Fabulous mac: Get cheesy at Sweet Lorraine's in Vernon Hills
In its first location outside of Michigan, Sweet Lorraine's Fabulous Mac n' Cheez! brings handcrafted, quality dishes to Vernon Hills. The restaurant focuses on - obviously - macaroni and cheese with a retro-styled casual dine-in experience. Salads, wraps, soup, chili and grilled cheese sandwiches are also available to order, but the macaroni is the star. Diners can choose from one of 15 pre-made combinations or cook up their own concoction. Everything, including the desserts, is homemade and ready to eat fast. As of now, the only drinks available are water, tea and fountain drinks, but that may change in the future; Sweet Lorraine's recently began opening Mac n' Brewz locations, highlighting craft beers in the region.
All the food - wraps, salad and pasta - are available in mini or mega sizes. We only ordered minis, but don't let the name fool you. Our mac and cheese was over the top of the bowl, and everything else seemed to be normal sized at the mini level. The mega size probably would have been way too much after seeing what we ordered. Get the Fab 2 combo (your choice of two: mini mac, wrap, salad and soup) and you should be perfectly satiated.
Normally I would have my soup before my meal, but when we went, Sweet Lorraine's was serving cream of tomato. I couldn't help but try and re-create my childhood grilled cheese and tomato soup lunches with mac and cheese. I had a few adult extras, though - the soup was full of flavorful herbs, and my pasta was the bacon and cheddar mac, topped with melty cheddar and applewood-smoked bacon. Here's my tip: Get a forkful of mac and cheese, dip it in the tomato soup and enjoy. The combination brought me right back to my childhood.
All of the macaroni and cheese at Sweet Lorraine's is mixed with their homemade cheese sauce, a gooey, creamy cheese blend that isn't stringy. I could taste notes of cheddar and Parmesan, but there were some other cheeses in there I couldn't quite pick out. The noodles are wheat pasta, so gluten-free customers will need to look at other sections of the menu.
My husband ordered the pulled pork BBQ mac and a Little Italy Wrap. In addition to the BBQ pulled pork, his mac and cheese came topped with pepper jack cheese, onions and pickles. Out of our two pastas, I preferred his - the BBQ sauce was tangy and sweet, and the rest of the flavors mixed really well together and with the cheese sauce.
The Little Italy Wrap came with smoked ham, pepperoni, Swiss cheese, sweet onions, tomatoes, black olives, Italian peppers, lettuce and Mediterranean dressing. There wasn't a ton of meat on the wrap (they seem to reserve most toppings for the towering bowls of mac and cheese), but the vegetables were some of the most fresh and crisp we've had at a restaurant in the area.
By the end of the meal we were way too full for dessert, which was a little disappointing because Sweet Lorraine's homemade brownies looked delicious. There are also rice krispie treats, cookies and a cereal bar with marshmallows.
<i>Restaurant reviews are based on one anonymous visit. The Daily Herald does not publish reviews of restaurants it cannot recommend.</i>
Sweet Lorraine's Fabulous Mac n' Cheez
375 N. Milwaukee Ave., Vernon Hills, (847) 261-4143,
Cuisine: American
Setting: Casual
Entrees: $5-$9
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day