As early as the 14th century, macaroni and cheese has existed in some form or another. The Italian cookbook Liber de Coquina included a pasta and cheese casserole made with Parmesan cheese, while the Forme of Cury (an English cookbook), included “makerouns” – a dish made of pasta, melted butter, and cheese. One of the earliest versions that seems most like what we know of as mac and cheese today was presented in the 1770 book The Experienced English Housekeeper. It included macaroni noodles with a Bechamel cheddar cheese sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, baked until golden brown.
Over time macaroni and cheese has evolved as chefs and home cooks have taken it into new directions. And whether it is out of a box or made from scratch, most people can agree that it is one of the best ‘comfort’ foods around. And those that love their comfort food know they’ll have something to enjoy at Mac Daddy’s, a new restaurant that has opened up on West Hastings (in the old Unforgiven Lounge space). Because Mac Daddy’s starts with that fabulous comfort food – macaroni and cheese – and then turns the traditional dish on its head. They serve it up on burgers. They serve it up on bratwurst. They even serve it up on pulled pork sandwiches.
Nick Bokarica, owner of Mac Daddy’s Pub & Grill, was kind enough to give us some details on where he got the inspiration for his macaroni and cheese themed pub and grill, what visitors can expect to find on the menu, and reasons why Mac Daddy’s is a restaurant people will want to return to over and over again.
Question: When did you first open your food truck, and what made you decide to specialize in gourmet mac n cheese?
Answer: “I first started with a hot dog cart six years ago. I opened Mac Daddys two years ago. What made me specialize in mac and cheese was that I wanted to do something that no one else was doing and that you had to come to me to find. I’ve been vending for a long time and have never seen anyone sell mac and cheese, everyone sells hotdogs. I was having a tough time getting accepted into bigger events and festivals because there were already so many people doing some form of hotdog or sausage, it didn’t matter how good mine was. So I came up with Mac Daddys to give me an edge that no one else had-something different that you hadn’t seen before and it worked.”
Q: Why did you decide to open a physical restaurant location as well as the food truck?
A: “I’ve always wanted to own a sports bar and restaurant. I just wanted my own place that was different than anywhere else, I wanted different food and a different atmosphere. When the opportunity came, even though it was unexpected, I had to follow my dream and pursue my passion.”
Q: Will you still be taking the food truck to events around the area? If yes, what events might we find you at?
A: “Absolutely, we have a crew ran by my partner Andy that specifically focuses on operation of our mobile business. We will be at most of the events we were in last year including – Kendall Yards, Garden Expo, Artfest, Hoopfest, Pigout in the Park, Spokane Interstate Fair, and Harvest House. We will also be adding some new events this year as well as doing several events over in Seattle. And we will be hosting Grubbin’ in May, which is a food truck event put on by the Greater Spokane Food Truck Association right out in front of our restaurant.”
Q: What menu item would you recommend to someone on their first visit to the restaurant?
A: “We always recommend our Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese. It’s our signature dish. If you’ve had our food before on the truck then you have to try one of our 1/2 lb hand-pressed burgers. They are all amazing.”
Q: What is your favorite dish on the menu?
A: “My favorite item on the menu is the Pizza Mac, its just unlike anything you’ve had and has a distinct flavor that makes you want to keep coming back for more.”
Q: Aside from gourmet mac n cheese, what other kinds of food can visitors find on your menu?
A: “We offer three different salads, Mac Nachos, Deep-fried Mac Balls, 1/2 lb hand-pressed burgers, quesadillas, hand-cut curly fries, gourmet sausages, boneless wings.”
Q: What kinds of drinks (beers, mixed drinks, etc) are available to visitors?
A: “Premium Wells, Infused cocktails, Warm Drinks such as Hot Buttered Rum and a House made Bloody Mary mix that is to die for. We also offer 12 different beers on tap – we have your basics: Coors light and Blue Moon, and we have an exclusive beer (IPA) brewed by Young Buck Brewery made just for us, along with nine rotating taps, as local as we can get it.”
Q: Will you be having events (such as live music, trivia nights, etc) at the restaurant?
A: “As of now we have Trivia Night on Tuesdays and Karaoke Night on Fridays. We are putting together a bar olympics that would comprise of teams competing against each other in different bar games for prizes. We will be hosting movie nights on our patio starting in the spring time. We are working on video game tournaments including Madden and Golden tee. And we have several specials we offer during all Sporting events including NFL Sunday Ticket and MLB Pass for every Mariners game.”
Q: Do you have any exciting new items you’ll be adding to your menu in the future?
A: “We will be offering Specialty Mac and Cheese dishes on Wednesdays and Thursdays including-
Cougar Gold Mac and Cheese
Lobster Mac and Cheese
Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese Sandwich
Taco Mac
Chili Mac
Mac And Cheese Chicken and Waffle Sandwich
Chicken Alfredo Mac
Beer Mac and Cheese”
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to comment on or give details about?
A: “We offer breakfast on the weekends from 9am-12pm, daily lunch specials from 11am-4pm, are family-friendly until 9pm, and have Happy Hour all day Sunday. We offer delivery through Takeout Deliveries Spokane. We have 12 TVs and several arcade games in the restaurant.”
Mac Daddy’s Gourmet Pub & Grill is located at 415 W Hastings, Spokane WA 99218. They are open from 9am until midnight Monday through Thursday, from 9am until 2am Friday and Saturday, and from 9am until 10pm on Sunday. You can check them out on Facebook at Mac Daddy’s Gourmet Grub and Mac Daddy’s Pub & Grill.
