Blue Tractor’s Pork Mac & Cheese

Tastemaker

By Lynda Wheatley | Jan. 30, 2021

Though the pandemic prevented us from bellying up to the Blue Tractor bar every Sunday to watch the Lions play, when restaurants open again Feb. 1, we can look forward to recapturing at least one part of that our longstanding tradition: Sitting in one of Traverse City’s coziest football-viewing spots while soothing our crushed souls in a bowl of the most comforting comfort food we know, Blue Tractor’s Pork Mac & Cheese ($15).

Yes, there’s a lot of tasty meat-topped mac and cheese bowls around these wintry parts, but we think you’d be hard-pressed to find one with a more strategic powerplay of smoky, savory, and tangy. Credit starts with the Tractor’s brilliantly bright but neither sweet nor sour BBQ sauce and its cohort, a smoked pork shoulder so tender it practically faints at the touch of your fork. The two play perfectly to their base, a creamy macaroni and smoked gouda béchamel sauce that, while utterly creamy is never ever soupy.

Stir the lot together, eat, and you will be consoled — be you a brokenhearted fan of the Lions or Packers — just in time for the Super Bowl. Find Blue Tractor Barbeque at 423 South Union St. (231) 922-9515, www.bluetractorcookshop.com