There are few foods that you could consider "perfect" in their simplicity...but you also know that a true foodie can never really leave well enough alone! Here’s what inspired me recently to go on the hunt for great macaroni and cheese. Your mouth just started watering, didn’t it! It’s one of the ultimate comfort foods; we grew up with that blue Kraft box, then moved on to tweaking that with our own add-ins, like bacon! We’ve come a long way from that little box that was, and still is, a staple in many kitchens. Let me tell you how far.

I was over at J Alexanders on Dale Mabry to indulge in one of their fantastic veggie burgers, which I think are the absolute best around. I usually have a side of their equally mouth-watering Beefsteak tomatoes which I have never found to be as good anywhere else in the Bay area. But as luck would have it on this particular day, they were not being offered, since J’s found them to be less than the quality they demand. I like that. I didn’t like not having them...until I had the side of their Mac and Cheese. Wow. A bubbling dish topped with perfectly toasted bread crumbs with a sauce that is second to none. Just an unbelievably delicious dish, which the menu humbly tells you is "not your ordinary mac and cheese." It is very rich, and I think having it on the side is the perfect way to enjoy it. I actually did take some home! Now, there is one web site I really love called Copycat Recipes that is a really interesting place to find a version of the recipes you love from your favorite restaurants that will not give their recipes (proprietary reasons, of course). You might want to give their version of the J Alexanders Not Your Ordinary Mac and Cheese and see how close it actually comes.

Our friend Alton Brown, who was over in Brandon last week, also has an equally tasty recipe on the Food Network site, and I encourage you to give his a try. Alton has such a perfectionist approach to all he does, with that wonderful touch of science and silly. But let me tell you about one other amazing mac and cheese dish I had recently that was over the top rich and wonderful - the Lobster Mac and Cheese at the newest restaurant on Clearwater Beach, The Lobster Pot Bistro. How wonderful to have a great pasta ,married with a not-too-rich sauce and nice little lumps of lobster. I can’t wait to begin our Sunday Brunch at The Lobster Pot on November 27^th! When we have the brunch menu, I’ll pass that along to you. But if you have a chance to stop in before then, ask owner Fran Bartlett to what Ann Kelly fell in love with at their grand opening.

So, I do have to ask if you have a great mac and cheese recipe, or how you take that little blue box and make it your own?! Send those along to me at ann.kelly@coxtampa.com and we’ll share those as well. Have a delicious day, and keep the hunger for great food and exciting new food finds alive with me in Kelly’s Kitchen!

And by the way, Happy National Sandwich Day...I am so craving something from Datz Deli in south Tampa right now!

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM KELLY’S KITCHEN

The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse get the cheese - Willy Nelson