Pizzeria does not have a very flash name and the sign is easy to miss. It is located at 695 Valencia st. between 17th and 18th. Next door is NY Buffalo Wings which is a lot easier to notice and is apparently owned by the same family. The decor in Pizzeria is something out of a Mafia film, with lots of solid wood and leather and it is almost always empty. The only thing it is missing is a fat Italian man sitting alone at a large table sucking down spaghetti and meatballs. They don't serve alcohol here... so, LAME! Unless you're into that sort of thing, I like wine with my Mac & Cheese but root beer works too. I ordered the "Spicy Macaroni & Cheese" which comes with garlic bread and costs $9 which for an entree of Mac & Cheese isn't bad.
The Mac & Cheese looked very appetizing when it arrived, I liked the look of the spiral noodles, very reminiscent of the classic macaroni shape yet with it's own unique flair. And the sauce was just the right shade of yellow. Bread crumbs were sprinkled on top, and I enjoyed the simplicity yet classiness of the presentation. The first bite was saucy and spicy, the jalapeno flavor hits your tongue a little after you start chewing and it is very welcome. My two favorite things to add to Mac & Cheese are BBQ sauce and hot sauce and to already have the spicy jalapeno cooked right into the sauce is really wonderful. The spice is medium but might be a bit too much for sensitive tongues, but then again might not be enough for someone who likes to get kicked in the face with fire. I like it in the middle and the spice for me was just right.
The noodles were cooked perfectly, just past aldante and they were thick hardy spirals . The consistency of the sauce was similar to an alfredo or maybe Velveeta but without the congealing. From first to last bite the cheese sauce maintained its consistency, even as it lost heat. When I scooped up the left over cheese at the end it reminded me of nacho cheese... but really GOOD nacho cheese! Slather this stuff over some tortilla chips and you would definitley have a winner. Hell, why not just do Mac & Nachos?
Overall I was very pleased with the Mac & Cheese here! It was a wonderful start to this blog and has set a good standard. It's some of the best non-baked Mac & Cheese I have had at a restaurant, A grown up version of the blue box Kraft. I would definitely recommend trying it here, also the wings and pizza looked really good. Someday I might come in and ask them to make me a Mac and Cheese pizza, or just get some delivered and dump it over nachos!