Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Dinner at the Mac shack 26 feb, 2012

From left to right - The Brooklyn (Ultimate), The Royale (Regular). and The Lobster (Regular)

The Mac Shack has been on my radar for as long as it's been opened.  But I never got around to it because 1) we rarely visit the area and 2) the rating of the place just kept on dropping that I just couldn't justify to drive all the way to kerrisdale for some... over-hyped Mac'n cheese! Come on, carb slathered with ooey-gooey cheesy goodness - you tell me how that can go wrong?

That's why when I first saw the $21 for dinner for 4 (value of $43)groupon deal for Mac Shack, I was reluctant in purchasing it because, well, I wanted to try the lobster Mac'n Cheese and the two of us won't be needing 4 cans of drinks... So when I found out that I could just apply the entire value of the groupon towards the Mac'n cheese of my choice (instead of a salad and 4 drinks) - I bought it right away!

Mac'n Cheese here I come <3 !!!
Pint of Granville island honey lager - my favourate beer atm!!!
When we arrived around 6, the place was quite busy with maybe 1 or 2 tables of families with younger children - mostly are the younger college students crowd and the ambiance was quite lively.

The line up went a little slow mainly because (I suspect) there were quite a number of groupon users hence there were many questions to be answered at the cashier, who, by the way, was very friendly.  As a first time visitor, I didn't mind because that gave me more time to make up my mind :)  "we" ( more like, "I"... haha anyway) chose 3 kinds of Mac and Cheese: The Brooklyn, The Royale, and The Lobster!

The Lobster Mac'n cheese - $15 for regular - Asiago & Canadian Cheddar, authentic Lobster meat, oyster mushrooms, lemon, dill and truffle oil in a cream sauce - 3.5/5
 My highly anticipated Lobster Mac'n Cheese arrived first together with The Royale!   It was a bit disappointing seeing that the oyster mushrooms were replaced by the button mushrooms but I was pleasantly surprised by the ample amount of lobster meat used in this dish!  I also really enjoyed the earthy, nutty, and almost creamy aroma from the truffle oil.  Although they didn't "over-dose" it with the truffle oil (you'd be surprised how many restaurants do that!!) - the delicate asiago cheese did not come through at all, as with the dill. However, I did pick up the more pungent chedder cheese and the tartness of the lemon really helped in cutting through all the richness provided by the cream sauce and truffle oil.

over all, I liked this dish but am not very sure if I will pay $15 for a regular size - it is a mac'n cheese after all - regardless if you "truffle-nise" or "foie-gras-nise" or "caviar-ise" it (yes I made up all the words)

The Royale - Regular $11 - Bacon, bell peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, chicken, chorizo and shrimp with Mozzarella and Gruyere cheese in a rose sauce- 2.5/5

The menu description surely looked promising with various ingredients however, the Royale was actually my least favourite of the 3 tonight.  Not only the rose sauce lacked any tomato flavour at all, I could barely detect any supposedly pungent Gruyere cheese either.  Now that I am reviewing my photo, I am thinking they might have mistakenly used cheddar in place of gruyere... Looking back at their menu description, I am just realizing that there wasn't supposed to be any cheddar cheese in this dish... hmmmm... :$

The Brooklyn - $17 Ultimate - Naramata Blue Cheese and AAA Sirloin Steak, caramelized onions, mushrooms in an aged balsamic reduction and rose sauce - 4/5
Last to arrive was my favourite dish of the night (only slightly more than the lobster mac and price was a major factor in it) - The Brooklyn!!
At $17, the ultimate size Brooklyn was massive!! At this price point, I didn't expect much with the steak so you can probably imagine my joy (little spark of tear...uhhh) when I found plenty of tender steak pieces in my order!  As with the sauce, I suspect the rose sauce is still mild and bland (just like it in the royale) but the balsamic reduction here added the tang that almost mimics the tomatoes and the caramelized onions really added another layer of sweetness to the sauce.  Everything then was hold together by the ooey "rose"/cream sauce.  However, I'd like to see the naramata blue cheese to be incorporated into the "rose" sauce rather than just sprinkled on top then melted.  Just like all blue cheeses (only a bit milder than gorgonzola but honestly, not too different) - namarata blue cheese is fairly pungent.  Because they are unevenly distributed on the top, when you hit a large area containing mostly naramata blue cheese it is as if you hit a bomb (kind of like hitting a cardamom in an indian curry dish or a Chinese peppercorn in a Szechuan dish... get it?) - all you can taste is the blue cheese.  But when you do get to the bottom or places where the blue cheese is scarce you then begin to miss that little kick.  Incorporating the blue cheese into the sauce will improve uniformity of the entire dish hence making it more enjoyable.

Over all, I enjoyed my meal at The Mac Shack.  Not sure if it is the groupon effect, but I wouldn't mind coming back here.  I would dine here if I were to be in the area - but perhaps take out next time :)

Over all verdict:

Food - 3/5
Service - 3/5
Ambiance - N/A - quite lively, but a fast food joint (kind of like fat burger) decor 

The Mac Shack on Urbanspoon

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