Happy National Mac & Cheese Day!

Hi everyone!  Happy National Mac & Cheese Day!

It's that time again when melted cheese and perfectly cooked macaroni noodles reign supreme!  If you are on a diet, today is probably your worst nightmare.

I had several ideas on how I might want to celebrate today.  I had considered making some mac from scratch and bringing into work, but then when I saw that Homeroom was having an all day celebration including a one day only Four Cheese Mac, I knew exactly where I was headed.  I realize most of my posts are about Homeroom, but it's just because it's THAT good.

Anyway, Homeroom has some pretty sweet party stuff going on today, along with the special one day only Four Cheese Mac.  They've also giving away free homemade Peanut Butter Piereo Ice Cream sandwiches after 4pm, but only until they run out so get there quick!  From 5-7pm, they'll have live swing jazz played by the B Street Band for you to dance and tap your feet to.  There's even a Snapchat Geofilter you can use for today!

It's so gooey... 😍 #nationalmacandcheeseday @homeroom510 #macandcheese

A video posted by You Don't Know Mac (@dontknowmac) on Jul 14, 2016 at 1:16pm PDT

Won my tote bag from the prize wheel!

Along with all that, there's also a prize wheel.  It's one spin per table and you can win all sorts of prizes ranging from a free mac to a beer koozy.  I lucked out and got the one I was eyeing: a Homeroom tote bag!

There's also a "cheesy" craft you can do while waiting for your macaroni.  They've got dried macaroni noodles and sting and you can craft your own noodle necklace!  I wasn't planning to take part at first, but by the end of the meal, I was in.

Yeah, I gave in to the noodle necklace

I feel like I'm a little kid again

All done!

Anyway, it's a pretty fun time, so you should go check it out if you don't know what to do yet to celebrate this special day.  I definitely had a blast at lunch :)

Also, to celebrate the day with something blog related, I created this interactive Google map for the Reviews page.  Now you can more easily find the locations I've visited and reviewed for this blog!  Here it is below:




You'll find this map updated on the Reviews page.  I'll do my best to keep it as up to date as possible.

On that note, Happy National Mac & Cheese Day everyone!  Cheers!

Review: Eureka! (part two)

Eureka!
2068 Center St, Berkeley
eurekarestaurantgroup.com

Okay, so I have to preface this as being a kind of "part two" of my Eureka! reviews.  My first review of a mac and cheese offering from Eureka! was in San Luis Obispo.

You can find that first review here.

So, moving onto my review of the Berkeley location...

I ordered the mac and cheese appetizer, thinking it would be the same simple dish I had in San Luis Obispo.  So I was pretty surprised when the dish placed in front of me had a mixture of noodles, bacon, chives and... Fritos.  

Yes. Fritos.  

I wasn't sure what theme they were trying to go for here.  Was it supposed to be some kind of weird Southwestern flair?  If so, I've seen better.  Or maybe they just felt that Berkeley college kids would go for some corn chips in their mac, and maybe so.  

But sadly, the chips didn't really make up for the bland flavor of the actual macaroni.  I was a little disappointed since I remembered the version in San Luis Obispo being so rich and creamy, even if it was very simple.  This Berkeley version was the opposite of simple and unfortunately seemed to lose the fundamental flavor.

Next time I find myself at Eureka! in Berkeley, I'll probably stick with a burger.  It's what they're known for after all.