J. B. Mack Macaroni & Cheese Kitchen

I really like this place, it is very close to campus if you are a student of CSU and it usually is pretty quite, with some people having meetings there on the daily. The Mac n Cheese itself is good but nothing special, although they do offer flavored Mac like buffalo, it’s the bread bowl that makes everything amazing about this comfort food lunch of awesomeness. I’m not sure what they make this bread out of but it might as well be the most addicting thing you can think of because this is no doggy bag type meal, once you start you can’t stop!

Upon entering, the dining room had a distinctly displeasing aroma. Smells aside, the dining room was very averagely decorated, nothing special. For lunch, I ordered the Monte Cristo, a tin of Mac with ham, Turkey, and white cheese sauce. The portions were surprisingly good, being enough to fill a college guy. Unfortunately, taste wise, the concoction was nothing better than I could have thrown together at home for half the price, and looked microwaved. Over all, I did not have a bad experience, but there was nothing that really made me want to come back.

I had low expectations before going in, and they were met in every imaginable way. I would put this on par with Velveeta shells and cheese quality. I ordered the burger mac, and it was clear that the beef used in the product was previously frozen, and most likely microwaved during it’s cooking.
Nothing to really write home about. It’s cheap food located across the the CSU campus.

i got the classic mac and cheese for $ 3.67 with the 25% off coupon i got on campus. i didn’t really like how loud the tv was inside so i got it to go. i don’t have any complaints, but i dunno that i’ll go back since there are so many other options so near by.

I love coming here once a month to have mac and cheese. The staff is really nice and the place is always clean. You can build your own mac and cheese creation or they can do it for you. My personal favorite is the taco mac! It has seasoned beef, jalapenos, taco sauce, and of course cheese! The portions are huge so you can easily share this with someone. My other favorite is a side of mac with buffalo cheese sauce and topped with bacon! Its $ 4.00 and the bomb for those on a budget.
I don’t know why so many people are give it low reviews. Its an affordable lunch spot on a college campus that serves unique creations of mac and cheese. The most expensive item on the menu is $ 7.00…just making an observation.

Loved the taco Mac and cheese. The ingredients were so tasty together — taco meat, jalapeños and jalapeño cheese. I added hot sauce to mine for taste too. Great pick practically on the CSU campus!

Been walking by this place all semester and my friend and I decided to finally try it. I got buffalo chicken mac and she tried the classic. Hers was completely bland. Mine had so much cheese it was like soup, and hardly any chicken. The cheese wasn’t creamy and the flavor was only mediocre, I had to add THREE packets of hot sauce to give it flavor. We both ate about ¼ before deciding to throw it away and go somewhere else. Disappointed to say the least. Won’t be back

So I just had to check this place out after all the hype. I was pretty disappointed to say the least. Like many others have said, the Mac and cheese is VERY bland. I got the veggie Mac and cheese which looked pretty good. The peppers were soggy, the broccoli was all just the stem and the mushrooms were obviously canned. Won’t be going here again anytime soon.

I’ve got to agree with most of the other posters — nothing special here, in fact pretty much a disappointment. There’s more taste in Kraft’s blue box than this cheese sauce and the staff is definitely uninspired and spend more time talking with each other than prepping your food.
First time visit so I got the house sauce («golden»), with bacon and roasted red pepper strips. For a mac and cheese place, the sauce was basically tasteless. Bacon was okay, just not much for the upcharge. The red pepper strips were also okay. Just seemed like everything was bought in bulk somewhere else and just assembled onsite and warmed up.
Props for a very clean establishment (maybe because it was empty when I went in), but I won’t be back. So much potential, just no taste.
Post lunch update — ate about ¹⁄₃ of it. I’ve got a belly full of pasta but feel very unsatisfied. Sadly hitting the vending machine…

The best mac and cheese evvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvr
Ihave trying the original mac cheese with chicken
With seezr salt _

I really had my hopes on this place being good, but sadly left dissatisfied. My husband and I decided to try it out for lunch. He ordered the taco mac in a bread bowl and I ordered the chicken and broccoli mac.
I took a bite of my husband’s taco mac and holy spicy batman. Now, let me clarify by saying we love spicy food. I cook spicy all the time so jalapenos and cayenne are staples in my kitchen, but this got hotter the more you ate so it started to become unenjoyable. Also I’d like to mention that the «ground beef» in his mac was so blown to smithereens, it might as well have been non existent. The bread bowl was tough but I typically enjoy tough bread so that wasn’t so bad.
My white cheddar, broccoli chicken mac left me full and unsatisfied. My broccoli was mainly all stems. As a matter of fact, I only came across two crowns in the entire dish. My chicken seemed boiled and unfortunately void of any flavor. The white cheese sauce was gritty as if it came from a package of powdered cheese and sadly didn’t have much flavor either. The best part of my mac was the cheese on top with the added parmesan I asked for.
Food aside, the staff, while really friendly, proceeded to cackle obnoxiously loud through most of our meal. I found that to be pretty annoying while I was busy not enjoying my food. I believe in liking and having fun at your job, but when customers are present, you should act professionally.
On a side note, the place was pretty clean so I’ll give them credit for that and the off brand root beer was pretty good. It was kind of a cross between root beer and cream soda. It was the best part of the $ 20 we spent on lunch. We have no intention on going back unless it’s just for the root beer.

First of all, the hours are quite consumer unfriendly. Definitely check the hours before coming in. I think they close at 4 o’clock two or three days a week and I don’t think they are open Saturday or Sunday.
I have tried two types of Mac sauces– the golden (the traditional one) and white cheddar. Both were okay, nothing special. If you bought a box of velveeta, it would be a decent comparison. I had the very veggie both times which was again okay. The broccoli was VERY disappointing, though. It was all stems! This is the part I always throw away when cooking! I did not expect to pay to have it in a meal.
The bread bowl becomes a cheesy mess to eat after your Mac– don’t go on a first date here! I did find it tasty, though. I never turn down carbs. The menu has a decent assortment, especially since you can make your own combination.
The service was really slow. They took their time and talked to one another while I fought the urge to jump behind the counter to make it myself– I was late for class!
The interior is unfriendly and not very comforting. This is a shame. While eating my favorite comfort food, I want to be somewhere a bit more inviting.
This place has a good idea, but I think they’ll need to step it up a bit to stick around.

I have been excited to try J. B. Mack for awhile… I mean c’mon Mac and Cheese HELLO! They also offer a number of other options including salads and sandwiches … but if I’m going to a place with Mac and Cheese in the name. that’s what I’m getting.
I opted for the Cheeseburger Mac… Which I thought would be a larger portion due to the cost. but ok. I can get over the size. However the taste was just alittle too bland for me. I’m not sure why they serve it in a bread bowl. Mac and Cheese isn’t the type of food that soaks into a bread bowl.
On the positives — There were a number of more exciting sounding Macs to try. that I will probably give another chance on a future visit. The staff was nice. The location can’t be beat for CSU students.

I really wanted to like this place. It’s a lunch spot that offers an alternative to the sandwiches and burritos that are so prevalent downtown. I love the comfort of a good bowl of macaroni and cheese and there are so many ways to interpret it and make it a unique experience.
It was obvious that they have a lot of kinks to work out. The macaroni is heated in hot water, topped with cheese sauce and your chosen ingredients and then poured into a bread bowl. It’s then sent into a conveyor oven to heat up and placed on a plate.
Since they heat the macaroni in water, a lot of the water ends up getting mixed in with the cheese sauce making it very thin. They use bread with a round bottom, so when the watery macaroni enters the bowl, it gets flattened and macaroni falls onto the heating plate. If you’re unlucky, some of your meal falls into the oven. Once it comes out, they push the bread onto your plate and scrape everything that’s fallen off back onto your now flattened bread which is no longer visible.
I ordered the Philly Mac and Cheese. The cheese sauce was under-​seasoned and watery. The texture of the macaroni was okay, but the whole point of the macaroni’s shape is to have the centers full of sauce, not water. Bread is not a good accompaniment for macaroni, let alone a poorly shaped vessel. It is very pricey considering that I paid $ 3 more on top of the basic price just to have them add a few strips of onions and peppers and a bit of beef. They do have a decent variety, but will need to do more to justify the gourmet prices.
I believe that Cleveland needs more places like this that are willing to take a chance on a unique concept and hope that they improve their product and methods.

Happened to be in the area, so I dropped in the newly opened J.B. Mack. Right now the hours are limited, but I think they will expand those once school starts.
They have some predetermined mac & cheeses, like Taco Mac, Philly Mac, Buffalo Chicken Mac and a few more $ 5.29– $ 8.99 for a Lobster Mac, or build your own. There are four cheese sauces to choose from, Golden Classic, White Cheddar, Spicy Jalapeño, and Buffalo Cheddar. Meats, like Ham, Sausage, Bacon, Chicken, Steak, and Burger. Veggie choices are Broccoli, Mushroom, Roasted Red Pepper, Tomato, Jalapenos, and Onions for .59c.
Besides mac & cheese they offer Grilled Wraps, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Salads and Soup.
As far as food goes the mac & cheese was average, pretty much tasted like what you get out of the box. I thought it lack seasoning (S&P). I added bacon .69c and broccoli .59c, without the bacon it would have been real bland, but the bacon add a nice smoky flavor to the dish, I only wish that the bacon was cooked a little bit more on the crispy side. Also for the small charge for bacon, there was plenty added to the dish, well worth the charge. The broccoli was also a nice addition, cooked perfectly, still with a little bit of crunch to it, only to accent the overcooked macaroni in the dish. The dish was cooked in a edible bread bowl, yes carb on carb, which added nothing to the dish for me personally. The dish was then topped with more cheese and bread crumbs and finished off in the oven to give it a crispy, cheesy topping. Now I also know they just opened, but from what I can see if they get busy, they are going to have to speed things up a bit in order to keep up with things, I’ll give them some time for that.
Just one person opinion, so give it a try.