Mac Daddy in San Francisco

**Possible this place may have closed, hard to tell, best to try and walk by or call if you can**

Restaurants are opening again! Kind of, sort of, 25% capacity or something (plus wineries, breweries and distilleries which are booze only). Outdoor dining is back on, kind of, sort of, if you can get in on a spot and feel comfortable going. But, you know, it is a start? If things hold, they will be up to 50% indoor dining by March 23rd! Again, if you can get in and feel comfortable going and doing that, which, honestly, I am still not. Sure, people are getting vaccinated, but, let’s face it, people still act stupid (see latest Uber passenger dust-up) and my skittishness about public interaction seems valid.

With the virus surge, the majority of restaurants closed down and quite a number of them just could not financially sustain it and closed permanently. Some closed a short while, switched to parklet dining or takeaway or delivery or varying combinations of many things in order to try and survive. In parlance you can call it making a pivot, a word bandied about a lot in start-up and tech businesses in the Bay Area. If the way you are doing things isn’t working, pivot to make it work and give your angel investors some hope or belief they might get a return. Restaurants are so lucky as to have deep pocketed investors so they have to be extremely frugal and creative to survive whatever color tier we are in and hope they can withstand it all till things turn up orange and yellow. I’m guessing that is some kind of way of saying you can see the sunlight at the end of the COVID tunnel.

I continue my trip down past restaurant visits lane and show off some food at places I ate, but just never got around to reviewing with the idea of pivoting in my brain—like Mac Daddy in Potrero Hill. Owned by the folks who bring you Chez Maman, Papito and probably a few others, it is a tiny hole in the wall place that used to house Chez Maman before they closed it and moved it up to the bigger space on the corner which used to be Chez Papa. Not to be confused with Chez Maman West in Hayes Valley, also theirs. Follow that?

Mac Daddy was one of several mac and cheese specific places that seemed to open in the Bay Area around the same time pumping new life and interest into a classic old-school comfort dish. And during a pandemic, who doesn’t want something feel food and homey, even in such a carb conscious city as San Francisco.

I’ll be the first to say I am one of those people who usually eschews pasta, white rice and potatoes, for the most part. My mantra has been if I’m gonna chow down on a bunch of carbs, it is going to be cake—with lots of frosting. Though I am not averse to food splurging on something savory that will raise my sugar levels and bloat me up like french fries or, in this case, mac and cheese. It also kind of helped the place is only two blocks away from where I live so super easy to cheat day. Thus, herewith is my not review of some things I ate at Mac Daddy on several visits.

Tender beef (no bones!), creamy cheese, mushrooms, some tangy bleu cheese and crispy onions!! Isn’t this what comfort food is all about? You just want to fold yourself into it or enjoy in the privacy of your own home while wearing whatever it is that constitutes pajamas for you. And of course I always feel like I gotta have some veggies so I sprung the extra $1 and had them toss in some peas. The green does break up all the neutral colors in the bowl. It was also a heaping amount of food which I’m always down for. This was like two meals of carbs and then nap time.

Then there was the garlic shrimp with asparagus, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, asiago cheese and jack cheese—the cheesiest. There was actually more shrimp in there than I thought there would be. And another heaping bowl, though, not usually the biggest fan of whole cooked tomatoes of any size. But you know, didn’t stop me from eating it.

**fried chicken and classic mac and cheese**

This is what you call old school, a classic mac and cheese of cheddar and pecorino with some deep fried chicken tenders. All that was missing was some cornbread or a waffle or something. Though that may have really been carb overload, as if this weren’t already.

Speaking of fried chicken, turns out they do that too. Something they call the chef’s signature fried chicken, though since this place is so small, when you are sitting at the counter you see them making everything (it is all made to order, a bonus and a show!) and it was battered and then deep fried, so not sure what made it “signature” but it was definitely hot, crispy and crunchy. The collards were not bad either, for a West Coast restaurant anyway. They were cooked with bits of bacon, which we all know make everything better.

And since this is a mac and cheese place, everything does automatically come with a side of classic mac and cheese so you won’t be able to get out of the door without some carbs. It is what this place is all about after all. The cast iron server was cute and hot! As was the cheese which did the whole kind of burn the front upper part of my mouth. We’ve all been there and I should know better but sometimes when presented with some hot gooey cheese, temptation overrides common sense. Oh the hazards of eating out.

They’ve got a myriad of variations on the menu and I’m sure you can find some carby comfort food variation of mac and cheese to suit your taste buds and make you feel all ooey gooey inside. Something we can all use right now, even with shots and lock downs slowly rolling themselves out. Mac Daddy’s got you covered. I will say their availability has been scattershot through lockdown and sometimes they are open and a lot of times they are not. Though with things in a new tier and ramping up somewhat, hopefully they will be able to get up to speed or at least on a semi regular schedule one can keep track of. So make sure you contact them to find out if they are even open for business yet. Here’s hope since they made the original restaurant pivot before it was a thing and offering up super comfort food, before it became a really needed thing in these uncertain times.