Opening Alert: Mac-o-licious in Valley Village

by: guest blogger @iam_robot

The wait is over! Mac-n-cheese extraordinaire Kelly Chapman is finally doling out cheesy, gooey pans of gourmet macaroni and cheese from her humble little store in Valley Village. Riding the success of recent television appearance on CNBC’s Restaurant Start Up, Kelly is one of the very few food truck entrepreneurs who are able to turn profits of the food truck into a brick and mortar establishment. As a fellow entrepreneur, I admire her dedication.

The Trinity (Left to Right): Original Southern Mac, American Mac with Asparagus & Bacon, Frous Frous Crab Mac

While I love Kelly’s traditional mac-n-cheese, I am amazed how much customization can go into the bowl. In a way, Kelly’s Mac and Cheese offering is genre bending – inspired by culture, tradition, grandma recipe, and boundless imagination. To begin, you can have her 5 cheese Mac, which is topped with Asiago, Fontina, Gruyere, Parmesan and Cheddar. Then you can add on premium ingredients like black truffle, hot dog, or applewood-smoked bacon. Or if you’re a seafood lover, definitely try their new menu called as the Frous Frous, filled generously with blue crab claw or lobster meat. I had mine customized with Middle Eastern 7 spice and tons of Ghost Pepper. I also thought the American Mac was a firework of taste and sensation – crispy top cheese adorned with salty bits of bacon and crunchy asparagus.

Those of you who can’t appreciate this gut-busting yet irresistible appetizer (boo to you!), Kelly has other delicious offerings: Blackened Corn on the Cob, Grilled Chicken, Roast Beef, Greek Salad, and Orange-Mango Salad. Go wild! Go with the Orange-Mango salad! Delightfully sweet, just the perfect counterpoint to the savory beef or chicken. And don’t forget her Saturday/ Sunday brunch menu - brioche French toast, peach cobbler, biscuits, sweet potato pie and many more.

My Plate: Roast Beef, Grilled Chicken, American Mac, and Frous Frous Crab Mac

Chapman claims that she can eat mac and cheese every day. According to the site, mac and cheese invokes certain nostalgia “…is a throwback to the days of barely reaching the counter-top, cooking with my Mom, laughing, learning, and creating lifelong stories in the process…it’s the distinct smell of my Grandmother’s kitchen”. Many of us share the same sentimental value but deep down, it’s the little fat kid inside us that go squealing, giggling and humming when we’re presented with this ooey-gooey goodness. And yes, this place knows how to spoil us. 

Mac-O-licious
5217 Laurel Canyon Blvd.
Valley Village, CA 91607
818-814-6220
http://macolicious.com/