Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Food

Mac & Cheese Fiend: Edendale Grill's Secret 3-Cheese Delight

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.

"After trying numerous mac and cheese recipes we finally came to what we think is the perfect mac and cheese, which is a combination of three cheeses, a secret cheese recipe I can't tell you," explains Edendale Grill owner Melanie Tusquellas over our table as we feast on the dish. "It's simple, easy and has no bread crumbs."

The 7-year-old Silver Lake establishment, which is in a 1924 restored fire station registered as a historic Los Angeles building, as a place where everyone can come together or "a community gathering place, the Cheers of Silver Lake," as Tusquellas describes. In fact, they have no television in the bar area because she wants people to converse and get to know each other, not zone out in quiet solitude as they munch and drink.

Since here at LAist we are always searching for the city's best mac and cheese, we dived into the $10 dish and came out satisfied, looking for more. The mix of the cheeses are so subtle, they create a rich but not overpowering flavor. It's light, creamy and because pasta shells are used, more cheese is held in every delicious bite. Since there are no bread crumbs (thank god), the texture is smooth with occasional crunchy small bites from the top layer of the baked cheese. Best of all, a good sized salad comes on the side that compliments the pasta extremely well.

The final word? Next time we're there, it will be ordered eaten again and again.

One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.

If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today