Review: Sweet Lorraine’s

Sweet Lorraine's Fabulous Mac 'n CheezSweet Lorraine’s Fabulous Mac ‘n Cheez 4 Star Review

Yelp! Review of the Day

Who expects to find hearty, belly-filling food in the pretentious food court — pardon, “Peacock Cafes” — at a mall that demands recognition as a “Collection”? My bemused lover and I wandered past on our way to the LEGO store, and finally got snared to try. The cat’s out of the bag on Yelp for good reason. I, for one, welcome our cheesy noodle overlords.

Sweet Lorraine’s prides itself on offering twelve varieties of mac and cheese on their permanent menu, ranging from ooey-gooey classic to rib-sticking bacon and cheese to more vegan-friendly alternatives stuffed with half the veggie crisper. Daily specials throw in the kitchen sink for good measure. I eyed up the green pesto machine with the intense look of a starving wild cat (or a pregnant woman, take your pick), and helped myself to a “mini” portion.

Do not be deceived by European standards. Mini means a tureen for two, and the full-size portion is actually a foil-wrapped Fiat. Sticker shock for the fanciest mac ‘n cheese varieties may set in until you realize you can feed a family of four pretty well.

For the truly hungry, they offer a soup/sandwich and mini classic deal for about $7. You get their standby mac and cheese, a choice of a sandwich off their board, and satisfaction all around. The sandwich choices stand in the long, buttery orange shadow of their macaroni concoctions, as well they should, but I suppose they looked pretty good. But none was sufficient to snare me in their leafy wiles while I was salivating like a lioness over my most recent kill.

The beau and I split a tureen of bacon and cheese macaroni, proof I can indeed share when genetics insist I save all the best parts for myself. I’ll admit it — between two hungry adults, the mini was a perfect lunch. We indulged on the al dente pasta coated liberally in a cheese sauce that sure as heck didn’t come out of a Velveeta jar. This is real cheese and butter, baby. Forget your diet and pace yourself to really enjoy the taste. Bacon pieces were small and rich, adding flavour without overwhelming the mac and cheese in a complete bacongasm of porky fireworks (for that, go to Dino’s and give big eyes at the waitress). Just right.

Sweet Lorraine’s also has homebaked cookies that turned out to be one part batter, four parts giant chunks of chocolate. Half a cookie finished both of us off until our dinner several hours later.

Just in case we had any doubts about our choice, fully half the pretentiously named food court was full of patrons eating Sweet Lorraine’s sandwiches or mac ‘n chese. Don’t mess with perfection, right?

Forget skimpy salads, deep fried chunks of mystery meat, and oil-saturated French fries. Ditch that latte replacement for a real meal. Sweet Lorraine’s serves up a great lunch that’s both nutritious and delicious, meeting my demanding OMNOMNOM standards. It’s probably the second best thing in this mall.

Source