Historic Filipino Town: Ooey, Gooey Fun at the Mac and Cheeze Takedown

By Jennifer Li

There are certain foods that, upon mere mention, will incite vehement, impassioned discussion: Coney dog versus Dodger Dog; Father’s Office Burger versus Umami; New York Slice vs. Chicago Deep Dish. With countless variants, add-ins and treatments, Mac and Cheese is definitely a dish that inspires debate. What better way to tackle the topic than to hold a competition, wherein dozens of home cooks proffer up their version of the best Mac and Cheese? Enter, The Takedowns.

Matt Timms, creator of The Takedowns, has been hosting food fights across the nation since his first Chili Takedown in 2003. Featuring amateur chefs, past Takedowns have included meatballs, bacon, ice cream, hot sauce, cookies and tofu battles from Brooklyn to San Francisco. This most recent Takedown at the Bootleg Theater in Historic Filipino Town is Timms’ second appearance in Los Angeles, the first being the Avocado Takedown. The panel of judges included Eastside Food Bites, along with The Glutster and MegaMAC.

Twenty-five cooks entered the Mac and Cheeze Takedown, lining up their aluminum trays on Bunsen burners. Stakes were high, as evidenced by the number of profusely sweaty entrants. One contestant jokingly offered a bribe in the form of homemade bourbon while admist the commotion and hurried preparation of his station, another nervous contender dropped an entire tray of mac—splat!—and it was lost irretrievably to the floor. Thankfully, he brought a backup (photo above).

Javier Cabral, a.k.a. The Glutster, urged us judges to take only one modest mouthful of each entry, no matter how delicious or alluring that second bite might seem. With over 25 delicious entries (with the exception of one bland, rubbery recipe) to try, and a finalist round that would require us to retry 6, this was sound advice. Some were more creative than most, such as the mac and cheese with Chinese sausage and leeks or the shrimp mac and cheese served with a side of moist, perfectly Southern red velvet cake. The gentleman that dropped his creation on the floor offered a top-notch noodle, with a decadent, perfectly broiled cheese crust.

After tasting all that mac and cheese, we had a very tough decision ahead of us, and so we headed to the bar to deliberate over the winners and losers. In addition to bragging rights and mac and cheese pride, champions would receive Cuisinart food processors to add to their cache of kitchen supplies.

Here are the results:

Third Place went to a completely unique concoction: apple mac and cheesecake, made with cream cheese, chèvre, spiced apples and homemade caramel sauce topped with graham cracker crumbs. Dessert macaroni is a pretty weird concept, but it worked. In the very best way, it tasted like the soggy bottom of the apple pie after it has been drowned a la mode.

Because sometimes mac and cheese demands Velveeta, the 2^nd prize went to a Tex-Mex, Smoked Pancetta and Jalapeno Mac and Cheese. The uniform texture of this cheese sauce was spiked with the complicated flavors of smoked, cured meat and warming spice.

The top prize went to the unctuous, gooey, sharp and creamy Amber Ale, six-cheese mac with a chipotle crust. The inclusion of beer highlighted the satisfying sharpness I like in a mac and cheese, and the thick, creamy texture of the sauce clung to each and every al dente penne.

In addition to wholesome fun, this mac and cheese matchup pushed the envelope and sparked novel ideas, evolving into brand new flavors and inventive cuisine. If you are interested in entering the next Takedown here in LA, Timms is planning on hosting a Cookie Takedown, where the question will surely be: crunchy or chewy?

Jennifer is a staff writer for Eastside Food Bites. Learn more about her on our Contributor’s page.