54 Prince Street
New York, NY 10012-3309
(212) 226-8877
macbar.net

I was raised on the Mac and Cheese in the blue box. Let me tell you, it isn’t the cheesiest.

So when we decided to do BBQ, I was assigned the sides and knew I had to have mac and cheese as a side and it had to be a whole lot better than the blue box variety. I started going through recipes and found one I loved. Five cheeses…quite expensive, time consuming and really too much for a BBQ joint. It was great stuff, but just unrealistic. So the journey continued.

I came across a really great recipe that included some onions and corn and used smoked cheese. I have never been a fan of smoked cheese, always seems a bit chemically to me, but I loved the idea of incorporating some veggies in the dish. So I made the recipe, then played with the recipe, then added some peppers and garlic too. But that smoke was missing, so one evening, we tossed the pan of mac and cheese on the Weber grill with some wood chips. Heaven. Now all our mac and cheese goes into the smoker.

And I believe the best Mac and Cheese comes from a lot of experimentation and finding that recipe that just works. Getting the right consistency with the right flavor. And it appears a lot of people agree with me as there has been a Mac and Cheese explosion in NYC and many other places around the country. But as NYC was where we were headed, I noted 2 of the Mac and Cheese only places below 14th street. Unfortunately, we ate a lot, so we only made one of the places and that was MacBar in Soho.

The place is as clean as their website and much easier to use. White and Yellow dominate the decor and the they have coolest takeaway utensils ever. MacBar offers Twelve different kinds of Mac and Cheese. As we are only two people and the smalls aren’t really all that small, we only tried two of these.

The Four Cheese was a delight. It was gooey, tasty, heavenly and I am envious of the taste. I ate as much of this as I possibly could and would do it again in a heartbeat (despite the fact that this is so high in fat that I probably slowed my heart a bit by eating it). The cheeses were queso blanco, fontina, gouda, and emmental. None dominated, all worked well together. I highly recommend this option.

The second Mac and Cheese we tried was the Cheeseburger Mac. Ground Angus Beef, Cheddar and American Cheese. The Cheddar and Angus were mixed with the macaroni and the dish was topped with the American Cheese which was melted. This was not as strong a contender. The Angus was too small to really be relevant. I feel they should have incorporated more of a mini meat ball with the beef so that it has a presence and you could actually taste it in the mixture. But the biggest problem was the American Cheese. It gave the dish a slightly metallic taste. Maybe it is my aversion to yellow American Cheese, but it always tastes a bit waxy, no matter the quality. This was not a recommend and won’t be repeated.

I look forward to going back and really wish they did a “flight” service. Small 2 ounce or so cups of 4 or 5 of these Macs so I could taste them all. I know I repeat myself, but the smalls aren’t small. They were a value though. Each of the above dishes were $7. A very healthy amount of mac for an after bar late night treat. And I didn’t feel heavy after eating them that late or the next morning. Which was nice.

So next time I am there I think I am going to try the Carbonara, Primavera, or the Quack. But I also have to get to S’Mac. They got a Cajun Mac I MUST have.