The Columbus, Ohio Mac & Cheese Trail: Leg 1

It’s no secret that Columbus, Ohio is a holy mecca of foodie fare. Not only can the city claim fame to the #1 Food Truck Festival in the mid-west, but it also hosts a variety of other taste-tastic events as well. “Taco Bites”, “Mac & Cheese Festival”, “Brunch Bites”, “Slice of Columbus”, you name it, the 614 hosts it—in epic proportions. Last year, there were over 65 food trucks parked along the Scioto Mile for the 7^th Annual Columbus Food Truck festival. (See my recap on the #cbusfoodbloggers site here!). The city’s dedication to keeping the food scene poppin’ helps bloggers like me stay on top of the game. I love it! Although it may seem like nothing special to us native 614-ers to have foodie fests out the wazoo or hundreds of restaurant options to choose from at dinnertime, I could see where it could be overwhelming to visitors.

Where do they start?

Where do WE start?

I’ve been a Columbus resident for over 7 years now and there’s still so many new things I want to do, see, try, and especially taste.

Anyone from this area knows that the simple question “where can I get some good (blank) around here?” is anything BUT simple. I’m here to help guide you all through the Columbus food scene by tasting the good, the better, sometimes terrible, but mostly absolutely delicious meals around the city.

Today I’ve laid out for you a “Mac & Cheese Roadmap” to finding the cheesiest and best childhood memory-inducing mac & cheese dishes out there. Although I do have a personal favorite, each one I’ve listed below has different qualities that could hit the spot for just about anyone.

So good luck and strap in tight, it’s about to get real, realll cheesy.

1. Pint House — Entrée $9.00; Add Chicken ($3) Bacon ($2) Jalapenos ($1)

   What’s the best side to a skillet full of hot, gooey carbs? More carbs. Short North Pint House goes the extra mile by giving you one of their warm soft pretzel sticks as a side to the Mac & Cheese Skillet. I thought it was a bet excessive to include a whole soft pretzel with my meal until I finished every last noodle on the dish and was left with a pool of beer cheese, just waiting to be sopped up by a spongey vehicle to my mouth. Enter: soft pretzel. They’ve thought of everything!

   

Not feeling a whole dish by yourself? Order the skillet with the soft pretzel flight and share it with a friend or two. Carbs shared with besties are the best carbs.

Sure, I started off the tour pretty strong, but I’d heard a lot of buzz about this Mac & Cheese entrée and I knew I had to put it on the top of my list.

2. The Old Mohawk — Entrée $9.59; Fried Gouda Mac & Cheese Bites $7.25

This is going to sound really weird at first, but stick with me. One of my favorite styles of mac & cheese is one that I have to chew a little. Are you grossed out??

Read on.

I’m talking about an older, more traditional style of macaroni and cheese sauce that’s created using a “roux” (not to be confused with Roo, the baby kangaroo in Winnie the Poo).  A roux is a mixture of fat, especially butter, and flour used in making sauces. Long story short, you create the roux by melting butter in a saucepan. Once the butter is hot, you whisk flour into the melty schmelty butter until a thick, rough paste forms. AKA CHEWY MAC AND CHEESE.

Make any sense now?

Most M&C dishes with runny cheese (like the one from Pint House) most likely means they just melted a cheese with a little cream and poured it over the freshly boiled noodles. At The Old Mohawk (I’m assuming) they first create a roux, then mix the sauce with the noodles. The best part? By the time the dish makes it out to your table, the cheese has solidified just enough to create that thick, creamy, cheeeeesy cheese pull shown below. I’ve got to admit, I blacked out a little when I started in on this dish. It was that good.

We also couldn’t turn down the fried gouda mac & cheese bites on the appetizer menu. Although I wasn’t a huge fan of the caraway sauce that accompanied the bites for dipping, I found that the bites were creamy enough (God bless Gouda) on their own.

Like I said before, I started this tour off realll strong. Next? A simple side.

3. The Crest on Parsons— Side $5.00

I call this, an ode to Cavatappi:

Just kidding I’m not actually about to recite a poem on cavatappi noodles, but I’m sure someone has, at one point, somewhere.

Anyways—although I love shells in macaroni and cheese as much as the next person (hello, the shells catch and hold the most amount of gooey cheese!!), cavatappi might come in first place. I love that the swirly noodles are typically served al dente, and they’re just plain fun! I love that The Crest on Parsons serves their M&C with a classic beer cheese topped with breadcrumbs. They used to have this dish as a full entrée on their winter menu. Maybe it will make a comeback this year? Crest.. please? Although their dishes tend to weigh a little on the pricey side, the quality is worth the coin and that’s what makes this restaurant one of my Top 10 in the ‘bus.

PS, I have to admit something. I did actually google to see if someone wrote a poem about pasta noodles. They did. Click here if you’re as weird as me.

4. Hadley’s—Side of Mac & Cheese $5.00

I always promise to keep it real with you, and cheesy noodles are no exception. I stopped in to Hadley’s last Friday for the first time in a while, and TBH I was pretty bummed out. We hit up their happy hour right when it started at 3pm for $2 off apps and $1 off beer. Unfortunately, the service wasn’t top-notch and I was not a fan of the side mac n’ cheese. As cheesy as it looks in this pic, I found the cheese sauce to be pretty runny/watery and I’m more of a thick sauce girl. However, if you like your pasta served this way then I encourage you to try it!

The good news – we also got an order of the cauliflower wings and they SAVED the day.

5. Tucci’s—Lobster Mac & Cheese Entrée $25.00

Go hard or go home, right? If you’re looking to drop 25 big ones on a big ‘ol bowl of lobsta mac, Tucci’s is the place to do it.

I hadn’t explored much of Old Dublin until after the newer (just as foodie-centric) Bridge Park of Dublin was built, but I’m so glad I found it! A few of the restaurants along the main street have beautiful patios I mentioned HERE.

Considering Tucci’s is owned by CLB Restaurants (same owners as Matt the Miller’s) you know pretty much anything they put on your plate is going to be good, and the Lobster Mac & Cheese is no exception!