Mac + Cheese Week*:

Get Your Mac On

Wednesday, March 9, 2016 514eats

FESTIVAL COMFORT FOOD N.D.G. <$20

(*) This establishment is now closed.

The Pitch

When we heard about Montreal's first Mac + Cheese Week last year, we felt generally nonplussed by the whole thing. We didn't believe this side dish had enough meat on its bones to hold its own amid the city's outbreak of food festivals. Lo and behold, the weeklong celebration of the comfort food staple returned this year with more adhering restaurants spread across more cities.

The Food

Food Image

From March 7th to the 13th, participating venues rose up to the occasion by creating their own pimped-out versions of mac ‘n' cheese. Tonight we targeted NDG's Monkland Village – the festival's birthplace – and went into beast mode, hitting up three spots in the area (warning: do not try this without proper training). And now to the macs, in ascending order of preference:

Prohibition's Cheese Burger Mac & Cheese thumbnail (click to enlarge)

$15

Prohibition's Cheese Burger Mac & Cheese

This rendition saw a traditional mac ‘n' cheese sitting on top of a perfectly-pink, cheese-stuffed burger patty. We enjoyed the pronounced cheesy flavor, crunchy bread crumbs and runny cheese inside the patty; not too shabby!

Le Cheese's Sriracha Fried Chicken Mac + Cheese

"roasted cauliflower, green peas, homemade béchamel, Sriracha, breadcrumbs, chicken, Louis d'Or". The crispy chicken and Sriracha stole the show here – the latter overpowering the mac's flavors – while the cauliflower added some crunch.

$15

Monkland Tavern's "Mac ‘N' Cheese", half

"comté, Victor Berthold, fontina, mascarpone, pancetta, tomato, truffle paste, garlic". The Tavern did right to stick to its famous recipe. The blend of cheeses and larger, thoroughly al dente elbows result in the toothiest, richest and altogether best mac in town.

The Verdict

Cheese literally seeping through our pores the day after notwithstanding, our crawl was overwhelmingly successful; put us down as fans of Mac + Cheese Week. While we look forward to next year's edition, let us know which macs appealed to you the most in the comments below. Until then, we can confidently state that Monkland Village has got ITS mac on.

tagged: SOLID

Price per person: $18.67