S'Mac Restaurant - A Review

As you walk into this small East Village hotspot, you are instantly struck by the glaring orange and yellow décor and you can’t help but feel that you’ve stepped right into a bowl of macaroni and cheese.

S’Mac joins the ranks of one-dish themed restaurants unique to New York City. From cupcakes to grilled cheese, peanut sandwiches and rice pudding, New Yorkers have an affinity for catchy one-trick pony restaurants. But the bottom line is that you have to provide a quality product to keep customers coming back past that curious first time. S’Mac does just that.

Opened by husband and wife team Sarita and Cesar Ekya, both ex-engineers, S’Mac was inspired by a restaurant that specializes in one thing - peanut butter sandwiches, at Peanut Butter and Co. The couple gambled that New Yorkers would embrace a restaurant based on another type of comfort food, macaroni and cheese. Nine months later S’Mac, short for Sarita’s Macaroni and Cheese, was born. While the restaurant is still fairly new on the New York food scene, having been open less than 8 months, it remains a neighborhood favorite.

Setup and décor are simple. The restaurant is small in size, with a few scattered tables with orange plastic chairs on one side, and a few high tables with yellow plastic leather chairs on the other side. There is a counter against the front window, optimal for people-watching and at the back we see a cashier, a large menu on the wall, and a case of various types of cold beverages, and an array of condiments. We can see into the kitchen, located right behind the cash, giving us a glimpse of the chef as he works busily making cheesy creations.

While you do order and pay at the back, the food is brought to you, piping hot, it what seems like record time. Above you there are yellow and orange retro-style light fixtures and two walls of exposed brick on either side. Classic rocks tunes play in the background, completed the look and feel of a fun, slightly cheesy (no pun intended), eatery. Due to the setup of S’Mac, it is hard to judge the service as you would a more traditional restaurant. The young man at the cash register also functioned as our waiter, bringing my dining companion and I our food as it was ready. Ultimately the service was fast and friendly, which is the most important thing.

Naturally S’Mac offers the traditional macaroni and cheese with cheddar and American cheeses, but they also provide a variety of other options for the more sophisticated pallet. As you look up at the menu on the wall you find mac and cheese dishes with Brie and figs; mozzarella, roasted tomatoes and fresh basil; four cheeses; manchego, fennel and shallots; and beef, cheddar, and onions. They also have specials such as “Masala Mac,” featuring Indian spices, and “Buffalo Chicken Mac” featuring cheddar cheese, chicken pieces and buffalo wing sauce. All dishes can be served with their regular twisted elbow macaroni or whole wheat pasta, and with or without breadcrumbs. If none of the menu combinations strike your fancy, you can create your own, selecting from a variety of cheeses, meats, and vegetables.

While even the most refined pallet could be pleased with such high-end combinations, for me nothing beats the classic all-American mac and cheese. With its gooey combination of cheeses, bread crumbs on top and served in a hot skillet, this dish would make even the most cynical individual think back to their fondest childhood memories.

Each item comes hot in a caste iron skillet, which is definitely a nice added touch. The dishes also come in three sizes – nosh, major munch, and mongo, ranging from $4.25 to $6.75 for a nosh, $6.50 to $9.00 for a major munch, and $11.00 to $16.00 for a mongo. Even the names of the sizes ads to the youthful, fun appeal of the restaurant, and along with the reasonable prices S’Mac is accessible to all.

S’Mac also serves side salads, a token effort perhaps, and brownies and cookies for dessert. But in all reality, when you go to place like S’Mac, you go right for the good stuff. If you’re worried about your waistline, you’d be well advised to stay away.

Between my dining companion and me we tried three different kinds, of the potential ten options offered on the menu. We had the classic, the gruyere and bacon, and the goat cheese, sautéed spinach, and black olives. We ordered bread crumbs on all three dishes, which added a nice extra crunch to each. The favorite of three for both of us was clearly the classic, as it disappeared the fastest. For me the key to good macaroni and cheese is in the cheese and the consistency. Both were perfected in this dish, with the use of high quality cheeses and the right amount of creamy consistency.

The gruyere mac and cheese was also excellent, also due to the high quality cheese being used. The big chunks of slab bacon found in this dish also complimented the flavor of the cheese nicely. As for the goat cheese dish, it was somewhat of a disappointment, and certainly the least favorite of the three. Overall, it was a bit on the mushy side. It was evident that the goat cheese did not have the right consistency for a baked mac and cheese dish. Furthermore, the spinach completely overpowered the goat cheese taste. Perhaps a feta cheese would have complimented this Mediterranean-themed dish better.

One negative aspect for me was the draftiness of the restaurant. Granted we did go on a particularly cold evening, but for a place that prides itself on serving cozy food, the atmosphere should fit that bill as well. My dining companion and I moved twice to avoid the door, but in a space as small as S’Mac, it has only 25 seats total, that doesn’t leave you with many options. While this did not take away from my enjoyment of the food, it did take away from the atmosphere of the restaurant.

S’Mac is clearly a local haunt, ideal for twenty- and thirty-somethings living in the area to just come and grab a bite after work, but also providing local NYU students and other hipsters a place to just hang out on a Tuesday. Overall the restaurant had a nice laid back feel to it, while offering a change from the typical burger and fries scene that one might come across when looking for a cheap, quick place to eat.

Overall, I would highly recommend this restaurant both for food and fun. In a city full of high-end cuisine and snooty atmosphere, S’Mac provides a nice alternative for the kid in everyone….