Food review: Memphis sweet-smoked pork

Restaurant: Memphis Minnies (San Francisco)
Food description: Barbeque pork shoulder smoked for 14 hours, side of macaroni and cheese
Food rating: 7.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Food review: Macaroni and cheese

Restaurant: Home (Market St., San Francisco)
Food description: Macaroni with mozzarella, cheddar, and parmesan cheese topped with toasted breadcrumbs and minced scallions
Food rating: 8 out of 10
Times ordered: 10+

If I'm going to eat at Home, it's for one reason alone: their heavenly macaroni and cheese. Ok, they've got good brunch too, but when it comes to dinner, the mac and cheese is my main course, and I could care less about the other filler courses. This dish is decadently rich--made with three cheeses--so a little goes a long way (toward the gym). It's totally worth it though (hell, I've had it twice in the past two weeks), so remember this when you're ready to indulge. The cheese is the perfect consistency, not pasty nor watery, and tastes so rich and buttery you' have to eat it in shifts. It's not your everyday cheapo cheese, it's mild but has a slight sharpness to it, something I feel it could use a little more of. The ratio of cream is higher than the cheese, so it needed a dash of salt to bring out more of the cheese flavor. The macaroni is perfectly cooked and the breadcrumbs add a subtle texture to contrast the smoothness. The scallions add not only color, but are an essential part of completing the flavor of the dish. They add just enough character to balance out the richness without becoming too overwhelming. It's a gourmet rendition of a ghetto dish done right. After all, there's gotta be a reason for the flag hanging outside that reads "Best Macaroni and Cheese in SF."

Food review: Smoked cajun andouille sausage

Restaurant: Memphis Minnies (San Francisco)
Food description: Spicy smoked barbeque pork andouille sausage
Food rating: 6 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

You've gotta be really into sausage to eat this much sausage by itself--which I'm not--but I wanted to try something other than the same old pork ribs and beef brisket that I always get at Memphis Minnies. It was definitely way too much sausage, especially given how greasy it was. There was a little puddle of orange grease that was left after I squeezed it out of the sausage before I could eat it. Yes, I'm also one of those people who blot their pizza with a napkin. I can handle some grease, but not when it's the only thing you taste. Such was the case with this sausage. It tasted like spicy barbequed fat, and that's about it. Like I said before, I don't think it was meant to be consumed this way and prefer it mixed into something like an omelette or jambalaya. So that being said, I will not be ordering this again (the mac-and-cheese was good though).