Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1119718
Murray's Mac & Cheese Pop-Up 2 5 0 B L E E C K E R S T R E E T The latest spinoff of the Murray's Cheese empire is this 579-square- foot bright white pop-up devoted to the gooey goodness of melted cheese and pasta. Murray's Mac & Cheese joins the original Murray's Cheese store, opened in 1940, and Murray's Cheese Bar, a darkly lit-down space that launched in 2012. All three are on the same Bleecker Street block in Manhattan's West Village neighborhood. "A mac and cheese-focused restaurant has been something on our minds for a while; since the space opened up, we figured it was the right time to launch a customizable mac and cheese concept," says Mindi Sachs, PR manager at Murray's Cheese. The "customizable" concept sets Murray's Mac & Cheese apart from other comfort-food eater- ies. Murray's lets custom- ers mix and match ingre- dients to build their own individual mac and cheese dish, choosing from 10 different types of cheese as well as sauces and other add-ins like meats and nuts. If all this sounds like too much decision-making, don't worry. The signature menu by executive chef David Elkins offers six spe- cific mac and cheese dishes. Buffalo Chicken Mac is made with chicken, buffalo sauce, blue cheese, and ranch dressing. There's also French Onion Mac, a classic mac, a carbonara mac, and a Breakfast Mac (available only on Saturday and Sunday) of sausage, bacon, egg, and cheddar cheese. "The buffalo chicken is probably the most popular," says Sachs. "There is something about buffalo sauce that people can't get enough of. The addition of a ball of Murray's burrata on top of any mac and cheese has also been super popular. The breakfast mac has also been very popular on the weekends." Sachs says that while these signature offerings won't change, "there will likely be seasonal specials added in the coming months." All ingre- dients come from the main Murray's. "All the cheeses and the Sfoglini pasta are available for purchase at Murray's store on Bleecker Street," she adds. Four portion sizes for each dish are available: an 8-ounce Snack Mac ($5-$7), 12-ounce Little Mac ($8-$10), 16-ounce Hungry PHOTO: MURRAY'S MAC & CHEESE 42 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com store tour Summer Fancy Food Show Booth #4221