Spotted In Boston

VOTE FOR MAC AND CHEESE SPRING ROLLS!

Boston restaurant Davio's is currently conducting a poll in which fans of their Facebook page can vote on which spring roll the restaurant will create. Well, one of the options is a mac and cheese spring roll, and therefore I am calling on everyone to head to the restaurant's page and vote before the end of the day! As a side bonus, Davio's will donate $1 to Kevin Youkilis's Hits for Kids charity with each new "fan" of their page. Mac and cheese wins, diners win, and charity wins. You can't go wrong.

Vote here.

Boston Market Frozen Macaroni & Cheese

I love Boston Market. Like, love. I don't know what it is, but their delectable sides get me every time. However, I had never actually tried any of their frozen meals. I had very high expectations for this mac and cheese, but I attempted to be objective in my critique.

The description of this mac and cheese reads: " It’s simple. Spiral rotini pasta holds the sauce better. And when the sauce is as rich as this one – an unbelievable combination of Cheddar, American, and even a little Bleu – we wouldn’t have it any other way." I was intrigued by the rotini pasta and the promise of bleu (no, it's not a typo) cheese, though I could tell by the dish's appearance that when they said "a little" they meant it. Preparation wasn't anything particularly crazy: microwave with the plastic vented, and stir partway through. As I stirred, I noticed that the cheese seemed slightly runny, and I was hoping that letting the tray sit for a moment before eating would allow the sauce to thicken.

Pre-cooking.

Cooked and ready to eat.

Ratings

Flavor: 4.5/5. Good flavor, but, as always, I wish there had been more cheese.

Consistency: 2.5/5. It literally pains me to give any Boston Market-related product such a low rating, but the sauce was far too runny and didn't stick to the pasta nicely.

Pasta Shape: 3/5. I know some disagree with me, but rotini is not my favorite choice for mac and cheese. Additionally, this shape doesn't really work as well as it could in a frozen mac and cheese because of the fact that it takes longer to cook; my boyfriend felt that the pasta seemed a little undercooked.

Overall: 3.5/5. A solid effort by Boston Market, but needs a little tweaking. (Not to mention the fact that the mac and cheese at the restaurant is infinitely better). Honestly, for the amount of calories and sodium I consumed, I felt that I could have eaten a much better mac and cheese.

Nutrition Information: Serving Size 220g (about half a tray). 320 Calories, 80 Calories from Fat; 9g Fat, 4g Saturated Fat; 20g Cholesterol; 880g Sodium; 45g Carbohydrates; 4g Fiber; 14g Protein.

Amrheins Restaurant, Boston, MA

So I know that I said I would generally stick to supermarket mac and cheese that I make at home, but I do occasionally venture out to a restaurant, particularly when I'm home and Mom is picking up the bill. Amrheins Restaurant is located at the corner of A Street and West Broadway in South Boston. It's basically a traditional pub and restaurant, but the décor is nicer and the food is a little more upscale.

Before continuing, I should probably note that I am somewhat of a mac and cheese purist, and I think it's basically criminal to contaminate cheesy goodness with outside detritus. Therefore, I was a little disappointed to see the description listed as "Baked Fresh Maine Lobster with Sweet Peas and Pancetta in a Creamy Three Cheese Sauce and Buttery Crumbs." However, I figured I would carry on and merely order the mac and cheese without the lobster, peas, or pancetta, since I believe that a good cheese sauce should be able to stand alone with the pasta.

My plate before digging in.

Ratings

Flavor: 3/5. There was nothing bad about the flavor, per se, but nothing stood out. The breadcrumbs on top had a lot of flavor, but I felt that, unfortunately, something was missing from the rest.

Consistency: 3/5. Again, nothing really stood out, but there definitely could have been more cheese.

Pasta Shape: 4/5. Gemelli pasta may be a conventional choice, but it is pretty much always a good shape to use in mac and cheese.

Overall: 3/5. This was a pretty unremarkable dish overall. Nothing about it was offensive, but nothing was particularly exciting either. I do acknowledge that the sauce may have been designed to be eaten with the lobster, pancetta, and peas, and I can't speak to how the mac and cheese would have been with the other things in it, but if you're like me and don't like outside foods in your mac and cheese, you may want to consider ordering something else. I do recommend checking out Amrheins if you're in the Boston area, since their other food is good and the bar is nice – they even have a free shuttle that will pick you up and bring you home at the end of the night.

Amrheins Restaurant, 80 West Broadway, Boston, MA. (617) 268-6189. Open Monday-Thursday 11:30am-10pm; Friday-Saturday 11:30am-11pm, Sunday 10am-9pm. Lobster Mac and Cheese: $24 full portion, $16 half portion.