Oak Ridge, Tennessee

After a long, busy morning in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, my stomach rumbled, begging me to get food. Soon, I found Dean’s Restaurant and Bakery in historic Jackson Square. What better place to sate my hunger than the #1 restaurant in Oak Ridge (according to TripAdvisor)?

Dean’s Restaurant and Bakery is a casual sit-down, borderline fancy restaurant that serves comfort/soul food. They have their daily main menu with items such as sandwiches (in addition, there is a full gluten-free menu), and they have their special menu that changes daily. The day I went, there were items such as jumbo shrimp, chicken and biscuits, and herb-roasted pork loin. These meals all came with two sides. I ordered the jumbo shrimp with au gratin potatoes, and, of course, mac n’ cheese. Both sides I chose were actually on the special sides menu.

Upon being seated, we were first served a tray of two yeast rolls and two cornbread muffins with butter. Both were served very warm and tasted amazing. There was excellent service. The server that took my order was also sweet and welcoming, allowing a very pleasant atmosphere that complimented the comfort/soul food theme.

At last, the mac n’ cheese… oh, and I guess the jumbo shrimp and au gratin potatoes too… arrived. The food came out super hot but quickly cooled off. At first look, the noodles were lunache noodles and the cheese was very saucy. I took a bite, and I was shocked by the unique flavor that immediately hit my tongue. The mac n’ cheese tasted like fettuccine alfredo. This was vastly different from what I had ever had before. Because of this, I thought that the white cheese was alfredo, so I asked the server and she said that it was actually just white cheddar. The noodles were at a perfect point of being soft but still just chewy enough.

Then, I reluctantly took a quick break from the mac n’ cheese to eat some shrimp and potatoes. When I came back to the mac n’ cheese, it had cooled and, as a result, the cheese congealed and became thicker. This time I was able to notice some spices in the cheese. This time, with a not as clean palate, the cheese tasted completely different. It tasted more of nutmeg, black pepper, and cream than of alfredo. It still tasted good, though. Soon, I finished, and at the bottom of the bowl was a buttery residue left with little clumps of cheese.

Overall, I would say that this mac n’ cheese was excellent and is a solid mac n’ cheese that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is likely that the price of a side of mac n’ cheese alone is $3.50. The entire meal (including the mac n’ cheese) was $13.99. Both prices are a bit on the expensive side. The portion of mac n’ cheese was just enough as a side. I would definitely get this again.