Mac of the Day: White Cheddar with Spinach

A good friend of mine loves Homeroom just as much as I do and we regularly like to take trips for our favorite dish there: the white cheddar mac.  Anyway, I got this awesome photo of her variation on the dish today and thought I'd share it here.

Happy Friday and happy eating!

 

Want to see your mac and cheese meal show up here as a Mac of the Day?  Just email dontknowmac@gmail.com and you might see it show up one day!

Tote Bag Giveaway Winner!

Today is June 9!  It's You Don't Know Mac's first birthday!  Woo!

It's also the day that I announce the Tote Bag Giveaway winner! Drumroll....

Here's the winning Instagram photo:

 

Congrats to Jessica, who has won her very own You Don't Know Mac tote bag!  This photo is too cute not to win!

You can follow You Don't Know Mac on Instagram, too, and who knows... Maybe you'll one day win a tote bag as snazzy as this one, too!  Thanks again to all my awesome readers and contributors over the last year.  It's been really fun to get photos, recommendations, recipes and more from all of you.  I hope you'll continue to share your mac and cheese experiences and let me know what you think of some of my recommendations.  Happy Birthday, You Don't Know Mac, and Cheers to all of you!

Review: Fat Angel Food & Libation

Fat Angel Food & Libation
1740 O'Farrell St, San Francisco
fatangelsf.com

Yummm

This past weekend, I stopped in at Fat Angel before attending a concert at the Fillmore.  I had heard that they had a killer mac and cheese, so when I saw how close they were to the venue, I knew I had to stop in.

The restaurant wasn't nearly as busy as I expected it to be, but I suppose that had a lot to do with there be an NBA Finals game on at the same time and Fat Angel doesn't have a TV.  Note for future reference, if you are hoping to watch a game somewhere, this probably isn't the place.  But!  If you are looking for a great mac and cheese, look no further because we have a new addition to the Top Ten list!  Congrats to Fat Angel!

The cheese sauce is spicy, which I haven't seen offered in too many restaurants.  While I'm not usually a fan of spicy dishes, I could appreciate the flavor and how it made this particular mac and cheese so unique.  They use a blend of Gruyere, Cheddar, and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses.  To add the spicy kick, they throw in some cayenne.  The cooked cheese that forms a crust around the edges and top of the dish is delicious and is complimented well by cooked breadcrumbs sprinkled on top.

Yep, that's a good helping right there

Surprisingly, even though it was spicier than I normally prefer, I ate practically the whole dish.  The cheese sauce was creamy and held well to the pasta.  There wasn't any kind of watery remains, which can often happen in a skillet due to an excess of fat oils that didn't congeal in the hot serving platter.  That sounds lovely, right?  Haha.  But none of that present here.  Just some good, creamy sauce with a spicy flavor that, if you are like me, will have you drinking many glasses of water.

All that said, I encourage you to give Fat Angel a try!  It has the You Don't Know Mac Top Ten stamp of approval... for now...

Review: Sidecar

Sidecar
1127 Broad St, San Luis Obispo
sidecarslo.com

Large portions!

While in San Luis Obispo for Memorial Day weekend, I stopped into Sidecar, one of my new favorite bars to visit while on the central coast.  Last time I visited Sidecar, I just got a couple drinks (they are pretty well stocked with some good bourbons and whiskeys), and had some popcorn at the bar.  This time, I wanted to sample their restaurant menu.  It also happened to be my birthday so I was pretty excited to celebrate with some mac and cheese.

I ordered the Butternut Mac, which includes roasted butternut squash, vermont cheddar cheese and is topped with breadcrumbs.  It wasn’t very rich, but had some good flavor.  I think that it would have really soared if it had had a creamier sauce.  The cheese and butternut squash had a tendency to just kind of clump together on the noodles.  The topping didn’t add much in the way of flavor and felt more like a slight texture change.  The portion was great, though.  I barely finished half of it.

If I were to return to Sidecar, I probably wouldn’t order the mac and cheese.  I’d probably inquire into their market cut or market fish selections.  My boyfriend ordered their market cut, which was a delicious steak with some really good mashed potatoes and veggies.  Another dish I would look into would be the tator tots side, which I’ve heard is pretty delicious.

If you find yourself in San Luis Obispo, definitely give Sidecar a visit, if not for the mac, but at least for the great bar selection, some really good popcorn and a cool environment.

Happy 1st Birthday & Tote Bag Giveaway!

Just about a year ago, on June 9, 2014, I posted my blog entry here, and so You Don't Know Mac was born!

So... Happy First Birthday, You Don't Know Mac!  It's been super fun exploring new mac and cheese recipes and restaurant offerings and it's been even more fun to share my explorations with all of you readers!

To celebrate, I'm giving away a large You Don't Know Mac tote bag, just like the stylish one pictured here.  It works great for groceries, a random walk to the local mac and cheese restaurant, or even the beach!

How do you win this awesome tote bag you ask?  Well, it's super simple! Between now and through June 8, Instagram a photo of yourself with a mac and cheese dish you enjoy (or just the mac and cheese dish is fine), and tag @dontknowmac in your photo post.  You must tag @dontknowmac to enter, or I might not see it.  On June 9, I'll reveal the winner here in a new blog post and on Instagram.  The more Instagram photo posts you have, the more entries you have into the lottery!

Happy photo taking and Happy Birthday, You Don't Know Mac!

Don't follow You Don't Know Mac on Instagram?  Well, now you should start!

Review: Eureka!

Eureka!
1141 Chorro St, San Luis Obispo
eurekarestaurantgroup.com

Hope everyone had a lovely Memorial Day weekend!  I spent the whole weekend down on the central coast enjoying some delicious food, wine and spending time with some lovely people.

While there, I stopped into Eureka! in downtown San Luis Obispo and gave their mac and cheese side dish a try.  It's a little more like an extra creamy alfredo pasta, so I don't know that I'd totally call it a mac and cheese, but it was very very tasty.  It's not a very large portion, but if you are just looking for a quick, smaller meal, it's just right.  I paired it with a pinot noir, but it probably could've stood up against a denser wine since it was so rich.

When it arrives at the table, it comes in a small skillet resting on a wooden base and garnished with a fried sage leaf.  It's definitely very pretty and looks very appetizing.  The sauce is very creamy, and though the dish lacks any kind of crispy, cheesy or breaded topping, you don't miss it.  The flavor is very rich but definitely resembles more of an alfredo pasta than a mac and cheese.

Either way, you probably won't be disappointed if you stop in at a Eureka! location and pick up the side dish.  Happy dining!

Review: Beachside Coffee Bar & Kitchen

Beachside Coffee Bar & Kitchen
4300 Judah St, San Francisco, CA
javabeachsf.com/beachside

Beachside's Mac and Cheese

Today I get to write an especially fun post, at least for me, because this mac and cheese trip was an especially fun and memorable one.

My birthday is coming up, and as an early surprise, my boyfriend bought us both bicycles so we could start riding around the city.  We rode from the SF Presidio, through the Richmond district, all through Golden Gate Park, and eventually down to Ocean Beach, where we pedaled down the Great Highway until our lunch destination: Beachside Coffee Bar & Kitchen in the Outer Sunset district.

I had no idea what I was going to eat, but I was starving after such a long, hilly ride.  And so, of course, I was thrilled to find that Beachside had a mac and cheese dish on the menu!

It came in a great big bowl, and since I was so hungry I was happy to have such a big portion.  The pasta was cooked pretty well, and the cheese topping was pretty delicious.  Unfortunately, the general sauce flavor was a little light and the sauce itself was a little runny, but I still enjoyed it and ate the entire dish.

Ordering menu and part of the pastry case

My favorite part of the experience, however, was just the general atmosphere.  It was very laid back and even though this is a relatively popular place, it didn't seem to hard to get a seat at a table.  It's one of those easy, order at the counter and grab a number for your table type of places.  Super low-key, which fits well with it's close proximity to the ocean.  That whole area near the beach has a sleepy vibe to it and Beachside seems to embrace that.

When you first walk in you are greeted by big wooden tables, a large paper, handwritten menu, and best of all, a ridiculously big pastry case with some of the most delicious treats and goodies I've ever seen.  Even though we've now already been to the restaurant twice, I have yet to try one of these amazing looking baked items, but fully intend to do so, very very soon.

Yummmmm

On my second visit, we went for breakfast, where I tried a bacon waffle.  Basically, it's what you would think of: bacon mixed in with the batter and then cooked on the waffle griddle.  Very, very good.  I didn't order any coffee myself but I tried some of my boyfriend's and it was pretty darn good.

In general, I just enjoyed spending a lazy morning eating a yummy breakfast after riding my bike down to the ocean.  You could probably spend a fair amount of time just hanging out and eating and drinking coffee there if you wanted to, it's got that great feel to it.  The only thing you may have to look out for is when the mad rush of people starts to show up around 10am.  That's when getting up and leaving when you are finishing might be the more polite thing to to.  Luckily, there's a great big ocean nearby that you can go check out!

A new friend

When I left the restaurant on our first trip, I was thrilled to find a very cute, very friendly black lab had been guarding my bicycle.  He was really cute and loved the attention as I was trying to undo my lock.  Basically, a perfect end to a delightful meal and visit.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this longer post than usual.  Granted, it wasn't all about mac and cheese, but if a particular restaurant environment strikes me as something special, I think that's worth writing about, too.

I hope you'll make the stop someday to try some mac and cheese, or pastry case goodies for yourself.  Who knows, you just might see me there again... and again... and again :)