COMFORT FOOD IN TACOMA >>>

Macaroni and cheese, the college kid's comfort dish, isn't particularly classy or healthy. But, the list of pros weigh heavy, like a poundful of the stuff after the clubs close. Macaroni and cheese is cheap. And most importantly, macaroni and cheese is damn good.

So where can you get a plate of the mac outside your kitchen? Your options are plentiful and varied, in preparation method, noodle and even cheese. Let's start and end with STINK Cheese & Meat, the hip beacon of cheese in Tacoma's Triangle District. The first time I had mac and cheese here, it was a delicious concoction of five, hard to pronounce cheeses and three color schemes. My second, third and fourth sessions with STINK's mac-n-cheese were also of a gourmet nature. All inventive. All pulled off without a hitch.

Today, shockingly, STINK's menu board read: "Classic Mac-n-Cheese."

Holy Kraft Cheese and Macaroni Fatman!

Not even close.

STINK's classic mac now rests firmly at the top of my list of best macaroni and cheese dishes in the South Sound. The restaurant/deli has perfected a humble potion of wide elbow noodles with a thick cheese sauce that admittedly strays far from the traditional, but proves tasty all the same.

When I confronted co-owner Kris Blondin to sweet talk her into revealing what exactly is in the gooey but firm Gruyère and cheddar sauce, she wisely called my bluff. She did reveal it involves a rue and Bechamel base. Also, she and new chef Reed Thorp (via Pacific Grill) have perfected the moisture content before baking it. Yes, it's baked - an important and defining factor for what makes a fine mac and cheese, and the best selling point for STINK's version. Baking it gives the dish the yummy, crusty-crunchy bits of dairy goodness on the ends of the noodles, which helps to cut the gloppyness that sometimes plagues the dish. STINK tosses on a few croutons for good measure.

STINK changes its mac-n-cheese dish every week; the current one disappears Saturday night. But don't fret; Blondin says this version will be a base for many varieties to come.

In other STINK-y news: The joint will introduce a new menu in a few weeks that will include an Italian grinder and Parisian tuna sandwich.

[STINK Cheese & Meat, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 628 St. Helens, Tacoma. 253.426.1347]

LINK: More comfort dishes