S’Mac: Cheeseburger & Alpine Macaroni & Cheese
June 30, 2009
It’s been a while since my first feast at S’Mac so I stopped in to try the Cheeseburger (Top – cheddar, American and ground beef, $6.25 Nosh) and the Alpine (Bottom – Swiss, gruyere and slab bacon, $7.25 Nosh), both with bread crumbs added. Per my first encounter at S’Mac, I discovered bread crumbs add a whole new level of decadence and texture. Read on to find out if I’ll be ordering either variety on my next visit…
Deciding What Size to Order
For two people, two Nosh-sized orders of mac and cheese will fill you both up. A party of three or four would be fine with either two Major Munch-sized orders or four Nosh-sized. One Mongo could happily feed three people. All of the mac and cheese is so rich that you should always order less and if you’re still hungry go back for more. Having leftovers isn’t as great an idea as it seems, the mac and cheese really loses its life on the re-heat.
Cheeseburger – Cheddar, American and ground beef, $6.25 Nosh
Definitely the tastier of the two varieties featured in this post. The crunchy, buttery bread crumbs lock in the flavors of the sharp cheddar and sweet American cheese, creating a decadent charred-cheese crust that’s simply delicious.
The ground beef, as I’m noticing with all single-meat ingredients in S’Mac’s mac and cheese, is too sparse to provide any real flavor or texture. To the Cheeseburger’s credit, however, the ground beef had more of a positive effect than the Alpine’s nearly non-existent slab bacon. At one point, I added a little Louisiana hot sauce to a bite but decided that it’s better without. I would definitely order the cheeseburger again and maybe add broccoli (+$1.50 Nosh).
Alpine – Swiss, gruyere and slab bacon, $7.25 Nosh
This is one of the simpler offerings on the “Sarita’s Recommendations” menu. The combo of cheeses is tasty and slightly sharp, but there’s really no punch. The boost one hopes slab bacon would add never arrives, mainly because there are so few pieces of bacon in the order, there’s no way it can compete with the strong-flavored Swiss and gruyere. I wouldn’t opt for the Alpine next time out, but if I did, I have a feeling some roasted tomato (+$1.50 Nosh) would be a welcome mix to cut through the sharpness of the two cheeses.
Sarita’s Macaroni & Cheese
345 East 12th Street New York, NY 10003 212-358-7912212-358-7917 Free Delivery on orders of $10 or more Take out open until 1AM Friday & Saturday
Posted in EAST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN, S'Mac
content rss
June 30th, 2009 at 7:06 am
thank you great
June 30th, 2009 at 9:10 am
Oh, how could I forget this as another “East Village Late Night Eat.” It’s not the best deal if you’re looking for value, but it’s basically premium Hamburger Helper. It’s delicious. You NEED the bread crumbs, remember that kids.
June 30th, 2009 at 10:45 am
suggestion: load it up with hot sauce. so much better.
June 30th, 2009 at 11:30 am
I live on UWS, there is a S’mac not too far from me. You are SO right about breadcrumbs. I would suggest getting the Buffalo Chicken S’mac. Full of flavor. Also the UWS location is teamed with PINCH (Pizza by the inch) Great combination.
June 30th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
The food guy is on a posting tear!!! i love it…
June 30th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
The s’Mac on the Upper West Side adds a lot more meat to both the cheeseburger and alpine varieties. Too much, I think in the cheeseburger mac and cheese. The meat makes the meal almost greasy.
Maybe you should visit the UWS shop and do a comparison post.
June 30th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
We went in and tried to order something recently but the computerized cash register/order machine was down and they couldn’t figure out how to do an order without the machine……”really?” I asked….we waited…..we waited for a manager…he couldn’t figure it out…..”really??” I asked again. We wanted it…badly….it was there but we weren’t allowed to have any. REALLY??
I won’t go back….I hate stupidity. I love mac n cheese. I’ll just keep gettin it from Mamas. (mmmm, with a hint of garlic!)
June 30th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
hahaha that is great anonymous, i’d do the exact same thing, but this stuff looks DAMNNN tastyyyyyy. how long were you waiting there for these idiots to try to figure this out?
June 30th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
You know what would be great? If you could eat about a quarter of the mac n cheese, and then have them put it back in the oven for a couple minutes to brown it up a little and add a little more crispiness and “deliciousness” as you like to say food guy. obviously this would be a huge hassle for them (or would it??), but it would be pretty good – what do you think?
July 1st, 2009 at 12:12 am
i’m so baked right now and this looks absolutely f-in INCREDIBLE. thanks for torturing me food guy
July 14th, 2009 at 11:31 am
FoodGuy: Recently made a trip to S’Mac with an out-of-town mac & cheese lover. The Four Cheese with breadcrumbs is absolutely the right (and probably the only) way to go. After careful analysis, we all concluded that all the other add-ins are basically just costly distractions.
I tried the Parisienne (brie, wild mushrooms, figs and rosemary) which, in theory, should have been a slam dunk. Unfortunately, the main ingredient was rosemary, which left an unwelcome taste in my mouth all day. Literally. All day. It totally overpowered the dish, rendering the brie–and even the dried figs, with all their concentrated sweetness–totally flavorless. We also tried the Garden Lite, because we’re healthy like that. Not bad, but not terribly well-seasoned either. As a result, the Marquis of Masala proceeded to drown it in Tabasco (not real hot sauce, mind you) which has its own distinct and, in my opinion, vile, flavor. On your recommendation, we ordered breadcrumbs on each dish, which made the less flavorful Noshes slightly more interesting. While the Four Cheese was a winner, and we appreciated the sale of Lactaid at the register, we probably won’t be returning to Sarita’s anytime soon. I’ll take the mac & cheese at Artisanal or Etats-Unis (or better yet, its less-expensive Bar or sister restaurant, Niche) over S’Mac any day.
On another note, we followed up our mac & cheese experience with a trip to Bespoke chocolates. Which are excellent but, pound for pound, may be the most expensive foodstuffs you’ve ever brought to your readers’ attention. I don’t know what food blogging is paying these days, but Bespoke chocolates are even a bit rich for my royal britches.
In any event, thanks for the recommendations and insights, FoodGuy…they made for a fun afternoon.
July 15th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
I come from puerto rico and my family and i love macaroni and cheese — my 4 brothers and sister are coming next month to visit and i can’t wait to take them here! Thank you food guy!
July 26th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
S’Mac’s is good but I find SuperMac’s near Madison Square Garden to be better with a wider selection. The Lobster Thermador was incredible with big chunks of Maine Lobster in it. Prices more reasonable than S’Mac’s too (and I rather enjoy S’Macs).
August 10th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Foodguy, I routinely go with my fiance to S’Mac whenever I’m on the lower east side (she loves mac & cheese). I tried out the “build your own” with munster and cheddar, chicken, broccoli, and mushrooms. It was pretty decent.
RoaryCat1, thank you for mentioning SuperMac’s. I definitely gotta check it out, it’s pretty close to where I live (I have to go out of my way to visit S’Mac 🙁 )
August 25th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
S’Mac definitely gave me a large case of blue balls. It was talked up by friends and I was throughly excited to go. However, when I got there I found that it was not cheesy enough for me and I would have preferred to be home eating Kraft Mac and Cheese instead! 🙁
September 1st, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Foodguy, its been months since a new post. Have you stopped reviewing or just getting lazy?
September 6th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
I have been jonsing for the four cheese mac and cheese since I tried it uptown a few months back. I loved it- perfectly browned on top, great cheesy quotient and thick not runny inside, probably due to an egg. Also tried the accompanying corn salad which was a good balance of flavors and corn to carbs. My other fave mac and cheese is at “the Smith” on 3rd Ave in the East Village which is also served in a cast iron pan. Love the comfort food man.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:09 am
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February 24th, 2010 at 1:09 am
[…] chicken breast. I’ll go on record as saying that with the exception of beef in the Cheeseburger S’Mac, eaters should steer clear of adding meat to their S’Mac. Whether it’s slab bacon or […]
May 4th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Sorry you got a bad Alpine that day food guy, but this is their best seller for a reason, it is GOOD. I also tried the cajun, and being from Houston I can tell yu that the cajun flavor was authentic. We tried the buffalo too, it was good, you gotta really love buffalo chicken to love this, just not my flavor…