Jus' Mac

3.5 out of 5 Stars

Website

2617 Yale St
Houston, TX 77008

(713) 622-8646

If I were to sum up my childhood as a meal it would easily be Kraft Mac and Cheese (original) with a 1 bunless hot dog.....sliced.

Then I went to Jus' Mac......and right there on the menu....was The Homerun........

Jus' Mac put a price on my childhood....just under $8! My parents were ROBBED!

Yup, Jus' Mac serves hot dog mac and cheese......with a bread crumb topping.

But I wasn't feeling like a kid on my first trip to the restaurant that serves Jus' Mac (and now paninis).

I went with the Blue Cheese Mac instead, you know, because I'm an adult.....eating at my childhood fantasy....a mac and cheese restaurant.

Confession: If mac and cheese is on a menu....I WILL get it. It doesn't matter where I am either. I got mac and cheese at a Jewish deli in Chicago...like an idiot.....because, I clearly have a problem.

The sad part of all of this is, I am usually unimpressed with it. Restaurants all to often overcomplicate mac or even worse, make it soupy.....ew.

Which is why it took me this long to go to Jus' Mac. I couldn't bare another disappointment. I approached a daunting menu of mac in EVERY variety barring durian fruit mac and cheese - but that would be weird.

I wearily ordered my blue cheese mac at the counter and started making deals with G-d. "Please, please....don't let me down."

10 minutes later my party and I were served with personal sized cast iron skillets (NICE TOUCH) filled to the brim with baked cheesy goodness (mine, topped with crunchy bread and blue cheese crumbles).

And it was goooooooooooooooooooood. Real Good. It was just the way a mac and cheese-centic restaurant should serve their namesake.....RELIEF!

Not too pungent, not too soupy......"jus' good". It would definitely hit the spot if you were hankering for the home-style variety.

Notice I'm not overselling you....good is the perfect adjective for a place like Jus' Mac.

Other good things:

Environment: casual, but hip. Very Heightsy, minus Washington nightlife.

Price: It's getting harder and harder to find a filling, tasty meal under $10, and that small skillet satisfies me just fine (no apps required).

Drinks: Keepin' it local with St. Arnold's by the bottle.

But if you are the owner......think about:

Mini skillets or "halfsies".  With SO many varieties of mac, am I seriously expected to choose just one? It can't be that hard to find a way to serve me 2 styles without having to buy 2 macs? Who's with me?

New garnish: The bread served on the side is appreciated, but a Parmesan crisp seems more appropriate. I'm such a critic.

Noodles: All macs are served with mini elbows. Why so serious?

Bottom line: You won't be blown away by Jus' Mac, but your curiousity for options like the Homerun Mac will having you coming back for more