ref=”https://thinktasty1.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/lobster-mac-and-cheese.png”>The other week I had an interview with the co-owners of Mr. Mac, Valerie Anderson and Patrick Cain.  Mr. Mac is a mac and cheese restaurant in Manchester, New Hampshire.

TT Jr: When did you first decide you wanted to cook?

VA: I have been cooking ever since I was a little girl. In junior high school I received the Crisco award for home economics.  I also cooked with my grandmother as child a lot.  It has always been something I enjoyed doing.

TT Jr: Why did you decide to only cook mac and cheese?

VA: This is my brother’s and my first restaurant, and we only wanted to do one thing well.  We looked at what was offered and realized mac and cheese, a homecooked-type meal, wasn’t offered in the cooking/restaurant industry, and it can have quite a variety, you just need to think outside the box.

TT Jr: What was the first mac and cheese you made for the restaurant?

VA:  The classic mac and cheese.  The original recipe was created with the help of students from SNHU (Southern New Hampshire University), like all new recipes are.

TT Jr: How many varieties of Mac and cheese do you make? And how many of these varieties do you make each day?

VA: We have about eighteen on our regular entrée board, plus specials, plus create your own.  There can be up to about 25 varieties per day, not including create your own

TT Jr: Which of these is your favorite?

VA: There are far too many to choose, so it changes each week.  This week it is the lobster mac salad.

PC:  The shrimp scampi mac is my current favorite.

TT Jr: Are any of your Mac and cheeses vegetarian?

PC: Most of them are.  The classic is vegetarian, make your own can be.  Really anything that doesn’t have a form of meat in the name is vegetarian.

TT Jr: Do you offer anything other than mac and cheese?

VA:  Mac salads, green salads, and desserts are the only things other than mac and cheese on our menu.  We want to focus on mac and cheese and want to be the first restaurant to pop up into people’s heads when they think of mac and cheese.

There are a few other things that I wanted to note:

• Mr. Mac’s was recognized by the Phantom Gourmet for their delicious mac and cheese and that their buffalo chicken mac was the Phantom Gourmet’s “worth driving to” meal. They were also mentioned in 8 great places for cheese lovers on Phantom Gourmet.
• Both Val and Patrick are proud of the hard-working staff for their outstanding cleanliness, effort, and creativity.
• They opened on Nov. 17, 2010.
• Owners Val and Patrick want to do a mac dessert, but they are concerned that if customers eat a mac and cheese plate for dinner, they won’t have the appetite for a dessert mac.
• Some of their specialty mac and cheeses include the Steak Fajita Mac, Swedish Meatball Mac, Clam Chowder Mac, Cuban Mac, and Mardi Gras Mac.