Mac attack

It’s been a long time indeed since I last made anything like macaroni and cheese. That was a tasty pasta recipe, to be sure, but it wasn’t really macaroni and cheese as originally created by a benevolent Providence. I’ve been musing on mac and cheese lately, and would like to try my hand at a good reliable standard for the dish. In order to prepare for that, however, I need to refresh my mac memory. Where to find a good sample of the stuff?

What’s that? There’s a restaurant in St. Louis (University City, actually, but close enough) that serves nothing but mac and cheese? Fifteen different kinds of mac and cheese? What, am I in New York or something?

Off, then, to Cheese-ology.

The place is short on atmosphere (kinda diner-ish), but long on friendly service and – oh, yes – mac and cheese. But first, in a nod to vegetables, a salad.

The Caesar-ness of the salad is in that packet on the side. There are shavings of fruity/nutty Parmigiano-Reggiano in with the romaine and croutons. I expected average. It was delicious. And I’m not a salad man, strictly speaking.

Enough of veggies, though. Here’s what we came for:

M’s dish, served up in a hot skillet¹: Black and Bleu mac and cheese. American and bleu cheese. And steak, with some Cajun spices. This is a small portion, $6.50 USD. She allowed me a bite; I loved the assertive flavor.

My dish, bigger skillet: Bacon, Bacon! Seriously, that’s what it’s called. Mozzarella and Gruyere (!) with, yes, thick cut bacon. As you know, bacon makes everything better. At first I thought the cheese combo was a bit too subtle – especially after having tasted M’s plate – but it was really good, and I had to force myself to eat only half of the $11 large serving and to take the rest home for later enjoyment. I found myself thinking about my mac and cheese for hours after we left the restaurant – hours! – and with the glow of satisfaction that comes only from the most comfortable of comfort foods.

The recursiveLoop rating for Cheese-ology is high. Yeah, this is St. Louis, and we don’t have a lot of cool things. But this restaurant is on that short list. You’d better get down there.

And…I’m ready to start thinking now about my own next homemade mac attack.