Review: Kentucky Fried Chicken - Macaroni & Cheese Side Dish

Q: Which of the box's adjectives above describes the mac and cheese side dish?
A: ALL OF THEM!... but only if it looked and tasted exactly like grilled chicken.

Being that my aim is to review all types of Mac and Cheese that I can find, I don't want to just stick with the package box stuff (though I've got plenty of them to choose from in the meantime), nor do I only want to do the homemade dishes and concoctions. I also want to include restaurants and places you'd go out to eat as well, whether it's obscure or a place you'd frequent. This not only entails dine-in places, but also the realm of fast food, which one doesn't often associate with Mac and Cheese.

Think about it. How many fast-food places can you think of offhand that offers mac and cheese as a side dish, much less the main course? Not too many.... McDonalds? Nope. Arby's? Definitely not. Wendy's? Negative. Long John Silvers? You're more likely to fish up an empty plank (I know, bad pun, I couldn't resist). Even if it was offered at your favorite fast food joint and if you were torn on a side dish to go with your burger, would you honestly pass up an order of curly fries in favor of a partially mixed mass batch of macaroni that's probably been sitting in its pot for a couple hours? Not likely. Most sit down restaurants will offer some sort of mac and cheese dish in the kid's section of the menu, but for fast food, what realm did we need to venture into in order to make this happen?

None other than the cholesterol kitchen itself, where Colonel Sanders has mastered his recipe while simultaneously collectively raising the nation's weight average... I'm talking about KFC. Nevertheless, despite my dieting tendencies and slight knocking of the place, I do occasionally enjoy a satisfying meal of perfectly fried chicken. And from what all I've had out there, you'd be hard pressed to find a better place to fulfill that craving for crispy, crunchy chicken than KFC. My wife and I do really enjoy the taste of fried chicken once in a while, and for this meal we opted to treat ourselves.

But any tangent, back to Mac and Cheese...

My wife pointed out to me one night that KFC has a mac and cheese side dish, and not only that, but she loved it as well. Needless to say, this piqued my curiosity. When we ordered our food, seeing as mac and cheese was offered as a side alongside mashed potatoes, biscuits, corn and beans, I just couldn't sit on the sidelines any longer and so I put aside my indifference and sideswiped my card for a dish (yeah that's too many sides, not just for this meal, but also this sentence!)

What I expected: A so-so processed mac and cheese side dish with not much to stand out from something you'd get at a middle-school cafeteria. 

What I got: A mildly flavorful creamy side that was decent for what it was. Not as good as some of my favorite mac and cheese dishes, but a little better than I expected.

What I knew was KFC's ultimate side dish:  The mashed potatoes and gravy, of course!

Pair-ability:
3 piece Extra Crispy Fried Chicken, plus a biscuit and mashed potatoes (big pieces too, so without a doubt... not the healthiest meal.)

The horrified look on my meal's face when it realized what all I was eating tonight.

Preparation: 
Being something you eat out (and from a fast food place nonetheless), there's not much to this step. Simply walk into KFC and order it. Although to be fair, I did watch the kitchen workers prepare it. From what I could tell, they made a big batch of the mac and cheese a little while before we got there, which they stored in a big container and kept warm (newsflash: It was once made fresh daily, but now it comes pre-made... so much for it getting it fresh). And whenever someone wants it, they plop it out into the little round dishes you see here:

"Plop! Plop!"
Translation: "These noodles are swimming in cheese for sure!"

Shape-o-meter:
Very soft elbow noodles that have probably been sitting in a pot somewhere for a while. The cheese really influences these noodles' solidity. For those who want a creamier mac and cheese, this dish will be right up your alley. You'll never really have the issue of a dry side here.

Size-o-meter:
For a side, it's exactly what I expected it to be, size-wise. Any smaller and it would be done in just a few bites, and any larger than that and it would compete too much with the abundance of what all else you'll be eating with this meal. (Believe me, I was pretty full when all was said and done!)

Flav-o-meter:
The creaminess definitely helps out a bit with the flavor. While I prefer many other mac and cheese flavorings, this one does carry a distinct slight sharpness to the cheddar which will be palatable with most mac and cheese lovers. I'm knocking this part slightly though since I felt it carried a bit of the "leftover" taste with it, since it's not made fresh... just kept warm.

Nutriti-o-meter:
With all the potentially competing sides and entres in terms of how bad for you it is, this one side dish alone is just shy of 300 calories (and high on sodium and saturated fat). For the mac and cheese itself, this isn't really so bad, but put it next to all the other things you'll be eating with it and it's almost overwhelming. If you're on a health kick yet you also really like KFC's mac and cheese, then I'd say go for it, but limit your chicken and other side intake. Otherwise, if you can't pass up the extra chicken, then I'd say forget this dish and go with green beans instead. On a side note (har har), despite all the other protein you'll inevitably be getting from your KFC meal, this mac and cheese side dish also sports a decent amount of protein as well (24% of daily value).

Overall:
Walking into KFC, I didn't expect to be wowed in any way by this side dish, and in many ways I got exactly what I expected. While I do certainly wish it was made fresh, for a dish of its type this certainly wasn't bad at all. I've had worse at many restaurants. If you like your mac and cheese on the creamier and more cheddary side, then this is great to go with. It never seems like there's too much or too little, especially since you're never eating this side alone. Nevertheless, I do caution you to consider what all else you're eating in addition, since it's all too easy to go overboard at KFC. While I wouldn't move mountains to go eat it, if you're curious, I'd say give it a try. You may end up loving it.... but not lovin' it like McDonalds would if they had any.

It's okay, Colonel Sanders. I'm letting you off easy this time.