National Mac And Cheese Day: These 5 Taunton-area restaurants elevate the dish

Mac and cheese: don’t let anyone ever tell you it’s just a side dish.

Whether you’ve got fond memories of that nuclear orange from the boxed stuff, or you prefer your pasta and cheese a little more gourmet, for many of us, macaroni and cheese has always played a starring role on the dinner table.

Accordingly, it also has its very own special day.

July 14 is National Mac And Cheese Day.

While it should be — and is — celebrated for its simplicity, we thought we’d put together a list of some mac and cheese dishes that take things up a notch, flavor-wise.

These dishes feature different kinds of pasta, or tasty add-ins like roasted vegetables, or even a little extra spice, like Nashville hot chicken.

Here are 5 restaurants from around the Taunton area who are serving up some elevated mac and cheese:

Brack’s Grille & Tap, Taunton

2097 Bay St.

Hours: Monday to Wednesday, from 11 a.m. to midnight; Thursday to Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Sunday, from 10 a.m. to midnight

Mac and cheese: Dial up the flavor with the Tuscan mac and cheese, with trottole pasta tossed in garlic cheddar cream sauce, with blackened chicken, spinach, roasted shallots and sun-dried tomatoes. Orders come in small or large portions.

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Barrels & Boards, Raynham

1285 Broadway

Hours: Monday to Wednesday, from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday, from 11:30 a.m. to midnight; Sunday, from noon to 11 p.m.

Mac and cheese: You’ve got several options to choose from at Barrels & Boards. The oak barrel smoked mac and cheese has flambé bourbon with caramelized onions and scallions, and is topped with toasted panko bread crumbs, and a choice of barbecue brisket, or grilled or crispy chicken. There’s the honey-black chicken tenders mac and cheese, with lightly-blackened chicken tenders, house-crafted cheese sauce, scallions, caramelized onions, and parmesan cheese. Or try the lobster mac and cheese. It comes with half a pound of lobster meat, house-crafted cheese sauce, campanelle pasta, and sherry-seasoned crumbs.

2 Jerks BBQ, Raynham

701 Broadway

Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, from noon to 6 p.m.; Closed Monday

Mac and cheese: There are a whole host of options! 2 Jerks’ mac and cheese menu features: pulled pork, with bbq sauce and onion rings; Buffalo chicken; chili, with cheddar, Fritos, and scallions; Nashville hot chicken, with hot sauce and pickles; and chopped brisket, with barbecue sauce and onion rings.

Boston Tavern, Middleboro

58 E. Grove St.

Hours: Seven days a week, from noon to 10 p.m.

Mac and cheese: It’s extra cheesy at Boston Tavern. The 5x mac ‘n’ cheese comes with cavatappi pasta, gouda, parmesan, cheddar jack, mascarpone, seasoned panko, and grilled chicken. The brisket mac ‘n’ cheese features 5x cheese sauce, smoked brisket, cavatappi, Carolina mustard barbecue sauce, and seasoned bread crumbs. They’ve also got fried Buffalo chicken mac ‘n’ cheese.

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Harry’s Bar & Grille, Middleboro

407 W. Grove St.

Hours: Seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Mac and cheese: Harry’s also has several options, like the bacon burger mac & cheese, grilled steak tips mac & cheese, and carbonara mac & cheese, with bacon, tomatoes, and scallions.

Taunton Daily Gazette/Herald News copy editor and digital producer Kristina Fontes can be reached at kfontes@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette today.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: National Mac and Cheese Day: Brack's Barrels & Boards 2 Jerks