Eight mac-and-cheese dishes Wichita loves, just in time to warm your February soul
Macaroni and cheese is one of those rich, satisfying comfort foods that almost everyone loves.
And in February — when the air is frigid and stomachs are craving something warm — mac becomes one of the most in-demand dishes on local restaurant menus.
Recently, I polled readers on social media, asking them which Wichita mac-and-cheese inventions were the best.
People named almost 25 different mac dishes, but eight were enthusiastically repeated over and over.
Even though I conducted the informal poll weeks ago, the most-mentioned mac maker — downtown’s River City Brewing Co. — just last week seriously elevated its mac-and-cheese game.
The brewery and restaurant has had mac and cheese on its menu for at least 20 years, said owner Chris Arnold, and it’s always been one of the restaurant’s top sellers. The secret to his kitchen’s mac, Arnold said, is that it waits to mix the cheese sauce and pasta until the dish is ordered, ensuring nothing gets overcooked or dried out, and it uses big-shell pasta, which he says is best for capturing and trapping all the cheesy goodness in which it’s swimming.
A while back, the restaurant started topping its mac with different proteins, and eventually expanded to six different varieties of the dish. For years, its fried chicken mac has been one of the restaurant’s top three sellers, Arnold said, and it hasn’t been unseated for years.
When River City introduced its new menu last week, it included a “flight” of mac and cheeses.
It’s called Mac Attack, and it features all of the restaurant’s different mac and cheese varieties — now up to eight — portioned out and arranged into a cast iron skillet with compartments. The dish, which costs $15, is sold as an appetizer and is billed as shareable. Each serving includes traditional mac plus fried chicken mac, buffalo mac, red pepper shrimp mac, baked chili mac, poblano mac, bayou mac and bbq brisket mac. Each of those is also listed individually under a section of the menu called “Not Your Mama’s Mac.”
The Mac Attack mac is made with mini penne instead of big shells, Arnold said. Otherwise, it wouldn’t fit into the compartments of the cast iron dish.
It’s been a big seller so far, said Arnold, and it goes well with craft beer.
“People are kind of going crazy for it,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun, and we felt like it was something unique to us. Mac and cheese is one of those things that almost everybody loves.”
River City, though, has plenty of company in the mac game. Several other restaurant in town have turned mac and cheese into a menu feature, offering build-your-own options, making it with unique, smoky cheeses and even creating a French version.
Following is a list of the other local macs that Dining with Denise readers say are more than worth the calories and carbs.
The Hill Bar & Grill, 4800 E. Douglas: This College Hill restaurant has a build-your-own mac and cheese option on its menu that offers customers a big bowl of mac and cheese made with smoked gouda for $9. For an extra charge, customers can add grilled chicken, fried chicken, shrimp, pulled pork, chorizo, bacon or salmon.
Wine Dive, 4714 E. Douglas: The Steven brothers, who own The Hill as well as Wine Dive, must really know their way around mac because both of their restaurants made the list. At Wine Dive, the Lobster, Shrimp and Crab Mac & Cheese has been a menu mainstay since the restaurant first opened in 2010. It’s $24 at both lunch and dinner.
The Anchor, 1109 E. Douglas: This popular bar and restaurant also has a mac attack section on its menu, and all of the many options are made with a radiatori-shaped pasta. The most basic topping is a four-cheese sauce with a bit of bacon, red pepper and onion for $9. But there are several other versions, including one made with buffalo chicken, blue cheese and onion, and one made with mushrooms and spinach. There’s a long list of optional add-ons, too, including lamb, portobello mushroom and chorizo pork. The dishes range from $9 to $12.
Georges French Bistro, 4618 E. Central: Georges French Bistro makes everything taste a little fancier, and the restaurant’s macaroni au fromage even sounds classy. Wichita loves the Georges Mac, made with gruyere cheese, aged Cheddar and fresh herbs. It’s listed on the appetizer menu but could be a main dish or a side dish, too. At dinner, it’s $12. At lunch, it’s $10.
Dempsey’s Biscuit Co., 3425 E. Douglas: The mac-and-cheese at this near-downtown restaurant also got several mentions. It has a smoky flavor and can be ordered either as a side dish or as an entree, topped with two chicken tenders and bacon for $8.50.
Red Robin, 9990 E. 13th St.: Mac and cheese is a go-to dish for kids who dine out, but lots of restaurants don’t give it much effort, and it ends up less impressive than what you can make out of a box at home. Not so at Red Robin, say many Wichita parents, whose kids crave the stuff. It’s extra creamy and can be ordered as a side or as a meal for a kid.
Chick-Fil-A, several Wichita locations: If you’re not up for fries with your Chick-Fil-A sandwich, said several local diners, give the extra creamy mac and cheese a try.
Other macs worth a mention: According to poll respondents, mac fans should also try Watermark Cafe, B&C Barbecue, Pig In Pig Out, DeFazio’s, The Angry Elephant and Panera, to name a few.
River City Brewing Co.’s new menu
This story was originally published February 14, 2020 at 5:01 AM.
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