Best Thing I Ever Ate: Comfort Food

Photo by proszowski.com

Comfort baked in a gratin dish.

Whether you're sad, sick, tired or lonely, sometimes you just need a little bit of comfort in your life. Productive people go for a run, others head to the nearest mall for a shoe fix, and some, they wallow in a hot piping bowl of (insert favorite comfort food here). Perhaps not the healthiest of options, but sometimes when you're down, you just don't give a damn.

I've been exploring the Best Things I've Ever Ate around town, with veggies, fried bites, and sandwiches. This time, it's all about the comfort food. Think fried chicken, mashed potatoes, greasy Chinese, barbecue, pepperoni pizza, triple chocolate chunk ice cream with a side of heart attack. Anything you want to literally stuff your face into after having "one of those days."

There are plenty of amazing Houston restaurants serving up stellar comfort food, from Lankford's Grocery's Grim Burger topped with mac & cheese, bacon, fried egg and jalapeno to Zelko Bistro's famous Captin's Fried Chicken, soaked in buttermilk and yogurt and fried to perfection with a coating of Cap'n Crunch.

In this city, the list can go on and on - so before I let it, allow me to consider which food truly comforts me when I'm down. Yes, the answer is simple. It's in nearly every one of my favorite foods, topping off my grocery list, innocently glaring at me from a tray as I'm gearing up to knock someone over for a free sample at Whole Foods. It's cheese. It's always been cheese!

So what better way to celebrate cheese then with the ultimate cheese meal? I'm talking mac & cheese - and the best mac and cheese I've ever had has got to be the Lobster Mac n Cheese at Sullivan's Steakhouse. Thing this is. for. real; creamy, gooey, buttery, sweet, crunchy, silky, succulent, and sharp, yet oh so delicate. It's just filled to the brim with mouthwatering, mind-blowing cheesy goodness...I want some right now.

Alas, as with all of the best things in life, it's currently unavailable - as this glorious mac' & cheese was a part of Sullivan's special pre-fixe Valentine's Day menu last year. For only a few extra bucks, you could substitute this little gratin dish of heaven for one of the other, less worthy sides. Luckily, my fiancé knows I would stab him with a fork if he tried to take anything cheese away from me, so being the smart, kind man that he is, we went with the lobster mac' and cheese. God I love that mac n cheese man.

Maybe it's because I can't get it all the time - but in my eyes, this mac is absolute perfection. Imagine velvety-smooth, soft, sharp and almost nutty cheese making sweet, sweet love to chunks of buttery lobster and toothsome shell pasta, all topped with a browned and crisp garlic-butter crust. Yes. I long for another romantic Valentine's at Sullivan's Steakhouse in the comfort of the one I love the most...oh, and my fiance.

Although after eating it I'm no longer comfortable in my jeans, for me, this is the ultimate comfort food. What are some of your favorite comfort foods around town?

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