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Mac Mart
Mobile, check Twitter for day–to–day location changes
@MacMartTruck
(267) 908–5662
Price: $
Don’t miss: Cowboy Cup
Skip: $1 add “a lot of bacon,” there’s already a lot of meat
Eating at food carts can often be a very impersonal grab–and–go experience, but Mac Mart’s customer service is warm and impeccable. Both the owner and an employee apologized for the hectic morning and "the long wait," even though the wait for my mac and cheese was less than five minutes. Their extremely friendly staff made the experience of comfort food even better.
Mac Mart’s menu’s structure is simple. Their mac and cheeses come in small, medium and large ($6–$10), but their helpings are very generous. I got a small and it ended up being a lot of food. Any given day they have about five different mac and cheese varieties with different toppings and add–ons. I tried four of their most popular macs. The most unique was the “Cowboy Cup.” This dish is a classic mac and cheese base with cornbread breadcrumbs and a spicy jalapeño–based ranch sauce topped with crisp bacon. The jalapeños added a whole lot of heat, but the cool ranch and ever–present cheese kept the sweating to a minimum.[media-credit name="Sarah Tse" align="alignright" width="222"][/media-credit]
The “Chicken Pesto Mac” was another home run. While the chicken itself wasn’t too special, the pesto was very fresh and a perfect addition to the melted cheese. Their “Doggone Corny Mac” was, on the surface, a much more traditional mac. It paired the same amazing cornbread topping from the Cowboy with cut–up hot dog and ketchup. This may sound like a childhood memory, but they updated it with an intriguing, understated sweetness. It should be noted that, though the menu is fairly meat–heavy, there are usually a couple vegetarian options available.
With all of Mac Mart's amazing varieties, the original “Mart’s Mac” should not be over looked. It comes with a fried mixture of panko crumbs, parmesan and potato chips which will leave you craving more.
There is something truly lovely about a warm, giant bowl of mac and cheese, and the Mac Mart food truck, in all its neon pink glory, does mac and cheese better than anyone else. The truck is the perfect place to grab a quick lunch to go. It's mobile, and can usually be found on 33rd and Arch (check Twitter for day–to–day locations). And though Penn students usually shy away from the words “located on Drexel’s campus,” for those near the Penn Museum or the Engineering quad, Mac Truck is the perfect 20–30 minute lunch spot.
