Evol.

~"Truffle Parmesan Mac & Cheese"~

 Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

~(Microwavable)~

Presentation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Five stars may seem like a lot for a microwave dinner, but I was blown away by the concept of a round bowl. Why the hell aren't they all round? The food heats so evenly; it makes perfect sense. Five stars for pure ingenuity.

Flavor: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
WOW. I would (and will) shout its praises from the rooftops. Truffle oil in a microwave mac? Seems too good to be true, except that it isn't. While it was heating up, the truffle smelled a little overpowering, but it turned out to be the perfect amount. On top of that, you have parmesan, cheddar and some other mixed spices; that's light's out delicious, as the Mayor of Flavortown might say.

Creaminess: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
Perfect. Smoother than a politician's lies. 

Cheesiness: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I feel like parmesan is somewhat of a rarity in most mac and cheeses, but it makes a world of difference. The addition of parm to the cheddar really elevates this dish out of the league of microwave dinners.

Overall Experience: 

I cannot express to you how blown away I was by this mac and cheese. Every single bite was out of this world, and it tops most of the restaurant macs I have tried. According to the blurb on the box, the truffles are grown in Italian woodlands and sniffed out by specially-trained dogs; whether this is true or not I couldn't tell you, but after tasting it, I'm cool with buying into it. Please do yourself a favor and try it out. 

Website link: Evol's Truffle Parmesan Mac

Mitchell's Fish Market (Lansing, MI)

- "Lobster Mac + Cheese" -

Rating: ⭐️⭐️1/2 

Presentation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I think this mac is pretty well put together. With a nice touch of color and a pretty symmetrical presentation, I would say it definitely passes the beauty test.

Flavor: ⭐️⭐️ 
From the presentation of the dish, I expected it to be pretty tasty. Unfortunately, this mac was incredibly bland. Not much going on at all in the flavor department.

Creaminess: ⭐️⭐️
Little to no creaminess in this mac and cheese. It was incredibly dry; even on the bottom there was strikingly little cream sauce. I would say it even felt like I was eating plain pasta at times. I was definitely disappointed. 

Cheesiness: ⭐️
The cheesiness was surprisingly subpar as well. The menu says that the mac uses gouda cheese, which should certainly be easy to pick out; I would never have guessed it to be gouda had I not read the menu. The scant amount of cream sauce in the bottom of the dish was fairly cheesy, and would've greatly improved the mac, had there been more.  

Overall Experience: 
Surprisingly poor. I wouldn't have expected it from Mitchell's, so it was fairly disappointing. Not only was the mac itself not so great, but the lobster was stringy and old tasting. Hopefully the mac I got was just having an off day, but if it wasn't, Mitchell's may want to give it some serious TLC.

Menu Link: http://www.mitchellsfishmarket.com/the-menu/

Zingerman's Roadhouse (Ann Arbor, MI)

- "Roadhouse Macaroni & Cheese" -

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Presentation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Okay, so I got the small size mac; I wasn't hungry, quite a pity. Unfortunately for me, getting a large seemed to be beneficial (Nick got the large so I was able to assess this). The large comes in a bowl, so it not only looks better, but also stays warmer/creamier longer. That being said, I would probably give it a better presentation score as a large than a small, but it's still quite a looker either way.

Flavor: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
Exquisite, really. Zingerman's Roadhouse uses Cabot cheddar in their classic mac, which they also caramelize, as you can see in the photo. Throw in some béchamel sauce, and there's a ~tremendous~ amount of flavor in this dish.

Creaminess: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
For a dish that has béchamel sauce, I was underwhelmed with the creaminess. Again, getting the large bowl seems to improve that issue, so take this rating with a grain of salt. Still, it wasn't bad at all.

Cheesiness: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Zingerman's is one cheese-savvy eatery. I really appreciate that they use cheeses that are a little less mainstream for all of their macs, so they truly stand out to your tastebuds. THAT, friends, is how you make a dish memorable. 

Overall Experience: 
I would 100% recommend ordering a large mac, you won't regret it (plus, possible leftovers). All of the macaroni and cheese dishes on the Zingerman's menu stand out of a crowd. Not only are the cheeses unique, but the pasta is "Martelli" maccheroni (a brand from Tuscany), perfectly zany. Overall, touches such as these make for a one-of-a-kind dining experience. 

Menu Link: http://www.zingermansroadhouse.com/menus/