We found Echo’s reviews of macaroni and cheese perplexing. While it’s important to consider dietary restrictions, it’s vital that reviews are consistent to determine “the best mac & cheese”. While the review was remarkably well-written, its methodology was flawed. By sampling one gluten-free, one vegan, and one regular mac & cheese, it’s impossible to determine which place has the best dish.

yum! Kitchen & Bakery’s mac, being the only dish with both gluten and dairy, was unfairly advantaged. To accurately compare restaurants and find the best macaroni & cheese, one must sample the same ​type​ of mac & cheese from each place. Therefore, we sampled a selection of “traditional” mac & cheese dishes from local restaurants for this review.

• Noodles & Company, 9/10: Near-perfect. Slightly subpar noodle texture, but elegantly simple cheese sauce and shredded cheese topping brought it all together.
• Panera, 7/10: Beautiful texture, with an extremely rich and creamy white cheddar sauce. Included side options elevate the experience even higher, but overall the dish tries a little too hard.
• The Block, 5/10: Cavatappi noodles were too chewy, but the noodle-surface-area-to-sauce ratio allows for excellent coverage. Thick sauce adheres to the noodles fabulously.
•  yum! Kitchen & Bakery, 6/10: Cavatappi noodle texture better than that of the Block, but the flavor of lacked depth and led to an overall bland offering.

Though we appreciate the effort made by Echo to survey local restaurant fare, we want to ensure that it is done as fairly as pasta-ble.