- Oh, my God.
It is amazing.
Hot, hot.
- [Nick] Just a girl and her mac and cheese against a wall,
watching the sun set.
- Hey, what's up, you guys?
Jackie here, and today is the best day of my life
because I am eating the most popular macaroni and cheeses
that Los Angeles has to offer.
Since we're still social distancing,
I have my husband behind the camera
and he's gonna go along on this voyage with me
to try some of the best mac and cheeses.
We're going to be rating them on a scale from one to 10,
and we're gonna find out which one
truly is the best in this city.
I'm hungry.
Let's go.
(upbeat music)
Our very first mac and cheese of the day.
I'm super excited.
Obviously we had to come all the way to Inglewood
because this is the city
where they have some of the best soul food,
and Dulan's is definitely that.
Honestly, this tastes like it's been in their family
for years, centuries,
and you know, people have been trying to get their hands
on the ingredients and they're like,
"Nope, we're not giving it to you.
"Staying in our family."
You can tell that this is like somebody grandfather's
old, old recipe that's gone through the family over years.
It has soul in it.
The noodles are, are different.
They're kind of really soft, which is nice,
'cause it just melts in your mouth when you eat it.
What I also love about this mac and cheese is
there's so much shredded cheese
and they actually cook their mac and cheese on a bake sheet,
which creates these like chunky crispy bites
that you get when you eat the mac and cheese.
So you're getting like the softness of the noodles,
the creaminess of the cheese,
and then throughout that, you get these little crunches
from the cheese that was like cooked
and baked to perfection.
Also, I would just like to say
that it took us an hour to get this macaroni and cheese.
We waited an hour long for this thing.
And let me tell you, it was definitely worth the wait.
It's delicious.
I'm gonna have to give this macaroni and cheese an eight.
An eight, because the flavor's on point
and I love that you know
that it's not this big, huge chain restaurant.
I will wait another hour
for another order of this mac and cheese.
As much as I want to continue eating this thing,
we have so many more places to discover today.
So let's go, let's try more mac and cheese,
but I will say we are off to an excellent start.
(upbeat music)
We just got to the next restaurant,
it's called Maple Block Barbecue.
They're known for some of the best brisket.
But, of course, we had to come here for the mac and cheese.
This is either the best day of my life
or it will be the worst
because I don't know how my body's going to respond,
but only time will tell.
All right guys, the mac and cheese has arrived.
And let me just say, this looks absolutely stunning.
Okay.
So you have your classic macaroni noodles, which I love.
And then you can see they have chives
and breadcrumbs on there.
I personally love when there's shredded cheese
and the creamy cheese in it.
This looks like it's just the creamy cheese.
Cheers!
Here we go.
It's very creamy.
Also the breadcrumbs add a nice touch of flavor,
so you're not just getting this like
very creamy mac and cheese,
you're getting this little bit of crunch
from the breadcrumbs.
It kinda reminds me of Crafty mac and cheese.
Like it has that texture
and that underlying taste of the cheese from Crafty.
But then they, you know, spice it up
with the chives and the breadcrumbs.
It's a great mac and cheese.
I love it, but it's not, it's not my favorite.
I like that it's a classic noodle, that elbow noodle.
But again, it didn't really knock my socks off
and I wasn't dancing.
I wasn't like, "Ooh, that's so good."
So I'm gonna go ahead and say
that this one gets a four out of 10.
And that's not saying it's bad,
it's a really good mac and cheese,
it's just, this didn't really do for me.
Now it's Nick's turn.
Even though this is my job, technically.
- I know.
- [Jackie] What do you think?
Right?
Am I right on my rating or what?
- I disagree. (gasps)
- [Jackie] What? - I disagree.
I like the white cheddar taste a little bit more.
- [Jackie] Doesn't it kind of remind you of Crafty though?
A little bit? - Mmhm.
(upbeat music)
- Okay, you guys, I've been standing here
for a good like five minutes
and everybody that's walked by is like,
"Oh my goodness, that macaroni and cheese looks so good."
And it's because it is.
Honestly, Jon and Vinny's is one
of my favorite Italian restaurants in Los Angeles.
It's very popular,
and it's popular 'cause the food is incredible.
I'm a little bias,
shells are the perfect noodles to use for mac and cheese.
I have a feeling I'm going to love this
and everybody else loves it too.
And you're really close to my face.
It's a close shot.
Whoa.
I feel like a block of cheese
just like punched me in my face.
Whoa!
I have to think about this for a second.
I love the shells.
It has that like crumbly cheese and then creamy cheese,
so it's a lot of fricking cheese.
Oh, my God.
I can't decide if it's too much cheese.
The shells though, I'm telling you when you eat shells
in your macaroni and cheese, it's like a cup,
it holds your cheese in this little crevice.
Okay.
Time to rate this.
A couple of bites are good, but after three bites,
my stomach is like, "Ah, that's too much cheese!"
It's really good and I love the shells
and I love how it tastes,
and Jon and Vinny's is my favorite
but I'm gonna have to give this mac and cheese a six.
We have the rest of the day ahead of us
and I have a feeling I'm gonna get a 10.
So let's go, on to find our 10.
(upbeat music)
You guys, I'm so excited because I'm from Texas
and Bludso's Barbecue is Texas barbecue.
I love this place, I've had it multiple times.
I love their barbecue, I love their brisket,
I love their bread, their corn bread.
And I love, love, love their macaroni and cheese.
So I'm just gonna let y'all know before I even try it,
I like it.
Again, my favorite mac and cheese of all time
is having the creaminess of the mac and cheese
and the shredded cheese in there.
So honestly, this is the perfect
type of mac and cheese for me.
I mean, come on, you've got the shredded cheese,
the creamy cheese and the pepper.
You know he seasoned it well.
That's what I'm talking about, Texas.
We just do it better in Texas, you guys.
I'm a Texas girl, I love my Texas barbecue,
and I love my Texas mac and cheese.
It is amazing!
This is what I needed.
I needed this pick me up.
I got a little sad at the last mac and cheese,
but this one, man, the creaminess is there.
There's so many different flavors too without the cheeses.
I love that it's peppery as well,
they put a lot of pepper there and that adds to the flavor.
And then you also have, you know, that classic,
what kind of noodle is it, Nick?
- [Nick] Elbow noodle!
- Elbow noodle, which I love
because inside the elbow noodle,
you get all of that creamy cheese in there too.
This is honestly delicious.
And I think it's just because it's perfectly balanced.
It tastes like home. (magical music)
It tastes like the Texas Plains.
It tastes like history.
It tastes like heaven.
You guys, this mac and cheese,
(upbeat music)
it's a 10 out of 10 baby.
I got my 10!
This is so good.
Perfect amount of cheese,
the noodles are great, great flavor.
And I feel like the pepper really does it.
I think compared to Dulan's that we had earlier,
they had a very similar mac and cheese
where they have the creaminess and the shredded cheese,
but they were missing that pepper in there.
And this pepper got this thing to a 10.
(upbeat music)
All right, you guys, we're here at Slater's 50/50.
They have a ton of these restaurants
all around Los Angeles and one in Las Vegas.
And they're known for more so the burgers and their beers,
but a very popular item on their menu
are the mac and cheese balls,
which I'm really excited to dive in.
There's cheese, there's noodles and there's bacon bits.
And they also have this, smells like a spicy ranch.
As you can see, it's a very creamy
and cheesy macaroni inside.
And then the outside is very hard and textured.
So it's really nice in comparison
to have that like gooey macaroni with the crunchy outside
and this like spicy ranch is a nice little mixture with it.
I like it.
And I definitely like the different textures and flavors,
but again, it's fried.
I love fried anything.
I'm definitely gonna have to say
that this gets a...
A five.
I'm not over the moon by the type of cheese that they use.
I feel a little loopy, I'm not gonna lie.
And we're only halfway through.
(upbeat music)
We just showed up at The Federal
and I ordered their mac and cheese with prime rib.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
And also, as you guys know, like I've been saying,
I love a good seasoned macaroni and cheese.
You can tell that they peppered this boy.
So I have a feeling I'm gonna really like this.
Now, let me tell you, this macaroni and cheese is $16.50.
I have high expectations on this macaroni cheese.
If it's $16.50, it better be really good.
Also, I love you guys so much
that I'm burning my hand.
This cast iron, I burnt it already, it's frickin' hot.
Look at that.
Go big or go home.
This might burn my mouth, it's burning my hand,
that's for sure. (laughs)
Hot, hot!
That is hot!
Wow, this is excellent.
The noodles are cooked to perfection.
It's not overpoweringly creamy,
it's the right amount of cheese.
And I love the prime rib.
It's shredded nicely.
It's not like, you know when you get prime rib sometimes
and it's really meaty and you can barely chew on it?
It's not, it's very tender.
The mac and cheese has the perfect amount of seasoning too.
I'm trying to rate this as if it didn't have meat.
I still think it would be a solid macaroni and cheese.
I'm giving this a 10 out of 10.
It is so good.
It hits all the spots.
It makes me wanna move,
it makes me wanna dance.
And my taste buds are really happy.
They're like, "Jackie, thank you so much.
"It's been a long day.
"I appreciate you feeding us something good."
(upbeat music)
So we are at The Village,
a hidden spot here in the Valley,
one of my personal favorites.
They have jalapeno chunks in their macaroni and cheese,
which is super unique and super different
and not a lot to the point where it's overpowering you,
but just enough to get that flavor that you want.
I think I'm going to love this mac and cheese,
but let's give it a bite.
Wow.
Honestly, the jalapeno gives this mac and cheese
a really like awesome kick that you would never expect
in a macaroni and cheese.
That's why I love it.
It's like everything you want out of macaroni and cheese,
but a little bit of zest of that jalapeno,
which is incredible.
I also love that from all the macaroni and cheese
we've eaten today,
we got a lot of shell macaroni and cheese,
but none of them have been this size.
I love that they're baby shells.
So again, you get that same kinda concept
of getting all of like the cheese inside the shell,
but it's like little bites instead of big, huge bites.
I give this mac and cheese a seven.
It's not overpowering with the cheese,
you have just a little bit of the shredded cheese,
and it's not the creamy kind of mac and cheese.
I feel like they use a lot more of the shredded cheese
and the breadcrumbs.
All right, onto the next one, let's go!
(upbeat music)
I'm really excited about this one
because today, we have eaten all normal Mac and cheeses,
but today, we are actually trying a vegan mac and cheese.
If you master a vegan mac and cheese,
you're doing something right
because cheese lovers love their cheese,
and to replicate tasty cheese is a hard thing to do.
This is basically made out of quinoa noodles
and a cashew sauce with tempeh bacon or chorizo,
whatever your choice is.
And then, you know, they have chives on top
and they also have tomatoes in here.
It seems silky, it seems creamy.
I know I've used that word a lot in this video.
Creaminess, creamy, creamy, creaminess, creamy, creamy.
It smells delightful.
I have to stop taking bites when it's piping hot,
I just burnt my tongue, woo!
Really good.
The noodles are really soft and very chewy,
which I wasn't expecting.
I don't know why I thought they might be harder.
But you get the flavor of the quinoa,
which is kind of crazy to have a mac and cheese
with the noodle tasting, kinda like, you know,
I don't know how to really describe it
other than that it's like something different
that I've never tasted before.
If you're looking for that shredded type of cheese
in this mac and cheese, you're not gonna get that.
But knowing that I'm eating mac and cheese
and it doesn't have any dairy in it blows my mind
and it still tastes like I'm eating a normal mac and cheese.
Can we take another bite?
Just to make sure.
If I were to rate this one out of 10,
I would give it a seven.
It's really good.
If you're a vegan, I'm sure you're gonna really love this.
It doesn't taste like you're eating a vegan dish,
it feels like you're fully indulging in dairy
and it's not dairy, which is mind blowing.
(upbeat music)
All right, you guys,
I had to end it off with a bang and go to Ruth's Chris,
a very expensive steakhouse,
to order their lobster mac and cheese.
And this was the most expensive macaroni and cheese
that we purchased today.
$34!
Who spends $34 on mac and cheese?
I mean, granted, it's lobster,
we get it, it's super expensive,
But dang, $34?!
It better be worth it.
Look at this.
I mean, already off the bat, I know it's gonna be good.
It smells fantastic.
They have shredded cheddar cheese in here,
as you guys can see.
And then they also have the mac and cheese cream sauce.
It's those normal elbow noodles,
but they have like ridges on them.
And then, of course, lobster.
Honestly, I thought I was gonna be
all macaroni and cheesed out, but I'm not.
When I saw this, I was like, "No, Jackie, get it together.
"You will finish this strong."
Are you guys sure you want me to leave this world?
'Cause I feel like that's what's gonna happen
when I eat this.
Nick, are you ready to say goodbye to your wife?
'Cause I'm pretty sure I'm about to go to heaven.
Have we seen this today?
We have not seen a cheese pull like this today.
This is what I'm talking about.
I need this amount of cheese in my macaroni and cheese.
All right, here we go.
(drum rolling)
- [Nick] Just a girl and her mac and cheese against a wall,
watching the sun set.
- It's amazing.
It's incredible.
It's everything I ever wanted.
Well, the lobster is fantastic.
Really, really, truly decadent.
There's so much cheddar cheese in here,
it makes me feel like a happy little girl.
All the cream in here, the chive,
honestly, this is the perfect balance of macaroni cheese.
I could eat this every day until I die and be happy.
Okay, okay, Nick is like giving me the signal,
like my turn, my turn.
This gets 10 out of 10, period, it's so good.
Okay, Nick, I guess, I guess you could have some.
- Guess?
You guess?
After all that work I did.
Dang.
- [Jackie] Dang, right?!
Wow.
- This is a 10 for me, and it's even, hold on.
Yup, that's what I like right there.
All right? - [Jackie] All right.
- I'll give this back to you.
- I got a job I got to do.
Ooh, you guys, I'm so happy!
I mean, way to end with a bang, we really ended with a bang.
Let me put this down.
Wow, I can't.
Now I have to give you my top three.
I mean, I'm going to have to go
with definitely Ruth's Chris, the lobster mac.
That was delicious.
And then coming in second, Bludso's.
Their mac and cheese reminded me of my home,
Texas mac and cheese.
Loved it.
And coming in third is definitely going to be The Federal,
that prime rib macaroni and cheese.
Those three definitely made me dance.
They knocked off my shoes.
They were delicious.
If you guys have tried any of those macaroni and cheeses
and you agree with me, let me know in the comments below.
Thank you for watching.
I think it's time for me to spend some time
with my husband now and not make him work anymore.
Maybe a glass of wine, maybe a movie.
What would you like to do?
Oh, eat the mac and cheese. (laughs)