9 Best US Cities To Celebrate Mac and Cheese Day

It’s just noodles and cheese, sure, but you can do a lot with noodles and cheese.

Mac & Cheese day has returned this July 14, which means its time you head out to the nearest restaurant and order their finest incarnation of that childhood classic. While we would be content to devour a bowl of Kraft if it were in front of us, we have all matured into adulthood and, sometimes, we want a bit more from our mac and cheese.

Here we explore just a few of the best places in the country serving up this classic dish.

New Orleans

The Big Easy remains one of the best places on the planet for food, drink and entertainment. It also happens to boast one of the better iterations of mac and cheese at Cochon Butcher. 

High Hat is also well regarded. One commenter on Foursquare declares, “The pimento mac n cheese is the best I've ever had from a restaurant.” If you need more inspiration, the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau has your back as well as your belly.

Portland, Oregon

If you are in the market for a ridiculously large side of mac and cheese, head either to Screen Door, or the Thrillist-recognized fare at Podnah’s Pit BBQ. There’s also Herb’s Mac & Cheese, which garners reviews such as this one: “I'm obsessed with mac n cheese, eat it probably 4 times a week, this is by far the best I've ever had.”

Tickle us intrigued.

Orlando

When it comes to mac and cheese and Orlando, most parents will likely gravitate toward the stuff they order from the kid's menu when they're visiting one of the city's many theme parks. Yet, you'd be remiss to think Orlando's offerings weren't all grown up. 

The SMAC Food Truck (it stands for South Carolina Mac and Cheese) is not only one of the top food trucks in Orlando, but one of the best purveyors of noodles plus cheese in the entire country. You could go classic, but we wholeheartedly recommend the "SMAC and Cheeseburger" and then add bacon—which is just about everything you love in one sentence. 

Oh, and if you are in one of the theme parks, even their offerings are getting a little more classy than heating up "Easy Mac" containers—not that there's anything wrong with that.

Universal's City Walk has high quality Mac and Cheese options at both Hard Rock Cafe and Bubba Gump Shrimp, while Disney Springs has a couple of fantastic offerings from Orlando culinary star James Petrakis at The Polite Pig (Executive Editor Mike Schottey's favorite) as well as Celebrity Chef Art Smith. 

New York City

This great city lays claim to having some of the finest food from all manner of cuisine—a simple mac and cheese dish is no exception.

The Travel Channel is quick to note that both Mac Shack and Macbar should be on your radar.

The next time we’re in town, however, we have to try the simplified stuff they have at Beecher’s, where cheese is a way of life.

Madison, Wisconsin

Anywhere in this great cheese-loving state is a goldmine for the gooey stuff, but we decided to whittle the search to the fine city of Madison. 

Here, you will fine local favorite The Old Fashioned, which will have you on a culinary journey of the food and beer that makes Wisconsin shine. As for the mac and cheese, this place even lets you add bologna to the dish, just in case you were even considering going on a diet.

That’s not all, because Madison Magazine has our mouths watering with its suggestions, which includes The Cooper’s Tavern.

This place has the right idea as it “serves up its pork belly mac, a cheddar mac ‘n’ cheese with pickled pears. It’s served with cured and braised pork belly that’s deep-fried and topped with French-fried shallots and a drizzling of sriracha to give it a kick.”

The sound you hear is drool hitting the pavement.

Phoenix, Arizona

Look, if you're putting any sort of pig product in your mac and cheese, you're alright by us. However, if you're curing your own pancetta and then shoving handfuls of it into your cheese noodles like the Tuck Shop is, you're going to get featured on a Tiger Beat poster up on our bedroom wall. Go ahead and add the "lobstah" as well. You deserve it. 

Then again, you're in the Southwest, and when in Rome...The Main Ingredient adds green chiles to their mac and cheese which may be an acquired taste, but you should rush to acquire it posthaste. 

READ MORE: Move Over, LA: Chicago Is The Place to Eat

Austin, Texas

If you haven’t yet experienced Austin, now is the time. Between its cuisine and live music, there is plenty to leave all manner of tourist fat and giggly.

When it comes to pasta and decadent, gooey cheese you will find tons around town, such as at Parkside, where they prove you can take macaroni, gruyere and cheddar and make a masterpiece.

Austin Food and Magazine regales readers with a trove of other options, such as the classic, crunchy breadcrumb version they have at Pluckers or the whimsical green chili fare they have at Roaring Fork.

Philadelphia

Yeah, they're known more for putting cheese alongside steak, but they're pretty good with adding it to noodles as well. Or, hey, get the best of both worlds at MeltKraft who are taking mac and cheese, adding it to brisket (a far better option than chopped steak) and throwing it in a grilled sandwich. 

Stop drooling. You'll need a new keyboard. 

Maybe you're a purist. We get it. You're thinking about that delicious sandwich above and just asking yourself, "why?" You're looking at all of these fancy mac options and wondering where that blue box is. Fear not: Philly also has something for you. Prohibition Taproom will serve you some of the best—yet simplest—mac and cheese on this list. We're talking cheddar cheese and a cast iron skillet, that's it. Sometimes, that's all you need. 

Chicago

You almost can’t have any kind of food list without including the delectable stuff they are pumping out in Chicago.  

Eater Chicago throws down a gut-busting gauntlet with 15 locations that demand your appetite.

While at Kuma’s Corner, you are best served devouring one of their ridiculously delicious hamburgers. However, we kept seeing this place come up time and again for its mac and cheese, which is a build-your-own creation and looks divine.

If there’s room in our stomach, we would love to try AMK Kitchen and Bar for its multi-cheese attack or Bar Pastoral for its simple yet refined option.

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You can’t get to this entire list of mac and cheese greats on this great day of celebration, but you should certainly jot them down in your ever-growing travel wish list.

Now, get on out there wherever you are and dominate the diners, bars and restaurants serving up amazing mac and cheese.

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