On October 20, you’ll have the chance to satisfy your cravings at NOLA Mac N’ Cheese Fest. From 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., head to Armstrong Park to choose from over a dozen different restaurants serving up mac n’ cheese. If you can’t decide which dish is the best, leave it up to the experts judging the competition for the titles of overall winner and kid’s choice award winner. There will also be other food available, along with music, and admission is free!
If you’ve got a hankering for mac n’ cheese before or after the fest, check out our top spots in New Orleans to snag some. Whether you like yours fancy or you keep it classic strictly with cheese, these spots will have you coming back for more.
The Big Cheezy
5101 Magazine St.
Hold onto your noodles. The Big Cheezy is more than just a place to find ingenious grilled cheese creations – it’s also home to many a mac n’ cheese dish. Choose from the Cajun Crawfish, Debris Mac, Gumbo Mac, Pizza Mac, and more and prepare to have your mind blown by flavor. If you want the best of both worlds, the Mac N’ Cheezy Southern Melt is for you, fusing creamy bacon mac n’ cheese between two slices of country white bread and pressed into a crispy delight.
Brown Butter
231 N. Carrollton Ave. Suite C
Brown Butter, a delicious restaurant tucked in a corner of Mid-City, knows how to do mac n’ cheese the right way. Get the pimento mac as a side or order the crab mac as the star of your meal to spice things up.
High Hat Café
4500 Freret St.
If you’ve spent any time in the south, then pimento cheese has found its way onto a sandwich or two in your lifetime. At High Hat, they traded in their white bread for a pimento cheese vessel worthy of awards. Macaroni-shaped pasta is stirred into a pimento cheese sauce and individually scooped into bowls for serving. A blanket of cheese tops the hot macaroni and then it goes for a quick trip under the broiler. The bubbling bowl of creamy pasta and pimento cheese is featured as a side but somehow manages to steal the spotlight.
Cochon Butcher
930 Tchoupitoulas St.
If you like spicy, try the Cochon Butcher version with sharp white cheddar cheese and a generous seasoning of salt, pepper, cayenne, and hot sauce. A panko-parsley topping acts as a crunchy outer shell.
Frey Smoked Meat Co.
4141 Bienville St.
At Frey Smoked Meat Co., mac n’ cheese is the perfect compliment to any meat of your choosing. In fact, there’s a whole section of the menu dedicated to the different types of mac at Frey. Choose between classic cheddar mac and variants with pulled pork, jalapeño, and bacon pepper jack, a Frey Favorite.
Cowbell
8801 Oak St.
Brack May knows what’s up when it comes to this decadent side dish at Cowbell. Cavatappi pasta (fancy for “spiral-shaped and awesome”) is tossed in a cream sauce of Gruyere, Parmesan, and aged white cheddar. Roasted poblano peppers (which are more smoky/sweet than hot), fresh thyme, and shallots are also added along with a sprinkling of crunchy herbed breadcrumbs before serving. Get it with crawfish or keep it classic with the signature version.
Blue Oak BBQ
900 N. Carrollton Ave.
You know it’s good when they sell it by the pint. In addition to some of the best barbecue New Orleans has to offer, Blue Oak BBQ impresses us with their savory roasted garlic mac n’ cheese.
