Tasty Weekend Fest In Wantagh Picking Long Island's Best Mac & Cheese

WANTAGH, NY — Mulcahy's Pub is hosting the first Mac & Cheese Fest this Sunday. The event is broken into two sessions (12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.) at the popular bar.

Organizer Matt Kourie, from Oceanside, has been in the food event space for 15 years but finally is giving the classic food its due.

"Mac & Cheese has blown up over the last few years as a very gastropub sort of item," Kourie told Patch. "It's not just that Kraft Mac & Cheese that you have for kids."

Those restaurants will compete for Long Island's Best Mac & Cheese among foodies and customers.

At $30 for admission to one session, more than 400 tickets were sold and Kourie said they expected a minimum of 850 people to taste the cheesy choices. He said they can fill Mulcahy's with up to 2,000 people, but "we don't tend to oversell our events."

With that in mind, Kourie encourages purchases in advance. However, they will have tickets available at the door.

There will also be a hot sauce tasting and a rum tasting, ensuring no one under 21 is permitted.

For an extra $10, customers get VIP access to the fest.

"That gets you an hour early entry and access to two VIP lounges," he said.

For patrons, it's a fun three hours, with new spins on classic food favorites. For Kourie, he's looking long term as he uses the event to introduce the restaurants to the masses.

"We really do support local," Kourie said. "The restaurants really do get the benefit of participation, and especially after those two years [since the pandemic]."

The festival will celebrate all types of pasta and cheese partnerships. "Especially being Italian, I want to see those restaurants get involved as well."

To find out more about the Mac & Cheese Fest, you can check out @nymacncheesefest on Instagram or their website.