Take Solace in something Urban - Northpark

First of all, the picture I have taken her is terrible - sorry about that... my BlackBerry flash decided to stop working completely.  The night I got this delicious (but small) cup of M&C was a strange one. I was not planning on going to Urban Solace, but at a switch of a moments notice, dropped in to sit at the bar, have some biscuits, glass of wine, and try the mac and cheese. It was raining this evening (yes this is one of my older posts I was mentioning - from late April) and I was painting just down the street at the Art Academy.

The M&C was deliciously filled with baby tomatos, onion and rather heavily sprinkled with breadcrumbs. When I mixed it all together that made every bit taste a bit of bread crumbs, so I was unable to single out the cheese flavors from the past from the onion - you get the picture. Regardless - the small cup was worthy of a second visit that I manage a month or two later. At that visit my sister took part in the duckaroni - a M&C infused with duck. I only had one bite of that, so will have to visit again to do a 'round 2 writeup'.

If your in the area, this is definitely a must visit, but with the tavern right around the corner - it will have to increase it's portion to keep up.

Urban Solace is located in Northpark, just south of University on 30th.

urbansolace.net

One of San Diego's Finest - Cafe Chloe

I would have to say that this has to be one of my favorite restaurants serving macaroni and cheese that I have ever been to - with exception of Willi's Wine Bar in Santa Rosa -soon to be written up in my new "travel" section :).  Cafe Chloe always delivers the freshest, hottest, and most well balanced mac and cheese. Their recipe consists of a simple pasta and cheese combination with bread crumbs and bacon cubes, baked to perfection.   I have never been let down by getting this dish here - once you have this, venture on to trying anything on the menu and you will be happy!

A little known fact is if you are by yourself - order the half size or "kids portion" as the larger portion is just too much of a good thing. I pair this with a green salad, side of bread, and an Arnold Palmer that is to die for - lemonade mixed with some sort of lavender ice tea.

Cafe Chloe is located downtown San Diego (9th and G streets)

Cafechloe.com

Dining at Donovans (with child in tow)

Donovans is more know for their exquisite steaks and wine offerings than their pasta ala fromage, so when I met a client at Donovans and just happened to have my daughter with me, we had to try the mac and cheese. I thought - what a great idea... we'll use it as a one of our kid surveys. What we found was mac and cheese that on any other day would pass as sufficient, but that night we went it was far less so. The pasta and cheese was not worthy, it was dried out, and tasteless. I thought for sure we would get something that could be paired with a fine chardonay, yet maybe mixing milk in would have been better. To top it off the heat lamp or last few minute broil cooked the top a little too much - and you all now by now how much I enjoy baked M&C...  For the kids, it was ok, a little bland, but for one of the lower priced meals on the menu it will be ok.

Donavans is located in UTC area, also known as Golden Triangle (La Jolla)

Holy Cow! Fried Macaroni Balls

Bonnie Jean's gave a different form to the macaroni and cheese - that is fried, and in a ball! I was a little skeptical at first, but these were delicious. I had them as an appetizer, not know how large the portions were going to be of fried chicken, fried pickles and fried corn. So... you probably sense a trend here - at Bonnie Jean's it all about the fried food - though my lunch partner had a good bowl of ox tail. Back to the macaroni... the innerds of the ball were very good, creamy and simple yet flavorful cheesy taste. The outer breading was a little much after the first ball, and I ended up scooping out the M&C for the second too. 

This review was at "Bonnie Jean's Soul Food Cafe", Bonniejeansoulfood.com, in San Diego (note: The staff and restaurant are nice, but located not in the best area of town, so I would suggest lunch!)

A quick update, and renewal of thoughts - and shout out to restaurants

So I realize I may not be the blogger I thought I was. I have quite a few pictures of Macaroni and Cheese, and a little notebook filled with notes, but as you can clearly read/see - they are not on "the Blog". I will try to get these posted and although they will be posted fairly close together - I did not eat M&C for several days straight. I will start dating my visits as well - just in case some restaurant tries to lure me back for a second review!

West Coast Tavern - North Park

Last week, while at a nearby wine bar (that didn't serve macaroni and cheese, so it will go unmentioned) the waiter suggested, no rather, insisted that I try out West Coast Tavern in North Park. I planned an outing with a friend whom I haven't seen for a long time and I have to say it was amazing (the friend and the tavern). The presentation scared me a little - being all bright and visibly creamy/moist... you will come to find out that I slant more toward the 'baked' line of M&C.
This tasty treat had an infusion of sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, chives, and a hint of spinach. The cheese tended to be a bit too creamy, but the veggies made up for it. My friend inquired to the waitress, who informed us that it is never the same M&C - they change it up every day, the day before it had peas in it. I do not know if West Coast starts with the same 'stock' of pasta and cheese - that will require another trip - one that I look forward to! I would like to see them try to ease off on the yellow cheese, throw it in the oven and bake it with some bread crumbs... mmmm.
A couple other comments... the drink selection was good, a couple of the other appetizers were good (the green beans) and the atmosphere was comfy. The dining room is a bit noisy due to the ceiling having some strange acoustics, so if you are heading to North Park for a drink and some good comfort food - sit in the bar, and order the Mac and Cheese - not sure what you'll get, but it will be an experience I'll be trying again and again.

Do I have to? Glowing yellow from Red Robin - Escondido

From time to time I will add in something "just for kids", as one of the reasons I started this blog, was 2 fold: 1) to give you options to take your kids out to eat, and 2) because my kids won't eat much at nice restaurants (green = yuck, fancy name = yuck) and I wanted to find some place to look online for good mac and cheese places for them.
So, this entry is to be fair, and not just the creme de la creme, or should I say "cream de la cream" of our topic.
I think for kids, this M&C is ok... it is vibrant in color that attracts attention, and it is creamy. Red Robin has come a long way from the time when they would make a vat of Kraft M&C and then heat it up under a heat lamp. My daughter ate about half of this bowl. I think because it was simply too filling with the sauce. I took a bite, in order to honestly write this blog. I wouldn't order it for myself, and I will try to steer her towards the Chicken sticks next time.

A few thoughts on where this is going...

So in my haste to publish my first blog, I wrote it a week or so ago, and then just now pushed the button. I did so, because I have been telling people about the blog, and they are all excited to read it. What I forgot to do, or rather what I need to do, is create some form of rating - ie. what is great vs. good vs. bad mac and cheese. I am thinking of going with the 1-5 shell rating where 5 shells is a particularly amazing mac and cheese experience. Any comments?
For now I will go with this and use the label form to enter the rating... then you can search on "4 shells" or "2.5 shells", etc.

A visit to Stone Brewery - Escondido, California

Stone Brewery has to be one of my favorite places in San Diego to have a nice dinner or lunch. The restaurant was built with one thing in mind - fun, outdoorsy feel and entertaining. There outdoor patio is perfect on a warm summer evening where the kids can leave the table and run about the park like setting while you sit back and enjoy their famous beer, and in this case... their famous macaroni and cheese.

Stone's M&C is a must have. First, because they have the perfect blending of cheese to pasta and spices, but there is always the hint of a pale ale in the cream sauces. Stone also mixes in a seasoned kielbasa of sorts, and at times it can be overpowering (ie. too much keilbasa), it gives it a rich powerful flavor that is best paired with the 'Arrogant Bastard' ale. Secondly, their M&C is not always on the menu... so when it's there, order it as a meal with salad, or as an appetizer shared among others.  For kids, you can also have a fresh made Root Beer with the macaroni.