Mac Off draws hungry crowd to its first Columbia event

Mac and cheese isn’t just served with hot dogs anymore, as evidenced by the dishes available at Sunday’s first Columbia Mac Off.

Ten restaurants, cafes and caterers from the Columbia and Charleston areas converged on the Hampton-Preston Mansion in Columbia, each with a twist on the classic Southern favorite. Ingredients ranged from crab meat to tzatziki sauce. Festival-goers voted on their favorites.

“Mac and cheese, it’s a staple,” said Alyssa Smith, spokeswoman for the Mac Off. “Growing up as a Southerner, it’s a comfort food. It brings people together, and that’s what we’re doing here today.”

The Mac Off started in Charleston seven years ago, Smith said. This is the event’s first time in Columbia. About 1,000 people showed up to chow down on mac and cheese and listen to live music.

As implied by the name “Mac Off,” vendors competed for two prizes – critics’ choice and people’s choice.

Though there were plenty of jazzed up dishes available, Courtney Holden, 28, of Columbia, said classic mac and cheese remained her favorite.

“Nothing crazy, just typical mac and cheese is good – just very bare bones and cheesy,” she said.

The event also brought in folks from out of town. Parker Stover, 23, lived in Columbia for three years before recently moving to Greenville, N.C. He took the Mac Off as a chance to come back and see friends.

“I was feeling a real craving for mac and cheese,” Stover said. “It’s not quite the same up in North Carolina as it is down here.”

The winners of Sunday's event were Just Stuff It, critics choice overall; Charleston Artisan Cheesehouse, critics choice best local ingredient; and Dupre at The Market, people's choice.

Among others cooking up mac and cheese dishes were Blue Marlin, Mac Daddy, Tin Roof, Keg Cowboy, Grill Marks, Pawley’s Front Porch and Moriarty’s Irish Pub.

This story was originally published May 15, 2016 at 4:42 PM.