Mac and Cheese at Parkside Station, Manhattan, KS

Parkside Station is Manhattan’s newest restaurant and as regular patrons of Little Batch Company, we had to check them out. They offer a varied menu that changes dependent on the time of day you visit, guaranteeing a unique experience every time you go.

You’ll have to order off the kid’s menu to try their mac and cheese offering, but this dish is far from the typical blue box fare offered on kids menus.

Parkside Station Mac and Cheese

One of the most important ingredients in a mac and cheese is the pasta. It’s the vehicle that helps get cheesy goodness to your mouth. However, there are a few tried and true rules to guarantee a great experience with your pasta.

Much like Goldilocks, you have to find the perfect middle ground for your pasta shape. Parkside station used cavatappi in their mac and cheese. Its fun corkscrew shape holds onto sauce beautifully so every bite is packed with cheesy flavor.

Sauce in Parkside Station Mac and Cheese

There’s a balance that has to be struck when selecting cheeses for mac and cheese. Note when the flavor starts to come through when you eat it. Well-rounded mac and cheese dishes require a balance of cheeses whose flavor is evident at the beginning (opener cheeses) and at the end (closer cheeses)

Their menu isn’t very forthcoming of the cheeses in their mac and cheese, but that they include a blend of four cheeses and there isn’t any empty spaces in the flavor. It’s creamy, cheesy, and balanced beautifully.

Toppings

Toppings take mac and cheese to new levels. They add extra pops of flavor, color, and texture. The mac and cheese at Parkside Station is topped with flavorful, crispy breadcrumbs that add another dimension of texture and takes it from the kids’ menu to a more grown-up feeling dish.

Add a Fork

The mac and cheese at Parkside Station is an unexpected gem. The sauce is creamy and flavorful and balances beautifully with cavatappi pasta and topped with perfect bread crumbs. This dish will set you back $5, which is well worth this deliciously creamy dish.