Macaroni and cheese is classic comfort food. The only thing more delicious than creamy, cheesy pasta is creamy, cheesy pasta topped with more delicious things! Here are 10 restaurants that serve fancy versions of macaroni and cheese.
Chile Verde Cafe
4852 Sawmill Road — Northwest Columbus
1552 Gemini Place — Polaris
Patrons love the spicy Green Chile Mac N Cheese at Chile Verde. It’s your choice of chicken or shrimp sauteed with peppers, pico de gallo and green chile, tossed in creamy sharp cheddar cheese sauce with penne.
Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace
248 S. 4th Street — Downtown
2836 W. Broad Street — Westgate
Dirty Frank’s does mac ‘n cheese several ways. Go for the classic Chili Mac, a big helping of creamy mac ‘n cheese swirled with coney sauce and topped with onion, or the Dirty Sancho, made with beef brisket and corn salsa. Or kids go crazy for the Octodog, a hot dog fashioned into an octopus, served over a mound of mac.
Ella Bistro
266 E. Main Street — New Albany
Ella’s gourmet take on Mac ‘N’ Cheese comes with plenty of the restaurant’s house-made local cheese “fondue” sauce, and it gets a flavor boost with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and caramelized onions.
Latitude 41
50 N. 3rd Street — Downtown
Latitude’s Lobster Mac and Cheese has been a menu staple since the restaurant opened, and for good reason. Huge chunks of lobster claw meat are tossed with orecchiette in a rich cheese sauce with mascarpone and truffle oil. It’s the ultimate in decadence.
Local Roots
15 E. Olentangy Street — Powell
Local Roots serves a Lobster Mac-N-Cheese, as well. Their homey rendition is made with cavatappi and homemade cheese sauce, tossed with lobster meat, tomatoes and herb bread crumbs for crunch.
Milestone 229
229 Civic Center Drive — Downtown
From Milestone’s starter snacks menu, the Skillet Mac N Cheese is a can’t miss dish. The crave-worthy dish is served in an actual cast-iron skillet, and studded with double-smoked hickory bacon, diced tomato and scallions.
Old Mohawk
819 Mohawk Street — German Village
The historic German Village bar serves both a Baked Mac N Cheese as well as Fried Mac N Cheese Balls. For the baked entrée, you get classic elbow macaroni covered in a four-cheese sauce and baked until golden brown. The cheese balls appetizer can be customized with your choice of American or gouda cheese, and both are served with house-made caraway sauce.
Sweet Carrot
1417 W. 5th Avenue — 5th by Northwest
At Sweet Carrot, you can build an entree starting from two scoops of mac ‘n cheese. Top it with your choice of beef brisket, pulled pork, Ohio chicken meatballs, smoked turkey or fried artichokes, topped with barbecue sauce. Or, go for the fried Mac ‘n Cheese Balls snack, served with barbecue sauce and bread & butter pickles.
Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails
73 E. Gay Street — Downtown
Tip Top has two great mac ‘n cheese dishes. Their classic favorite Mac-N-Cheese is penne in creamy cheese sauce with poblano peppers, red onion and corn, topped with toasted panko crumbs and more cheese. The Buffalo Mac-N-Cheese comes with all the components of Buffalo chicken—penne mixed with roasted celery and chicken breast tossed in a cheesy Buffalo pepper sauce and topped with blue cheese crumbles.
The Top Steakhouse
2891 E. Main Street — Eastmoor
The Top is best known for steaks, of course, but they also serve an outstanding mac and cheese side dish. The decadent macaroni is broiled until it’s crisp, which gives this version a lovely creamy-and-crunchy texture. Vegetarians, if you end up at The Top, this is what you want to order.
Dine Originals Week is back Monday, September 12 through Sunday, September 18! Columbus’s original restaurant week celebrates the best in local dining with original prix-fixe menus at the city’s best independent restaurants. Visit DineOriginalsColumbus.com for a full list of participating restaurants and to browse the lunch and dinner menus.
Dine Originals Columbus celebrates, supports and promotes the culinary diversity that locally owned and operated member restaurants contribute to the identity and culture of our city. The nonprofit group is committed to strengthening the local economy and enriching the community through education and charitable partnerships.
For more information, visit www.dineoriginalscolumbus.com.
