San Diego gets cheesy
An example of two servings of mac n’ cheese offered at the festival.
Photo Courtesy of Lilyana Espinoza
Fourth annual Mac n’ Cheese Fest offers tastings and libations to adults in San Diego
Lilyana Espinoza / Contributor / The USD Vista
On a warm Saturday afternoon, hundreds gathered to enjoy one of America’s favorite dishes — mac n’ cheese. The 4th Annual San Diego Mac n’ Cheese Fest was held at Waterfront Park, where attendees ages 21 and up received unlimited samples of mac n’ cheese and beer from various local restaurants. Although general admission was $40 per person, the festival’s Facebook page brought in numerous USD students, including Senior Gabby Schram, who waited eagerly in the massive line that wrapped around the venue.
“I have been following their Facebook page and I’ve seen very tasty looking pictures, so that made me really excited,” Schram said.
Mac n’ cheese enthusiast and senior Connor Murray was intrigued by what he would be tasting.
“I am super excited,” Murray said. “I don’t know much about it, but I do know that it is unlimited mac n’ cheese and beer. That sounds like a win-win to me.”
According to the festival’s Facebook page, the mac n’ cheese vendors were chosen based on the region’s best mac n’ cheese. Proceeds from the event go to the World Wide Network of Learning, a nonprofit organization aiming to enhance career and education opportunities for students.
Throughout the festival, each taster was able to cast one vote to determine the popular vote award for People’s Choice Best Mac n’ Cheese. The other award, which is determined by a panel of expert judges, was Best Gourmet Mac n’ Cheese in San Diego.
Senior Michael Sween had been looking forward to this event and was eager to find out which of the mac n’ cheese samples would be his favorite.
“I am loving the event,” Sween said. “I love mac n’ cheese, I love beer, and this is the perfect combination of the two. I haven’t been here that long, but so far Tavern+Bowl has been my favorite. They had a nice mac n’ cheese with some type of baked pork on top of it. It was a really good combination. They also won last year’s Golden Noodle. We will see how the others hold up to them.”
After the judges had tasted the mac n’ cheese from the 18 different vendors, they decided that Viewpoint Brewing Company was the winner. The restaurant’s smoked gouda macaroni featured the rich cheese coupled with distinct flavors like pork belly and chorizo. According to their website, Viewpoint Brewing Company is located in Del Mar and was California’s first brewery. Second place for the Best Gourmet Mac n’ Cheese was awarded to Uptown Tavern.
Lastly, the people voted and decided that Stacked: Food Built Well was the winner for the People’s Choice Best Mac n’ Cheese. Their sundried tomato and andouille sausage mac n’ cheese captured the hearts and stomachs of attendees. Stacked reclaimed their title after winning the People’s Choice Award last year. The closest location to USD is in the Fashion Valley Mall. Second place for the people’s vote went to The Smoking Gun SD.
At the conclusion of the event, Senior Marshall Daigle gave his opinion on the awards given to the various venders.
“I agreed with the judges for the most part,” Daigle said. “I would have liked to see San Diego Mesa College win one of the awards because they were one of my personal favorites. However, I really enjoyed Viewpoint Brewing’s mac n’ cheese. I also know Stacked was trying a new recipe for their mac n’ cheese sample. I wasn’t the biggest fan, but I guess the risk paid off because they won the people’s vote.”
The 4th Annual San Diego Mac n’ Cheese Festival brought mac n’ cheese lovers in the community together for a friendly competition. Next year mac n’ cheese recipes will once again compete to win the Golden Noodle as well as the people’s votes.