9th Annual Mac-n-Cheese Bowl

Sample macaroni and cheese from area restaurants and vote on your favorites, all for a great cause.

About the Event

Thirty local restaurants will feature their own variations of macaroni and cheese for sampling. There will be two sessions of tasting, at 11am and at 12:30pm. 

The event is a fundraiser for the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York. The Mac-n-Cheese Bowl has raised about $300,000 over the past several years, which equates to nearly 1.2 million meals provided by the food bank.

This event typically draws more than 2,000 people. 

Participating Restaurants

Please note: These restaurants are subject to change.

• Albany Pump Station
• Allie B's Cozy Kitchen
• Brown's Brewery
• City Line Bar and Grill
• Cuckoo's Nest Daley's on Yates
• Hattie's Restaurant
• Honest Weight Food Co-Op
• Livin' the Dream Food Cart
• Longfellows
• Logan's Deli
• Lt's Grill
• Mazzone Hospitality
• Mess Hall
• Nicole's
• Pig 'n Whistle at the Grove
• Price Chopper/Market 32
• Saati Deli & Catering
• Savoy Taproom
• Siena Fresh
• Slidin' Dirty
• Soul Kitchen
• The Dilly Bean/The Memphis King BBQ
• Tipsy Moose
• Towne Tavern
• Valente's Restaurant
• Wheatfield's Bistro + Wine Bar
• Wolff's Biergarten
• Ya Ya's House of Southern Cuisine

New This Year

The competition for home cooks will include kids chefs, open to ages 8 to 13. Steve Barnes of Times Union's Table Hopping blog will begin accepting submissions from home cooks in February.

Also, the event is later than usual this year, to accommodate Siena's schedule.

Tickets

Tickets go on sale on Sunday, February 4th at all Price Chopper locations. These tickets will be good for admission at either time and will be capped at 2,000. Tickets for the later admission are only available online from the food bank and at the food bank's Latham headquarters.

How to Participate

If you're interested in participating as a home cook you can submit a recipe for consideration to Steve Barnes at [email protected] Ten finalists - five kids and five adults - will be invited to bring their version of mac and cheese to compete for awards from the judges only; health codes prohibit home cooks to feed the public at such an event.

Be as adventurous or traditional as you like - the only requirements are that the recipe must contain pasta and must contain cheese. 

Please submit an original recipe or at least a tweaking or personalization of a published recipe.

Finalists will receive two passes to the Mac-n-Cheese Bowl, with the ultimate winners getting a cash prize or gift card, a trophy, and will have their recipe printed in the Times Union.

Home cook submissions are accepted through the end of February.

Additional Details

Large crowds typically arrive for the opening of the event. The organizers are strongly encouraging anyone with children, especially in strollers, or people in wheelchairs or those with mobility issues, to opt for the later session.

There are a limited number of tickets available through March 23rd, so get yours today!