Metro Detroit Has Some of the Best Mac-and-Cheese in America: Thrillist

Comfort foods like macaroni and cheese have made a huge comeback in popularity and are prominently featured on restaurant menus, whether holes in the wall known for their simple home-cooked pleasures or sophisticated restaurants that flavor the American classic with truffle oil.

It’s popularity in America actually traces back to the days of Thomas Jefferson, who served mac-and-cheese at a state dinner in 1802 using pasta and Parmesan cheese imported from Italy.

He encountered the pasta dish in Paris and northern Italy and in 1793 commissioned American ambassador to Paris William Short to purchase a machine for making it. The machine must not have been suitable, because he later imported both the pasta and the Parmesan cheese for use at his Monticello.

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• What’s your secret to mac-and-cheese the family can’t resist? What other Metro Detroit restaurants have mastered mac-and-cheese?

Mac-and-cheese has evolved since Jefferson’s days. Some of the best macaroni and cheese in America is found in Detroit, according to the entertainment website Thrillist.

Slows Bar BQ, based in Detroit with a second location in Grand Rapids and a third planned to open later this year in Pontic, is prominently featured on the list.

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“Barbecue joints are usually too focused on keeping the fires burning to spend too much time on sides, but Slows in Detroit makes time for a masterful mac,” Thrillist wrote. “To the disbelief of customers who laud its luxurious flavors, its must-try side is fueled by only cheddar, béchamel, and more cheddar.”

Other restaurants earning Thrillist mention are:

• Kuma’s Corner, Chicago
• The Old Fashioned, Madison, WI
• Westville, New Yo
• rk City
• Good Dog Bar, Philadelphia
• Arrogant Swine, Brooklyn, NY
• Cochon Butcher, New Orleans
• Vince Young Steakhouse, Austin, TX
• Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles, Los Angeles
• Steuben’s Food Service, Denver
• Smack Shack, Minneapolis
• Golden Beetle, Seattle
• Silvertone, Boston
• The Pig and the Pearl, Atlanta
• Crave Kitchen & Cocktails, Mount Pleasant
• Screen Door, Portland, OR
• Lunchbox Eats, Memphis, TN
• Cheesetique, Alexandria, VA
• Hattie’s, Dallas
• Homeroom, Oakland, CA