goopy cheese, this is not for you, but if you like a light, non oily, and flavorful Mac and Cheese, do your self a favor and get a side. I am not a big fan of Fat Willy's, way to garlicky for me, I don't like when one flavor overpowers the entire dish.

I really never cared for boxed mac and cheese as a kid or as an adult.

When I had to host a vegetarian for dinner on Saturday night, I was inspired by last week's Bitten blog to make Martha Stewart's "crack and cheese." I followed it to a T except I did not make the breadcrumbs. (I don't find that breadcrumbs add anything to baked casserole type dishes). This was so good. The recipe makes an obscene amount. I can't wait to dive into some leftovers tonight.

Last week I had some good Mac and Cheese at Patty's diner. I substituted it for the fries to have with my burger.

Also last week I saw an episode of Good Eats and Alton's recipe looked pretty darn tasty.

I find the breadcrumbs add a bit of textural crunch to the top.

Panther, was that after lunch at WASC? You're my hero.

Mhays wrote:Panther, was that after lunch at WASC? You're my hero.

You Betcha.

Chuck's cafe in Burbank has great mac&cheese. I don't care for the BBQ there, however the "BBQ" brisket sandwich with cheese, onions and peppers is out of this world.

I really wanted to try the Mac & Cheese at Vella Cafe yesterday, when I spied it on the specials menu board. But right below it was the Brisket Panini...and that won out. (Oh my goodness, that is one amazing sandwich! I now understand why Time Out lamented its disappearance from the menu this fall.)

Has anyone tried the Mac & Cheese at Vella, yet? I may just have to go back there on Friday for lunch.

FYI, since I started this thread, I have the following as my favorites - listed in a general sense of order from "most favorite" on down to "still delicious but most favorite."

1) Smoque's mac & cheese side in the tiny foil cup - It's fantastic: creamy and hearty, perfect blend of smoky and tangy cheese, with crunchy topping.

2) Chalkboard - I had this at least 6 months ago and wish I had written about it then. This kitchen knows how to make you feel perfectly fine about paying too much for "merely mac & cheese."

3) Smoke Daddy - We used to get the sweet potato fries all the time, but once I tried the mac & cheese it blew the other sides away. This is cheesy and creamy, a perfect complement to the BBQ fare, although the texture is not always consistent.

4) Fat Willy's - This one is tangy, and it's not that pretty, but it tastes fabulous even reheated. It kind of overpowers the BBQ, so I just have leftovers for lunch the next day, with crunchy apple slices, and that is a delicious combination.

5) Silver Cloud - I didn't think it was that awesome until I realized that I always order it as an "extra" side. More cheese on top than inside, but still yummy.

I'm still on the quest, and I've tried a few others that have been suggested, but tonight I'm going to make that recipe from MarthaStewart.com. Thanks for the suggestion and the link!

I'll throw in votes for Hopleaf's Stilton Mac and Cheese and Smoque's thankfully portion-controlled mini Mac and Cheeses. Delicious.

I had very good mac & cheese at LuxBar at 18 E. Bellevue Place the other night. Very good cheddary sauce and nice al dente noodles. All five of us at the table were fans.

Definitely a winner.

Chalkboard - I had this at least 6 months ago and wish I had written about it then. This kitchen knows how to make you feel perfectly fine about paying too much for "merely mac & cheese."

Funny that you mention Chalkboard's mac&chs - we (meaning three dear friends and I) went there for my birthday on Saturday, and hugely loved everything we ate, ecept for two things:

1) a yogurt sauce flavored with lavender. Way, WAY too much lavender. Ugh.

2) the mac&chs, which I believe incorporates smoked gouda - a very good cheese, when it's not processed. Now, I understand that to make a creamy sauce for a mac&chs, a processed cheese is de rigeur, but processed smoked gouda is just too sweet, and has a really nasty mouthfeel, at least to me. One of my friends agreed, but kept eating it anyway, saying that he had the culinary equivalent of gaper's block with it.

I'll post on the rest of the dinner soon, as everything else was top-drawer, but those two items were pretty nasty, IMO.

mac and cheese THROWDOWN coming up....

elakin wrote:mac and cheese THROWDOWN coming up....

Can we just stick with "competition" There is something about the word "throwdown" that makes me feel icky these days...

Just because these two threads are close to each other, it's not clear that anyone would otherwise make the connection. But how about this from Freddy's Pizzeria in Cicero, as seen in this thread.

I also recently ordered a side of greens to go from Macarthurs and got mac and cheese instead. Excellent--as I see was noted up-thread.


Freddy's Pizza
1600 S. 61st St. (Corner of 16th; 2 blocks west of Austin Blvd.)
Cicero, IL
(708) 863.9289


MacArthur's
5412 W Madison St.
Chicago
Phone: (773) 261-2316

That's one of my favorite pictures in the history of LTH (and I love the product it represents as well)! An additional mac 'n cheese datapoint here:

Santander wrote:I grew up on Kraft - perfectly good stuff. You can make it with cream instead of milk if you're on a rich-kick.

My favorite add-ins for Kraft - a lot of Tabasco stirred in, and a dusting of chili powder and panko on top for crunch.

Oh, what a load you've lifted from my shoulders! I love macaroni and cheese, but every time I've tried to make it at home from a recipe, the kids wouldn't go near it and I could hardly blame them. Grrrr...

Maybe the best I can do is personalize Kraft macaroni and cheese with my own add-ins. That's the way I'm going, anyway, until someone posts or links to the truly foolproof recipe.

Katie, no need to feel bad. Personally, I like to add Velveeta to my homemade mac and, so if anyone deserves to be banned from LTH, it's me.

I'm off wheat products for the time being, but before that I had a wonderful mac & cheese at Uncommon Ground. It was by far the richest, creamiest mac I have ever had, with a butterkase base and a hint of stronger cheeses for distinction. Being from UC, it was, of course, about $12 for a small bowl, but still somehow worth it.

mac and cheese lovers might not want to miss this event, which also happens to be for a good cause. LTHers elakin and I will be sampling our wares in a battle against local celebrity chefs.

Americans especially love to claim macaroni cheese as their own, but a trail of clues points to the Swiss Alps.

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/2018013 ... us-origins

As the last recommendations on this topic were last posted about 10 years ago, I'm wondering if anyone has current suggestions for where to procure a great, creamy, saucy diner-style/stovetop-style mac-and-cheese? Not baked, not dry, and preferably with no effin' breadcrumbs either. I am not looking for interesting textural contrasts and am definitely not looking for recipes/DIY either.

Skylark in Pilsen has one of my favorites ever (with a slightly browned/broiled cheese top cover, which makes for fabulous stringy-goopy bites), but it's not so often I get there from my NW-side (home) or Loop (work) environs. Bite Cafe also had a near-perfect version, but they've sadly nixed it from their menu. Honey Butter Fried Chicken's pimento mac and Bixi's dashi mac taste great, even with a smattering of the dreaded breadcrumbs, but are too-meagerly sauced for my preferences. Kuma's is only ok and seems to rely on add-ins and massive portion size to make it a noteworthy dish. I searched through various posts across the forum and it looks like perhaps Pearl's Southern Comfort might have an M&C that would fit my needs -- could someone confirm?

Thanks to everyone in advance for any/all recs!

I would have to recommend the mac and cheese at Mindy's Hot Chocolate. I have only ever had it delivered via Caviar, but it is very creamy and very delicious. It reminds me a lot of the mac and cheese that Bite Cafe used to serve in terms of style, but I think the dish at Mindy's has a much stronger cheese profile and I like it a lot more.

epoomay wrote:Bite Cafe also had a near-perfect version, but they've sadly nixed it from their menu.

Don't want to start a thread drift, but this new chef nixed WAY too many items, yet didn't add anything. The menu has needed help for several years, since moving from their quarterly seasonal menu, but the current menu has so many holes... One of my favorite, regular spots is sadly a shell of its former self.

gthls wrote:I would have to recommend the mac and cheese at Mindy's Hot Chocolate. I have only ever had it delivered via Caviar, but it is very creamy and very delicious. It reminds me a lot of the mac and cheese that Bite Cafe used to serve in terms of style, but I think the dish at Mindy's has a much stronger cheese profile and I like it a lot more.

Thank you, gthls! I tried the mac and cheese from the Mindy's Burgers pop-up inside Revival Food Hall today. I expected that it would not be exactly the same as the M&C from the Damen restaurant proper,* being that the Revival setup has restricted kitchen space intended for quick prep and service, but it was very creamy and very delicious, just as you said! I watched an employee make the mac in a skillet on their little stovetop and he took his time, which I honestly appreciated. I can see myself eating this for lunch on a weekly basis.

[*Judging from the Hot Chocolate instagram, the mac and cheese at the restaurant has a lovely broiled cheese top -- the Revival version did not and probably could not have it. I'm long overdue to revisit Hot Chocolate in any case.]

On another note, I ended up meeting friends at Honky Tonk BBQ in Pilsen last night for dinner before a show at Thalia Hall, and our table shared a family-size side of Honky Tonk's mac and cheese. It was quite tasty, but as with others I mentioned before, not creamy/saucy enough for me. That wouldn't stop me from ordering it again though.