Restaurant chains need to stop adding this disgusting ingredient to menu items
Dave and BustersDave & Buster's Short Rib & Cheese Mac StackMac n' cheese is great. But, what about mac n' cheese in a burger? Or, on pizza?
America is facing an overwhelming trend of mac n' cheese being added to foods that simply do not need macaroni and cheese.
On Thursday, Red Robin announced it had added mac n' cheese to the chain's tavern burger.
"Begin drooling now!" the burger chain ordered on Twitter.
Yes, we've added Mac 'N' Cheese to our tavern burger. Begin drooling now! #CHEESELOVERS #YUMMM pic.twitter.com/IZUwZN8Vwe- Red Robin (@redrobinburgers) August 4, 2016
The new menu item comes less than a week after Dave & Buster's Short Rib & Cheese Mac Stack was named one of the least healthy menu items in America, clocking in at 1,910 calories.
However, the buzziest mac n' cheese item of the summer has to be Burger King's Mac n' Cheetos, a polarizing item that debuted in June.
"My mouth is so confused and I'm so concerned as to how much I think I like these," one Business Insider tester said of the Mac n' Cheetos. "I ate gourmet French cuisine yesterday and I am deriving nearly the same amount of satisfaction now."
Burger King
Others disagreed.
"These are bad. Very bad," said another Business Insider tester. "There is no flavor, no crispiness, just a mushy center that vaguely resembles mac and cheese that's been run through a blender coated in something that looks like Cheetos and has also run through a blender."
Restaurants seem to be drawing inspiration for these controversial mac n' cheese mashup dishes from the plethora of over-the-top culinary creations found online.
Dude Foods has published recipes for creations such as a bacon weave taco stuffed with mac n' cheese and a mac n' cheese crust pizza. BuzzFeed has debuted a recipe for breadsticks filled with mac n' cheese. A simple Google search of "mac n' cheese pizza" turns up seemingly endless results.
Instagram is filled with increasingly absurd takes on mac n' cheese mashups. We have deep-fried:
In a grilled cheese:
On fries:
Again, on pizza:
Even on waffles:
I'm sure some of these dishes are delicious. But, enough is enough.
Mac n' cheese is great. Whether Kraft's distinctive flavor or a creamy homemade version, it's a fantastic and usually fattening dish that makes any meal better.
However, adding it to a recipe that does not require it doesn't make every dish better. Your burger is fine without the mac n' cheese. So is your pizza.
Adding unnecessary ingredients to make your meal more photogenic is a scourge of the restaurant industry. Stick with your side of mac n' cheese, and stop trying to cram it into every item on the menu for Instagram likes. Please.