The Return of the Mac & Cheese Elite Event At The Elbow Room

This was perfect way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon at a spot which dishes just Mac and Cheese.
I love this part of Newark (Brick City). This is a really cute spot, really like the chic, sober and upscale décor. There were a set of regular Unilocalers plus also new faces too.
Coming to the food, we were served with 5 different kinds of Mac and Cheese.
*The plain Mac and Cheese
*Brats, Beer Mac and Cheese
*Vegan
*Jamaican Jerk
*Veggie one with mushroom
There was a lot of food. We all were stuffed at the end. My favorite one was the Vegan one, it hits the right spot. It had that spiciness with avocados, simply love it. Big high five to NJ Beer Co for the beers.
The staff did a great job, they made sure everybody gets to sample the food. The food trays kept coming out and were rotated all around the space.
Kudos to Steph for an another great event. Looking forward to more in this part of the town.

If loving mac & cheese is wrong, I don’t wanna be right! And if you worship the creamy, roll your eyes in the back of your head goodness of a good bowl of Mac as I do, then understand that THE consummate comfort food now has place of worship for us to visit, cozily tucked away on a corner of Halsey & Bleeker in a burgeoning district of Newark.
The area had me at ‘hello’ before we even stepped inside… as one would have it, my parents met & fell in love about 40 years ago at Hahne & Co located just across the street. So to step inside this cozy, intimately lit space a few moments later on a rainy day, I was able to immediately find a sense of warmth & beauty in what this space offers.
There is a quaint living room area where you can snuggle up with a date or play board games with friends at the communal table. This is no cafeteria style luncheonette though the OLD SCHOOL will certainly make you think back to your elementary school days for real! If you are a traditionalist, this one is for you!
If you are a Veg head you will flip over the MUSHROOM just as I did! And seriously, The VEGAN QUESO FUNDIDO made me question my life! I am as carnivorous as it gets and this spicy beauty made me consider the option of one day changing my lifestyle… but nah, I can just have few vegan days every now and then if there is deliciousness like this that I can nosh on and feel a great sense of foodie satisfaction.
I’m a Jamaican Gyal and mi love some spice & tings… the JAMAICAN JERK was a decent attempt and full of flavor (loved the bits of pineapple, surprisingly) but in all honesty it didn’t live up to the hype I built around in in my mind.
Adversely, the one mac & cheese on the menu that I thought may be my least favorite option during our guessing game of what came next was actually — get this: My VERY Favorite!!! Enter the BRATS AND BEER, made with Esposito’s sausage, NJ Beer Co brew just for this event and topped with caramelized onions. Oh. My. Goodness. I love all the components, but if you ask me I think it was the NJ BEER COMPANY beer in our special batch that took it up a notch cause that Pale Ale they provided made the perfect complement! Whoop Whoop — big up to John M for that!
Thank you to the FANTABULOUS staff at Elbow Room for their hospitality as well as the most awesome Unilocal CM that ever did exist, Steph, for the PERFECT Saturday afternoon Elite event! I think I have just found love here, too…

Great beer.
Awesome Mac & Cheese– with the vegan one being the best. Suprise, surprise!
Who would think with the cow’s milk cheesy goodness mac & cheese is, that the vegan one would be the best. I blame it on the jalapeño. Definitely the one with the best flavor.
Very organized sampling… the most organized I’ve seen. EVER. Like announcements included. *AHEM* «Coming up next…»
Well I was sweating. Dancing for no reason. And convinced some Unilocalers that I was drunk. Guys I wasn’t drunk. OR WAS I…
Nice and cozy event… like crank the heat– hot… like Jamaican hot. like who was the hot guy in dreads in the kitchen? Oh, hellooooooo
Who knew Newark could be so posh?!
(By a show of hands, how many Jersey elites did I offend?) HA.
Thanks to Elbow Room– definitely knew how to host a Unilocal event.
Steph you rock!

What a great time rubbing elbows with fellow elites at The Elbow Room!
5 samples of delicious Mac and cheese, tasty local NJ beer, music and a great crowd was the stage and as always Stephanie brought together a stellar gathering of cool people for a fun and exciting event. The day was rainy and cold, yet nothing but warm comforting fun wrapped in Unilocal energy inside.
I had the opportunity to bring along two very good friends of mine, Sean Q.
and Delia Q. who had never been to an event and were always very curious about what us Unilocalers do when they gather. (don’t worry I didn’t show them the secret handshake!). They really had a fun time and were both inspired to Unilocal more.
My first taste, the old school mac brought me back to the days as a child playing in the winter snow, to return back home to a hot piping bowl of creamy and delicious cheese sauce enrobed pasta. one bite and I felt an immediate thaw as it warmed my insides.
The vegan and Jamaican jerk samples, although very good, were not to my taste. The vegan had unexpected heat which I don’t regret tasting. I think it is important to be considerate and inclusive of all palates and offer a vegan choice.
The Jamaican jerk, caught me off guard, the chicken needed to be crispy.
Perhaps crispy chicken bits would do it? And the pineapple is just not my thing, perhaps I am a mac and cheese traditionalist.
The beer and brat hooked me in with the mention of caramelized onion but upon first taste I hesitated on the lack of balance. Although good, the rather large slices
of sausage detracted from the creamy mouth feel of pasta and cheese and
the beer over powered. I still ate it!
Out of the five samples my favorite by far was the mushroom and crispy shallot.
As stuffed as I was after 4 generous bites, the super savory balanced flavor of the mushroom and perfectly crispy shallot kept me eating, so very delicious. Critiques aside, I applaud and admire the chef for pushing the envelope in the sometimes
cul du sac like offering of the mac and cheese realm.
The beer from NJ Beer Co was an excellent beverage for the event. The pale ale was my first and typical selection and I enjoyed it. However I really liked the 1787 Abbey Single Ale.
Walking into the establishment I sensed the lighting was bright, warm and inviting and noticed the clean and simple design. Hardwood floors that met white walls
with white wainscoting provided a perfect canvas for dot-​matrix like images of the operation’s hardware and software: knives, forks, bowls, colander, elbow pasta, cheese, a chicken, a cow, a pig. Other walls held framed maps of Brooklyn which completed the Brooklyn brownstone vibe.
I was so impressed with the transformation of that street corner in Newark NJ! In fact, curious, I decided to google map the location to see a before picture, AND WHOLLY SMOKES, they really transformed that space from a boarded up eye sore to a structure more suited for a trendy Park Slope establishment.
Must come back for some more Mac!

I don’t often go to Newark, but after this Unilocal event I will definitely be back to the Elbow Room! Don’t let the Brooklyn make you think it’s in Brooklyn! We got superrr confused for a minute!
It is a cozy little establishment and very bright and clean. The staff were all super skinny (woking with mac n cheese I don’t know how?) and very friendly!
The NJ beer co beer was flowing and delish! My personal favorite mac n cheese was the vegan. Strangely enough it doesn’t seem to be on the menu but had a nice spice kick and did not make me miss the meat at all! My second favorite was the Old School Mac… creamy and delicious. The sharp cheddar in there was great and the bread crumbs were crusted to perfection.
Good times had by all! Thanks YoSteph and the elbow room for putting this together!
*side note, this establishment is not lactose intolerant friendly! ;) i certainly paid for the wonderful sampling later!

AWWWWW YESSSSSSSS.
I told people that would be my review.
(Don’t let the pictures fool you; I swear I was enjoying myself)

Mmmmmm, mac n cheese, yum! This is America’s comfort food at its best! Elbow Room is a cute little cozy pace in the heart of Downtown Newark. Wish it existed about 12 years ago when I attended high school in the area. Staff was extremely nice and welcoming! As for the mac and cheese, it was pretty awesome! We were provided with samples of the following:
1) Old School Mac (New York sharp cheddar cheese and garlic bread crumbs) — the old school mac was simple, but absolutely delicious!
2) Brats and Beer Mac (bratwurst, ale, and caramelized onions) — the caramelized onions gave it a very nice touch
3) Vegan Mac (soyrizo, jalapeño, cilantro, and tortilla chips) — it was alright but not my favorite; the taste of the jalapenos was overpowering
4) Jamaican Jerk Mac (jerk marinated chicken, grilled pineapples, and toasted coconut) — the pineapple gave it a nice flavor but I wanted more jerk flavor from the chicken
5) Mushroom Mac (crimini mushroom, spinach, and crispy shallots) — didn’t get to try it, but from what I heard everyone loved it!
Yes, five different samples of mac and cheese! If I had to pick, I would say my favorite was either the old school or Brats and beer mac. Beer was provided by the New Jersey Beer Company. Oh so refreshing and delish!
Big shout out to YoSteph for another awesome event!

Please move out of the way Unilocalers coming through give us some «elbow room’.
Entering the Newark location was great its been quite some time since I ventured to this part of Halsey St. Respectfully known as the Art District, Restaurant Row or my favorite Newark’s Renaissance. I am tired of Newark getting a bad rap. The area can easily be mistaken for a block in the west village. Funny thing is anyone who works lives; play in the area considers this there «SECRET» spot… umm secrets out …
The décor of the place makes you feel like you’re in your family’s living room .The Macaroni kept coming elebrow room knows how to treat their guest. Comfort food is an understatement this was the bomb diggity.
Nothing beats having NJ beer company Pale Ale that just kept coming also shot outs to John for making that happen, there is even a melding of the Mac n cheese with the NJ beer Co. one of my favorites. What stole the show was the Vegan Mac «N» cheese with Jalapeños it was grrrrrrrrreaaaaaaaaaaat!!. (better than frosted flakes)
Thanks Steph for making this happen definite top 10 in jersey events. I realized I wrote this with out using the phrase BRICK city… well BRICK CITY FOREVER!

Mac and cheese is a national treasure. So when the weather is being all pissy, and getting out of bed is the last of your priorities, you buck up and reevaluate your life, because the answer to all things mac and cheese is always YES! Missing this event was not an option. Clearly all of Unilocal Jersey knows this cardinal rule because the house was packed. And even with a full house, the Elbow Room pumped out endless servings of DIVINE coma inducing food.
THAT’S.WHAT’S.REALLY.GOOD!
I’m not even a fan of beer, but best believe I was all about the NJ Beer Company pale ale life that day. It was oh so refreshing and delish.
I missed the original mac and cheese (so sad, my bad, boo hoo) and had to forgo the meat contaminated options, but boy oh boy did they do me right with the vegan and mushroom servings. I love how the vegan mac made everyone, carnivores included, its bitch. There was literally crickets chirping when our lovely hostess announced the vegan round. Mad haterade was dripping from the carnivores, until that divine combination of soy chorizo, facon and jalapeño hit their tongues. Game. Set. Match! #foodgasm
As much as I loved the vegan mac, I have to give the mushroom mac the Best Ever award. Gruyère cheese is my life. The end.
What I love most about these events is qt time with the Unilocal Jersey familia. These mofo’s are everything that is oh-​so-​right with the Unilocal Community. Never change!
Many, many, MANY thanks to our fine dot com CM, YoBellaSteph, NJ Beer Company and The Elbow Room. Slow claps all around for the greatness that happened on Saturday. I’m literally still digesting about 5 lbs of macaroni, but I tell you this, I regret nothing!

Amazeballs, that is the only word I can think of to describe this event. Stephanie is amazeballs for making this happen. Elbow Room Newark did an amazeballs job welcoming us and showing us what they are all about, and NJ Beer Co brought the amazeballs beer! This might have been my all time favorite event thus far; had a great time hanging out with some great Unilocalers, and the food was off the chain. As a non-​meat eater, I feel about Mac and Cheese the way regular folk feel about pork. Iove it and could gush about Mac and Cheese forever, but am kinda picky about it because I like my own so much. Elbow room threw down the gauntlet and smacked me in the face with FIVE mac and cheese courses. The serving sizes were perfect, and I loved that I could eat 3 of the 5 courses, and the sausage with caramelized onion Mac smelled so darned good, I wanted to eat that one too.
The first course was the traditional plain preparation (Old School), and it was amazing, my favorite of the day. Perfect breadcrumbs, perfect cheese to pasta ratio, great quality cheeses used, and the parsley was the pièce de résistance. The third course was the vegan mac, made with soy cheese and definitely had a kick to it. A lot of people really liked this one, but although it was definitely tasty, it was not my favorite because the tofu crumbles tasted a little meaty for my taste. The final course was the mushroom and crispy shallot mac, was heaven. On top of the excellent and plentiful food, the Elbow room staff were really wonderful, so friendly and welcoming, they are definitely giving me a reason to head out to Newark. NJ Beer Co was also awesome, serving up two varieties of beer, the Pale Ale and the 1787 Abbey Single Ale (Belgian-​style ale). Both varieties hit the spot and were great with the mac and cheese.
Thanks again Yo Steph, Elbow Room, and NJ Beer Co. for an incredible event!

No better way to pop my Elite-​Event-​cherry than at a place I was already quite in love with!
First, a big thank you all around to Elbow Room for hosting and feeding us, NJ Beer Company for plying us with hoppy goodness, and of course, the one and only, YoSteph for putting it all together! I also need to thank my fellow Unilocalers, most of whom I have met for the first time, for making my first Elite Event such a great one!
Somehow with the rain and crappy weather I assumed the turnout wouldn’t be so big but we were packed in like sardines in the normally quite expansive Elbow Room. I grabbed a Hudson Pale Ale and anxiously awaited the mac & cheese samples. We were served generous portions of 5 flavors:
Old School — just your standard mac & cheese with some breadcrumbs, surprisingly deceiving in its simplicity
Brats and Beer — I didn’t sample this one but was craving the caramelized onions in here
Jamaican Jerk — scotch bonnet chicken, toasted coconut and grilled pineapples, if I ate meat, I’m pretty sure I’d be grabbing an extra cup of this one!
Vegan Queso — by all accounts, a definite favorite among vegetarians and carnivores alike! Not many vegan dishes can easily crossover and win the hearts and palates of meat lovers and the Vegan Queso is definitely one of those dishes!
Mushroom — one of my personal favorites that I have raved about in the past. Earthy, crunchy and oh so satisfying.
Elbow Room, you know I’ll be back since I’ve been a regular for awhile now. Next time, I definitely want to splurge on the Lobster Mac. Also, I’ll be keeping an eye out for that NJ Beer Co Hudson Pale Ale since I’m not much of a beer drinker and this tasty bottle has me reconsidering.
By the end of this fantastic event I was full of great beer, a lot of delicious mac & cheese, and gained many new Unilocal friends (and probably a few pounds!)…all of this combined turned this rainy afternoon into the highlight of my day.

Eating Mac & Cheese while drinking beer and getting to walk away with gloves that say « Unilocal LIFE» — loved it!
It was definitely a bit tight in there but I can’t blame all these people for wanting to come out and enjoy this food because it was really great. Glad I got to go!

What a great party! They highlighted quite an array of Mac and cheese for us. M favorite would have to be the vegan with tofu cream and the mushroom with shallots tied with the brats n beer. Our hosts were very cordial and welcoming.
The beer from nj beer co was really great, pale ale goes wonderfully with Mac and cheese

Before I even get to the food… this was my first Elite event, and I came in with absolutely no idea what to expect. The people I met… 5 stars. That in itself is a ringing endorsement to return for more!
On to the food. Well… 5 stars. It’s not the typical comfort food mac and cheese, so, oddly, I’m not even sure this is a place I’d go when I get that craving. On the other hand, if I want some gourmet taste for a reasonable price, I know I have to come here. All five samples were superb, even the vegan one — if you can make me eat something vegan and actually appreciate it afterwards, that’s a bonus star right there. I don’t think that’s ever happened before.
NJ Beer Company was also represented. 5 stars for being so generous to donate your product — and it was delicious.
Based on everything today — Unilocal event, Elbow Room, NJ Beer — I have to say that I plan to come back to all three in the future. I hope to find some new friends in this group! Y’all are fun people.

Mac & cheese plus beer? Heck yes. The two complement each other like a symphony. The Return of the Mac & Cheese Elite Event allowed us to sample a tasty variety of mac & cheese samples along with the NJ Beer Co. Pale Ale and Abbey Single Ale. Added with the social gathering of some awesome, fun people, you can’t possibly ask for a better way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon. Many thanks to Stephanie, Unilocal,NJ Beer Co., and The Elbow Room in Newark for organizing/​hosting.
I honestly didn’t know there was a variety of mac & cheese that existed outside of just plain mac & cheese, but it has been happening at this new establishment called The Elbow Room in Newark (they also have one in Brooklyn). The Elbow Room is a small, but very charming venue. It stands in the middle of a semi-​abandoned and quiet part of a considerably busy city. It’s also conveniently located by some awesome bars, so you can enjoy your comfort food mac & cheese and take a short stroll to the bars down the block, or vice versa. I rarely venture into Newark, but I see this city is and has been developing over the years. This was a great opportunity to check out The Elbow Room establishment but also explore/​see the developing area.
The Elbow Room has a great selection on their menu, and they allowed us to sample a sufficient variety: Old School (original), Brats and Beer (this one was made with a brew from the NJ Beer Co.), Mushroom, Jamaican Jerk, and Vegan style. All were amazing in their own right and very different from standard mac & cheese. It’s still comfort food, but they take it up a notch. Interestingly enough, my favorite, aside from the Old School, was the Vegan style. It was very flavorful and had some serious spice to it. If you enjoy spicy food, like myself, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how good/​spicy the Vegan is. While there was mac & cheese, the NJ Beer Co. brought over two types of specialty brews for us to enjoy at this event. Not a huge fan of IPAs, so I went with the Abbey Single Ale. It is a very smooth ale that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a medium bodied brew that isn’t hoppy and doesn’t leave much of an aftertaste.
While the food and drinks were wonderful, so was the service provided by those working at The Elbow Room. They have an extremely friendly staff. For an event of this size within a rather small space, I felt it was very well-​organized. They brought out samples on trays and placed them on tables. They already conveniently placed forks in each of the sample cups. Everyone was able to get a sample of the food and the brews, and I did not hear one person say that they did not get to try a sample. It was honestly not possible to leave this event without feeling stuffed and fully satisfied. A nice fun bonus to the event was the Instagram/​Yelp photo contest (whomever takes the most photos and posts the most to Instagram/​Yelp wins an Elbow Room $ 25 certificate). Thanks to the encouragement from fellow Unilocalers, I won the nice little giveaway. Many thanks to The Elbow Room for the certificate. I’ll be using it and venturing back very soon for some more of that delicious, gratifying mac & cheese.

Elbow Room put on a really fab elite event that is indicative of their restaurant in general– quality product, generous portions, and cheerful upbeat service. They allowed so many of us and our guests to attend but we all got samples and they were cool under the pressure.
They have cemented my loyalty and I believe they earned some future customers as well. Kudos to Elbow Room, NJ Beer Co, and of course Steph for growing the NJ Unilocal community.

Another great Elite event, thanks to Steph and company.
Great samples from the menu — hard to decide on a favorite! Also glad to see NJ brewing co. there to offer their products.
Of the 5 mac and cheeses offered, it was tough to pick a favorite, but I was surprisingly impressed with the vegan option (and I am definitely not a vegan).

HOLY MACARONI: THE DAY I DIED AND WENT TO MAC & CHEESE HEAVEN!
American comfort foods often conjure up nostalgic or sentimental feelings to the person eating it. I’ll bet you didn’t know that while Macaroni and Cheese is often quoted as the king of comfort food that it was considered an upper class dish (even in Italy) until about the 18^th century. Today Elite Unilocalers and their +1’s were treated like royalty as we dined on 5 courses of various reinventions of classic Americana.
Mac and Cheese Menu:
1) Old School Mac (New York state sharp cheddar, classic béchamel, and garlic bread crumb)
2) Brats and Beer Mac (Esposito’s sausage, Bronx Brewery Ale, and caramelized onion)
3) Vegan Queso Fundido (soyrizo, pickled jalapeño, cilantro, fresh tortilla chips)
4) Jamaican Jerk (scotch bonnet marinated chicken, grilled pineapples and toasted coconut)
5) Mushroom Mac (crimini mushroom, spinach, Vermont gruyère, crispy shallots)
Call me a purist, but the Elbow Room had me at the First Course: Old School Mac. Better than any box of mac and cheese that you were ever served at home. Makes the Kraft vs. Velveeta argument moot, as any supermarket version is missing a certain key ingredient. Mr Elbow, chef of our hosting restaurant is successful in putting love into every cup that was served by the staff. The Old School Mac was creamier and crumbier than anything that I have had at home or from another restaurant. I could have easily had 5 cups of the Old School Mac alone and been content, because it truly was simplicity at it’s best.
Another great feature to the event was the beverage department. Cold beers were chilling in the rear and they sure were plentiful. While I am not normally a beer drinker, I found the choices to be refreshing and thirst-​quenching. Kudos to John M. for always coming through on the beer run and bringing us back the goods.
New Jersey Beer Company Choices (Courtesy of John M.)
1787 Abbey Single Ale (Belgian-​style ale)
Hudson Pale Ale (bright, hoppy nose and a smooth, refreshing finish)
Of course a special thanks to Steph Y., the best CM in the tri-​state area! Without fail she brought together NJ Elites from near and far to come together for a shared experience of reliving some 80’s nostalgia. It was a full house with 100 NJ Elites and their +1’s, but the place always felt like you could move around without a problem. Also, with all of those people, the staff was shuttling out plenty of cups with no end in sight. There was something for everyone here today, so it was impossible for anyone to go home hungry.
Always good times seeing NJ’s best Unilocalers all together under one roof. Sadly, my wife and I were not able to stay for the after-​party, but from the sound of the deal it was a great way to continue a great day. Elbow Room and NJ Beer Co together for one event, I don’t know how Steph always pulls it off, but she never fails us. It’s like a gift… I’m just glad I could be there to share it.

It’s all about the toppings at The Elbow Room and truthfully, Unilocalers were the icing on the cake! Thanks to Wing L I got to attend this Jersey Unilocal event and it was awesome. Got to hang out with Lovet O, meet the super sweet Bloss C, stylish Dre, and Dre’s gf Sasha. What a fun bunch. Thank you Steph and crew at The Elbow Room for the party. The music was pretty good too. All we needed was a little more room at The Elbow Room and I’m sure there’d have been dancing.
My visit to Jersey showed me how easy it was to get to NJ Pac and some mac n cheese. All those flavors! It’d be a great snack before a show and all within walking distance of the train. Burn calories to cancel out the calories! Funny thing is the best tasting mac n cheese was the VEGAN one! Yup! It was spicy and crunchy. Oh man it was packed with flavor and punch! We got to taste 5 rounds of mac n cheese. I loved the toppings on all of them from bread crumbs and mushrooms to brats and jerk chicken. But VEGAN was crazy good. And I’m a meat eater.
Ok, now back to daydreaming about that vegan mac n cheese. Yes, it was that good. Aaaaand I’m pretty sure there was facon (FAKE-​un like fake bacon) in there. Mmm facon.

Bier und Käse (beer and cheese) — my favorite combo! YoSteph, Elbow Room, New Jersey Beer Company, and the Unilocal crew made it happen. The Pale Ale and the Abbey Single Ale were both very hoppy and made me very happy. The Elbow Room regaled its guests with 5 types of mac-​and-​cheese:
–Old School (sharp cheddar, bechamel, and garlic bread crumbs)
— Brats and Beer (Esposito’s sausage, Bronx Brewery Ale, and caramelized onions)
–Vegan Queso Fundido (seasoned tofu, avocado, cilantro, jalapeño, and tortilla strips)
–Jamaican Jerk (scotch bonnet-​marinated chicken, grilled pineapple, and toasted coconut), then
–Mushroom (cremini mushrooms, spinach, gruyère, and crispy shallots).
Along with the warmth in the space, all of these were extremely comforting. I loved the rich flavor of the Brats and Beer and would definitely order it in the future. The Vegan and Jamaican Jerk had great flavor balance with some good surprises while the Mushroom and Old School were cozy-​good! Elbow Room is a true Brick City jewel!