BEST MAC AND CHEESE???

[ezrailson]

WHo has the best?

[NirvRush]

tried Max & cheese last weekend at max's. i loved it, but was the only one at the table who did. the major complaint from the other two ladies was that it wasn't cheesy enough. i think the truffle is what did it for me, although i too love a cheesy mac and cheese.

also, don't lambast me. Panera Bread's mac and cheese is delicious. super creamy and cheesy. over priced, yes, but i ate it on Fat Tuesday, since i gave up cheese (and sweets) for non-religious Lent and it definitely floated my boat.

[Mike B]

I'd be careful with the Max's Mac & Cheese. Unless you are a big fan of truffle oil, they can totally overdo the truffle on this. When I tried it a few months ago, they put so much truffle oil on it, that I've been soured to anything with truffles in it ever since.

My friends who tried it recently also said it wasn't cheesy enough and a bit bland.

[rudeboy]

For different reasons, I most like the mac and cheese at:

Mann's Smokehouse BBQ on Ohlen and 183 (cheesy goodness), and

Cover 3 on Anderson Lane (seems like a true bechamel version).

[jwynne2000]

I haven't scoured the city's mac and cheese offerings by any means, but Cover 3 has to be a contender. Excellent consistency and flavor.

[amfreed]

Somewhat to my surprise, I've really enjoyed the baked mac n' cheese at the Alamo Drafthouse, which comes with a nice (if a little mild) green chile sauce. Good breadcrumb crust on the top, consistency isn't a gooey mess but actually tastes like macaroni, and the green chiles add an extra bit of interest.

[KoreyAusTex]

Best mac and cheese hands down is Whole Food's at 6th street, AWESOME!!!!!!

[RobinAustin]

1431 Cafe is new in Cedar Park (Railyard shopping Center) they have a side dish called cheesy pasta and it's quite good. It has more of a vegetable flavor. They serve breakfast all day long. (eggs, pancakes, waffles, omelets) Also have items like Chicken Fried Steak, catfish, roast beef, pork chops, hamburgers, etc. pretty popular and crowded. Not expensive at all.

[poolio]

My husband has tried them all in town...he likes Opal Divines the best

[cibodivino]

Plucker's has a fried mac n' cheese appetizer that's fun to eat and actually pretty good. Think a bar of mac n' cheese, with fried crunchy breadcrumb type stuff on the outside and gooey mac n' cheese inside.

[duckpluck]

I vote Pluckers. Mac and Cheese there is great.

[chrischris]

Another vote for Lambert's. It's creamy and tangy, with a nice crust on top.

Wink's truffled mac and cheese (on the bar menu) is also really good.

[austinfood]

I don't know how often he makes it, but at Art Night Austin this past weekend Chef Mayes of Cafe Josie made a jalapeno - white truffle mac and cheese that was fantastic! Call ahead and ask for it.

[amykragan]

I was surprised no one reviewed the food at Art night. Heard it's supposed to be a big deal with some great eats, but not much buzz about it.

[dc2austin]

austinfood, I was just going to post the same thing. I went back for seconds--and I usually don't eat dairy or pasta! Didn't know it was on the menu--but worth the phone call. My date and I thought it was the best dish of the night!

[Sumstar524]

Hoover's

[everydayfoodie]

Eddie V's Truffled Mac and Cheese is an amazing thing but in the "gourmet" category, not necessarily the traditional one. It's baked, very creamy, and has just the right amount of truffle flavor. It's also garnished with real truffles to make it all the more decadent. Along the same lines, Roaring Fork has a Green Chile mac and cheese worth trying as well.

[Carter B.]

We had the bacon & blue cheese mac & cheese at Trio (Four Seasons) recently. If you like blue cheese is pretty good (loose, not baked). I prefer a cheddary baked mac & cheese and have found Lamberts to be best.

[dinaofdoom]

i love me some blue cheese so this is very good to know...thanks!

[zombiekitten]

Quality Seafood has one as a side that's awesome and rich, but small in size. It's made with spaghetti noodles in a cheesy white sauce and topped with a little crusty cheese. Hill's Cafe also has great mac'n'cheese (not the fried, just the regular).
I thought Ruby's BBQ mac'n'cheese was too dried out too often, not creamy enough.

[dinaofdoom]

i just can't wrap my brain around spaghetti, but i guess eating is believing!

[NWLarry]

It's really upsetting to me as well. I have never ordered it again, though I love Quality Seafood.

[foodiegal71]

I've had it at Lambert's a couple of times and thought it was spot on, casserole style with nice brown spots.

[austxguy]

I'll second the Parkside vote.... Wink is also great with it's truffled mac and cheese.

Surprisingly we had a great M&C at Quality Seafood. Theirs is a basic style but made with spaghetti.

[uarent]

I'll second (or third b/c of zombiekitten's post downstairs) the rec for Quality Seafood's mac and cheese. Non-traditional use of spaghetti noodles, but it is consistently REALLY good. Quality Seafood is generally spot on with just about everything they do. One of Austin's real gems.

[amysuehere]

Third vote for Parkside, upscale mac & cheese, but I could bathe in it, it's that good

[jwynne2000]

Parkside has a nice one.

[LakeLBJ]

Moonshine

[ftf]

Depends what you want. If you're looking for traditional, creamy style mac and cheese, Pok-E-Jo's is hard to beat.

[stephanieh]

In that traditional style, I've had good mac and cheese at Monument Cafe (Georgetown), Oma's Haus (New Braunfels), and at Ruby's BBQ. I had some really gritty disgusting mac and cheese at Hoover's once. May have been a fluke, but I've never ordered it again. I also had some soggy mac and cheese at Chisholm Trail Icehouse (the one on Spicewood Springs, not the one in Lockhart). Oddly, though, despite the fact the noodles had sat too long in the liquid, I still kind of enjoyed it.

I can't think of any "gourmet" type mac and cheeses that I've had. And, I'm not sure any of the ones I've had qualify as "the best", although I've enjoyed them. (Oma's was my favorite of them.) Oh, and for something different, I like those little triangles of fried mac and cheese at Hill's Cafe.

[treadwell]

Well, I haven't tried many but Z'Tejas has a very tasty version. It is 3-4 cheese mix and topped with some grilled chicken. It's very rich, not exactly a casserole.