image via macdaddyrestaurants.com

Ooey, gooey, melty, yummy! Mac n cheese is something I grew up eating and it is such a comfort food for me.

Last year I posted about my trip to Jacksonville, FL and the beachside restaurant Nipper’s where I had one of three mac n cheese dishes on the menu. That was my first experience with kicked up mac n cheese.

Recently, my sister tipped me of to a new restaurant in Denton (I know this blog is Dallas & Collin County focused but hear me out.) that is serving up mac n cheese 25 different ways. Yes – 25 different ways, in three different sizes: snack – serves one, the mac – serves one to two and the macdaddy – serves 3-4.

Mac Daddy’s Macaroni and Cheese Bar, on Howard Street in the University of North Texas community, is all mac n cheese, all the time! They have created a menu full of familiar dishes but have tweaked them to an all mac theme.  Dishes like mac monte cristo, mac alla vodka and the top-seller mac caprese, give new flair to elbow macaroni.

Last Friday, a friend and I visited Mac Daddy’s to chow. Here is the skinny on the restaurant, what we ate and why Dallas needs a Mac Daddy’s.

The Restaurant:

The location is small and has indoor and outdoor seating.  It is cozy with tv’s and no real private corners to sit in.  Parking is a 100% nightmare.  Choose from 1 hour metered parking out front or a developing parking garage behind the restaurant.  The parking garage is currently free so the manager told us to park there.  Please be advised, I hate bad parking situations.  If the parking sucks, I am less than likely to ever return…but I make an exception  for the great food here.  Read on…

What We Ate:

I ate the mac cuban: roasted pull pork, black forest ham & pepperjack, topped with dill pickle & spicy mustard.  Believe it or not, but I loved it!  Don’t be put off by the chopped dill pickle and drizzle of spicy mustard.  This is a fantastic take off the sandwich.

My friend ate the mac buffalo chicken: tender fried chicken breast, house made buffalo sauce, cheddar & melted blue cheese, garnished with celery.  All my friend had to say about this dish is, “I love it!”.  Enough said.  I will probably have this the next time I visit.

Why Dallas Needs Mac Daddy’s:

Denton is too far for this great restaurant to be hidden.  Yes, hidden.  If you are not rocking in the UNT crowd, you probably wouldn’t know much about it or be too willing to deal with the driving or parking to get there.

In my opinion, Dallasites loves niche food spots and this concept is something Uptown, Deep Ellum or Mockingbird Station really needs. All of these areas have stressful parking but all are by far better than a cramped college community.

In the end, the food is really good and totally unique.  I highly suggest it!

Ready to get your mac on?  Check out the Mac Daddy’s website, find something you are dying to try, and make the hike to Denton…you won’t regret it.