Okay. Here we go. Asking whether Mac and Cheese is properly a main or a side used to be like asking someone to choose between Coke and Pepsi. Everyone had their own firm opinion. But now, Mac and Cheese can mean many things, and I’m not so sure that’s a good idea…
The incredible (inedible?) Buffalo and Mac n’ Cheese Fried Chicken Sandwich
Remember when I spotlighted a new Mac and Cheese Pizza in this space? A Deep Dish Pizza on a deep-fried Mac and Cheese Crust? And Flamin’ Hot Mac ‘n Cheetos Sticks? And a whole slew of Burgers either featuring or incorporating Mac and Cheese or even a deep-fried Mac and Cheese ‘Bun’? A Buffalo and Mac n’ Cheese Fried Chicken Sandwich? Don’t forget Mac and Cheese-stuffed Burritos and Tacos, and Quesadillas.
What about Pasta al Forno – the umbrella term that covers so many Italian Baked Pasta dishes, all containing or smothered in Cheese?
Why? Because they can…
Why have big Fast Food chains and tiny one-off restos and food trucks jumped on the Mac and Cheese Bandwagon? Before the phenomenon exploded on the food scene, Mac and Cheese was primarily considered a beloved family lunch or supper dish – something quite ordinary; taken for granted, even. Then someone realized that ‘everybody loves Mac and Cheese’, so why not leverage that universal affection to prop up their latest crazy concoction.
Why crazy concoctions in the first place?
The fast food market is still extremely crowded, in spite of some consolidation over the past few years. Think ‘Arby’s takes over Buffalo Wild Wings’. I’ve repeatedly predicted a sort of Armageddon in the sector which will see most of the weaker players either crushed out or absorbed by a few remaining giant chains. But already there isn’t enough business to keep them all afloat. Why? People are feeling a financial pinch over food price increases, and most Fast Food meals are now too expensive to enjoy frequently.
Sure, there’s also the convenience angle; folks will pay a little more to have food delivered. But that service sector is already overcrowded, with dozens of delivery services trying to hack out a respectable slice of the business. And don’t forget Meal Kits. They’re eating into restaurant business, too, while at least paying lip service to bringing families back together over the cutting board.
So, resto owners and operators have to keep coming up with gimmicks to get the public’s attention – and custom. Remember the craze a few years back, over Hot Pepper Eating challenges? Wild, crazy and potentially deadly. It ran its course relatively quickly. But there seems no end to the ends resto people will go to to exploit the latest ‘thing’. Hence, an epidemic of ‘new’, ‘exciting’ applications for Mac and Cheese over the past couple of years.
My take
For the love of Pasta and Cheddar! Cease and desist, Mac and Cheese adulterers! It’s a crying shame that the grand old school lunch main and festive feast-featured side got into the hands of the Fast Food PT Barnums in the first place. What a tragedy for the great old Mac and Cheese tradition if any of their bizarre creations should ever be considered ‘classic’ and not die out like the dinosaurs!
~ Maggie J.