as you may have heard, mac & cheeza is a brand new restaurant coming to downtown los angeles that focuses entirely on the popular side dish, macaroni and cheese. while they aren’t officially open just yet, the good news is they have been having soft launches sporadically where they serve their food to the public…and the even better news is they are very vegan-friendly.

the husband and i hit up the small eatery last night during one of their soft openings, with our friend and fellow blogger brittany from sick of lettuce, to see just how good LA’s newest vegan mac and cheese offering is. the verdict? mac & cheeza is off to a great start and we couldn’t be more thankful for their vegan options…but there is definitely some room for improvement.

the way mac & cheeza works is, you order at the counter and basically build your own mac and cheese. you get to choose your size, your noodle type (regular or gluten-free), then your cheese type (the soy cheese is vegan), and then whichever vegetables you want to add in. they even have a vegan sausage option as well. they mix and bake the whole thing right there in front of you, and call your name when your order is ready.

even with all delicious-sounding toppings available, brittany went with plain in order to see just how good the mac and cheese tasted on its own.

vegan baby mac. $5

her initial reaction was that it was good, but not as cheesy-flavored as she’d hope. rather than a cheddar-style sauce, the mac was covered in a liquidy garlic sauce that tasted more like alfredo. i would have to agree that there are much better vegan cheese options out there, seriously some cheddar daiya would have done wonders on this thing.

momma mac with vegan cheese, vegan sausage, mushrooms and peas. $12

my husband and i split a momma mac sized mac and cheese with vegan sausage, mushrooms, and peas. i enjoyed it, but again the soy cheese left a little something to be desired. plus, they didn’t put enough peas or mushrooms in it, so the toppings were gone pretty quickly. that being said, the vegan sausage addition was absolutely delicious.

the ambiance at mac & cheeza is nice and cozy—there aren’t any tables or chairs, but rather soft benches that line the walls where customers can eat. the whole place is decorated with art made from macaroni pieces, which i found quite adorable.

overall, the food at mac & cheeza was really decent…and while i may not make a special trip downtown from hollywood, i would definitely stop by when in the area. i highly encourage you to get over to mac & cheeza as soon as they open though, and make your own mind up; let’s show these guys how grateful we are that offer vegan mac and cheese. plus, you gotta admit it was a pretty ballsy move for them to open a restaurant that only sells side dishes…

mac & cheeza
223 W. 8th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90014

to hear the latest news about when mac & cheeza is opening, and when they are having soft launches, subscribe to their mailing list!

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UPDATE! scroll to the bottom for more pix!

this is some pretty exciting news that i have been dying to post for a while….and now it’s finally time! hugo’s restaurant will be running a vegan mac and cheese special this month that is absolutely amazing. the new specials menu rolls out today in studio city and tomorrow in west hollywood, so make sure you get over and eat it asap.

vegan mac and cheese: fusilli pasta with diced onions, garlic, sliced mushrooms and sweet peas in a creamy cashew cheese. cooked crispy with a potato crumb crust. $7.50

i tried an earlier version of this mac and cheese (mine didn’t have all the amazing sounding vegetables in it), and i was absolutely floored. hugo’s makes their very own cashew cheese sauce in house, and it’s unbelievably flavorful and creamy. the best part of this mac though, is the crispy potato crumb crust, that adds a bit of crunch to every bite. although it had a wet texture, this is nothing like the old school kraft mac and cheese you remember from when you were a kid. this was way better with deeper more full-bodied flavor and a much thicker and richer sauce. absolutely incredible.

i’m actually really sad that hugo’s only decided to run this as a special, rather than put it on their regular menu. los angeles doesn’t have nearly enough vegan mac and cheese; and this is seriously some of the best around. you gotta get over there and order tons of this stuff; let’s make them re-think their decision.

so remember, this mac and cheese is available today in studio city and tomorrow in west hollywood tomorrow. go eat it up, and lemme know what you think!

hugo’s restaurant
8401 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 654-3993
and
12851 Riverside Drive
Studio City, CA 91607
(818) 761-8985

UPDATE: so my friend brittany went to hugo’s today and tried out the vegan mac and cheese as well! she was kind enough to snap some pix which i will attach below. she loved it just as much as i did, and confirmed that the vegetables mixed in are awesome. she also did a great post on another hugo’s special…the po boy! check it out!

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