Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Monday, November 14, 2011
El Camino Real
This was the smallest meeting yet, it was just me, Debra, Claire, and Joon. It also happened several weeks ago that I can't remember the date off the top of my head. This is the second opportunity for El Camino Real to prove itself to me. The mac n' cheese that was served had jalapeno bread crumbs on top. The mac n' cheese came out in the cutest little pot and was pipin' hot. The sauce was creamy and the macaroni wasn't actually macaroni, I believe it was spirals. It was definitely not baked and had the signs of the broiler. There may have been too much of it because, it started to become tedious to eat and lacked flavor towards the end. I recommend eating the first half of it with the breadcrumbs. I'm not sure there is anymore that appealed to me about the mac n' cheese.
I did give the seitan bbq wings a try and they were amazing. I also was super impressed with the celery that came with them, weird I know.
I did give the seitan bbq wings a try and they were amazing. I also was super impressed with the celery that came with them, weird I know.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Oh....
I need to edit that last blog and type up our most recent adventure at El Camino Real. Hold your horses....
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Darling's Diner
I headed to Darling's Diner with some friends and members late on a Saturday night after Riot Fest East.
I chose Harry's mac n' cheese and it was pretty relish. There were the normal tell tale signs of the broiler burning the top breadcrumbs a bit otherwise, it was a reminder of comfort food. It was cheesy without being overly cheesy and not dry at all. Although, there was a slight displeasure on my face when I managed to make it to the bottom of the bowl and there was a hunk of mac n' cheese adhered to the bottom. I pried it off and still ate it, I don't know if that's a testament of how good it was or how hungry I was.
I chose Harry's mac n' cheese and it was pretty relish. There were the normal tell tale signs of the broiler burning the top breadcrumbs a bit otherwise, it was a reminder of comfort food. It was cheesy without being overly cheesy and not dry at all. Although, there was a slight displeasure on my face when I managed to make it to the bottom of the bowl and there was a hunk of mac n' cheese adhered to the bottom. I pried it off and still ate it, I don't know if that's a testament of how good it was or how hungry I was.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Mad Mac's
7/27/2011
Mad Mac's
801 South College Ave.
Newark, DE
Society members present:
Me
Dierolf
Dierolf and I were planning on going here for quite awhile, since June maybe May. They are located in Delaware which is kind of a hike for someone to travel just for mac n' cheese but, we are adventurers! We had a lunch date!
Mad Mac's is a hard place to spot because, it is actually located within another restaurant/bar called Matilda's. Which to me is kind of weird but, whatevs...There were a few people around for lunch and the decor was very college bar because, Newark is a college town. Luckily, at lunch they offer smaller and cheaper priced mac n' cheese, a mini size. I was surprised when the mini, lunch sized mac n' cheese appeared, it was actually a pretty decent size. If you hadn't fasted a little before (like I did) this one would be fine but, I ordered two different kinds of mac n' cheese. I ordered the four cheese and the pizza mac (without any toppings). The four cheese was pretty amazing and incredibly cheesy. It was almost like they just took a whole 8oz. bag of four cheese from the grocery store and made it with that. There were the tell tale signs of the broiler but, it wasn't horribly noticeable like at some other places. The pizza mac reminded me of baked ziti, it probably would've been better if I had gotten a topping in it. What do I know? I managed to eat half of each serving and had some to go. Oh...leftovers. I had tasted some of Dierolf's mac n' cheese, she ordered the portobello mushroom version. It definitely tasted like it was made with alfredo sauce, that was probably the goat cheese talking.
The service was really good and our waitress got a great tip. She was on top of refilling and the food came out hot. The only thing that I was disappointed about was their website wasn't updated. I was getting psyched to try their "Mac of the Month", Mac Mykanos. It was supposedly made with goat cheese, spinach, kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes, and roasted garlic. Seriously, my mouth is watering right now. It was a lie, they had some meat filled mac n' cheese as their option. Shame...
I would definitely recommend making the trip to check out the mac n' cheese! Thanks to Dierolf for the info and company.
Mad Mac's
801 South College Ave.
Newark, DE
Society members present:
Me
Dierolf
Dierolf and I were planning on going here for quite awhile, since June maybe May. They are located in Delaware which is kind of a hike for someone to travel just for mac n' cheese but, we are adventurers! We had a lunch date!
Mad Mac's is a hard place to spot because, it is actually located within another restaurant/bar called Matilda's. Which to me is kind of weird but, whatevs...There were a few people around for lunch and the decor was very college bar because, Newark is a college town. Luckily, at lunch they offer smaller and cheaper priced mac n' cheese, a mini size. I was surprised when the mini, lunch sized mac n' cheese appeared, it was actually a pretty decent size. If you hadn't fasted a little before (like I did) this one would be fine but, I ordered two different kinds of mac n' cheese. I ordered the four cheese and the pizza mac (without any toppings). The four cheese was pretty amazing and incredibly cheesy. It was almost like they just took a whole 8oz. bag of four cheese from the grocery store and made it with that. There were the tell tale signs of the broiler but, it wasn't horribly noticeable like at some other places. The pizza mac reminded me of baked ziti, it probably would've been better if I had gotten a topping in it. What do I know? I managed to eat half of each serving and had some to go. Oh...leftovers. I had tasted some of Dierolf's mac n' cheese, she ordered the portobello mushroom version. It definitely tasted like it was made with alfredo sauce, that was probably the goat cheese talking.
The service was really good and our waitress got a great tip. She was on top of refilling and the food came out hot. The only thing that I was disappointed about was their website wasn't updated. I was getting psyched to try their "Mac of the Month", Mac Mykanos. It was supposedly made with goat cheese, spinach, kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes, and roasted garlic. Seriously, my mouth is watering right now. It was a lie, they had some meat filled mac n' cheese as their option. Shame...
I would definitely recommend making the trip to check out the mac n' cheese! Thanks to Dierolf for the info and company.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Meeting #5
Delilah's @ The Reading Terminal
7/24/2011
Society members present:
Me
Crystal (Her first meeting!)
Maureen
Debra
I decided on Delilah's (often confused with the strip club around here) because, Oprah had proclaimed it the best mac n' cheese back in 2007. I was willing to challenge Oprah on this one but, it was the closest to homemade mac n' cheese so far. I also chose Delilah's because I didn't have to call ahead to make a pseudo reservation, you just show up and order, and find a table in the Market. Luckily, Delilah's has a nice large communal table next to their space.
It was nice to have such a small group, especially after a long night of imbibing in spirits and hilarity. I totally forgot my notebook to write in and I didn't ask for anyone else to write their opinions.
We met at Delilah's, which is a small stand in Reading Terminal. They had three people working, one cooking, one dishing out food into take out containers, and one taking money. It was a simple set up and the food looked delicious. I ordered a large mac n' cheese, which the dude scooped out and crammed into a styrofoam container. They pack it full for the $10.80 price tag. There are breadcrumbs, which would not compliment the serving style. I dug in once I was seated and it was so, so delicious. The most creamy, cheesy straight up mac n' cheese I have wrapped my lips around. I didn't need to add salt, I didn't complain about the cheese. It was awesome. I ate the entire container and probably could've ate another. The overall consensus was that it was delicious mac n' cheese. The members who went to other meetings agreed it was the best so far.
I highly recommend visiting Delilah's at Reading Terminal and ordering a large container of mac n' cheese.
7/24/2011
Society members present:
Me
Crystal (Her first meeting!)
Maureen
Debra
I decided on Delilah's (often confused with the strip club around here) because, Oprah had proclaimed it the best mac n' cheese back in 2007. I was willing to challenge Oprah on this one but, it was the closest to homemade mac n' cheese so far. I also chose Delilah's because I didn't have to call ahead to make a pseudo reservation, you just show up and order, and find a table in the Market. Luckily, Delilah's has a nice large communal table next to their space.
It was nice to have such a small group, especially after a long night of imbibing in spirits and hilarity. I totally forgot my notebook to write in and I didn't ask for anyone else to write their opinions.
We met at Delilah's, which is a small stand in Reading Terminal. They had three people working, one cooking, one dishing out food into take out containers, and one taking money. It was a simple set up and the food looked delicious. I ordered a large mac n' cheese, which the dude scooped out and crammed into a styrofoam container. They pack it full for the $10.80 price tag. There are breadcrumbs, which would not compliment the serving style. I dug in once I was seated and it was so, so delicious. The most creamy, cheesy straight up mac n' cheese I have wrapped my lips around. I didn't need to add salt, I didn't complain about the cheese. It was awesome. I ate the entire container and probably could've ate another. The overall consensus was that it was delicious mac n' cheese. The members who went to other meetings agreed it was the best so far.
I highly recommend visiting Delilah's at Reading Terminal and ordering a large container of mac n' cheese.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Meeting #4
Local 44
Wednesday 3/23/2011
I've been to Local 44 before, once or twice, but it was recommended to me because there are three different types of mac n' cheese on the menu. As usual, I called a couple days before and gave them the heads up of our gathering. They were open to the idea but, didn't tell me we wouldn't be seated if we all weren't there. It took seven members showing up and clogging the small space for them to move faster with getting a table ready. We were seated around 7:15 with seven people, then nine, ten, eleven, and finally, twelve! Twelve people crammed between a booth of eight and four squeezed around a table.
Everyone ordered many, many different things from mac n' cheese, salads, cheesy blasters, and hot wings. I ordered two different mac n' cheeses, TWO! I was double fisting mac n' cheese. I ordered the cheesy mac (vegetarian) and the mac provencal (vegan), the third kind on the menu is chili mac (I don't eat meat), I believe they all come with a side salad. Right, I'm going to be real honest. I wasn't particularly fond of either kind. I mean, they were good but, not great. I'm on the prowl for great mac n' cheese. When something is called cheesy mac, I want it to be overwhelming cheesy. I want cheese strings hanging off and to curse the fact that I can't break the forkful free of cheese. This wasn't that cheesy and for something to be called cheesy mac, that's what I was expecting. The mac provencal is a whole different story. I wasn't sure what to expect at all but, I heard it was good. I do appreciate restaurants/bars/etc. that make the effort for vegetarian and vegan food. It had nice breadcrumbs with olives mixed in, sun dried tomatoes, soy mornay (fake mayo or cheese?), rosemary, and orange zest. I was not a fan! There was some taste, perhaps, the sun dried tomatoes, that was super metal tasting. I described it as, licking a 9 volt battery that still had some juice in it. Gross. I ate about half of each to give them a fair shake but, when I go back to Local 44 I may not be ordering the mac n' cheese.
Service: Our server was amazing! She was waded through 12 people ordering some sort of mac n' cheese variation in a small, very loud bar. The food came out really fast and we actually finished eating sooner than any other mac n' cheese meeting. They also were very nice about our somewhat small group growing larger and larger. I highly recommend this place for service.
The Bill: I really don't know what the bill was, over $250 but that's with a ton of food and fancy beers mixed in. This also included gratuity because we were a large party but, I think we tipped our server more! My bill was probably around $23 for a beer and two orders of mac n' cheese.
Society members present:
Troy
Steve
Megan
Marybeth
Jen
Vivian
Maureen
Me (Michelle)
Lindsey
Danny
Deb
Natalie
Their reviews will be added shortly...seriously, there's a lot and I'm nursing an awesome face sun burn from the Phillies game so, being tired is winning over blog writing.
Local 44
4333 Spruce Street
Phila., PA 19104
215-222-BEER
Wednesday 3/23/2011
I've been to Local 44 before, once or twice, but it was recommended to me because there are three different types of mac n' cheese on the menu. As usual, I called a couple days before and gave them the heads up of our gathering. They were open to the idea but, didn't tell me we wouldn't be seated if we all weren't there. It took seven members showing up and clogging the small space for them to move faster with getting a table ready. We were seated around 7:15 with seven people, then nine, ten, eleven, and finally, twelve! Twelve people crammed between a booth of eight and four squeezed around a table.
Everyone ordered many, many different things from mac n' cheese, salads, cheesy blasters, and hot wings. I ordered two different mac n' cheeses, TWO! I was double fisting mac n' cheese. I ordered the cheesy mac (vegetarian) and the mac provencal (vegan), the third kind on the menu is chili mac (I don't eat meat), I believe they all come with a side salad. Right, I'm going to be real honest. I wasn't particularly fond of either kind. I mean, they were good but, not great. I'm on the prowl for great mac n' cheese. When something is called cheesy mac, I want it to be overwhelming cheesy. I want cheese strings hanging off and to curse the fact that I can't break the forkful free of cheese. This wasn't that cheesy and for something to be called cheesy mac, that's what I was expecting. The mac provencal is a whole different story. I wasn't sure what to expect at all but, I heard it was good. I do appreciate restaurants/bars/etc. that make the effort for vegetarian and vegan food. It had nice breadcrumbs with olives mixed in, sun dried tomatoes, soy mornay (fake mayo or cheese?), rosemary, and orange zest. I was not a fan! There was some taste, perhaps, the sun dried tomatoes, that was super metal tasting. I described it as, licking a 9 volt battery that still had some juice in it. Gross. I ate about half of each to give them a fair shake but, when I go back to Local 44 I may not be ordering the mac n' cheese.
Service: Our server was amazing! She was waded through 12 people ordering some sort of mac n' cheese variation in a small, very loud bar. The food came out really fast and we actually finished eating sooner than any other mac n' cheese meeting. They also were very nice about our somewhat small group growing larger and larger. I highly recommend this place for service.
The Bill: I really don't know what the bill was, over $250 but that's with a ton of food and fancy beers mixed in. This also included gratuity because we were a large party but, I think we tipped our server more! My bill was probably around $23 for a beer and two orders of mac n' cheese.
Society members present:
Troy
Steve
Megan
Marybeth
Jen
Vivian
Maureen
Me (Michelle)
Lindsey
Danny
Deb
Natalie
Their reviews will be added shortly...seriously, there's a lot and I'm nursing an awesome face sun burn from the Phillies game so, being tired is winning over blog writing.
Local 44
4333 Spruce Street
Phila., PA 19104
215-222-BEER
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