All hail the Dickey Betts of Southern food sides. Just as Betts was the perfect guitar wingman for six-string lord Duane Allman in classic Southern rock band Allman Brothers, mac and cheese is the ideal accompaniment for classic Southern dishes, like barbecue, fried chicken, meatloaf, fried catfish, etc. As with Betts guitar licks, the best mac and cheese is tasty and full of flavor. They both make you smile and feel at home.

Like many foods that are awesome, homemade-style macaroni and cheese contains less than ideal amounts of calories, fat, sodium and cholesterol. With primary ingredients of cheese, milk, butter and pasta, go figure. We’re gonna focus on the vegetarian status and 20 grams of protein (per one cup serving) to rationalize our intake.

Below are AL.com’s picks for the top five places for mac and cheese in Huntsville. For this list, we’re focusing only on ventures in Huntsville. Otherwise, the Southwest mac and cheese from the great ChuckWagon BBQ in Madison would be in the mix. As always with our Huntsville food lists, no regional/national chains are included, or places like Melt, Urban Cookhouse, Lawler’s Barbecue, and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen might be contenders.

And now a few words for the dearly departed. Recently shuttered Toybox Bistro’s waffled mac and cheese side was magnificent. North Huntsville chicken wing spot Fatsy’s is still alive and well, although not currently doing the mac and brisket stuffed eggrolls I enjoyed there last year.

Speaking of creative mac and cheese usage, defunct HSV food truck I Love Bacon’s Notorious B.I.G. sandwich was righteous. The Haitian mac and cheese from Taste of Fran’s is fantastic, but they’re only doing catering these days.

As always, you’re welcome (and kinda expected) to disagree with our Huntsville food picks. The only top five that really matters is yours. Vote with your wallets and support local food.

5. Boarhog’s Barbeque

2118 Hwy. 72 E., BoarhogsBarbeque

This summer, Boarhog’s placed high in our Huntsville’s best barbecue list. Their smoked mac and cheese side is damn solid, too. Cheesy as an ‘80s sitcom and soft as an afternoon nap, with smokey notes that enhance rather than distract.

4. Peppered Pig

1305 Four Mile Post Road S.E., Huntsville, pepperedpig.net

Food trailer turned brick-and-mortar South Huntsville standout Peppered Pig recently got our nod for Huntsville’s best burger. They do sides right, too. Especially their mac and cheese, which I previously called “a blizzard-thick amalgam of Colby cheese and spiral pasta.” We stand by that assessment.

3. Sac’s Kitchen

6008 Mastin Lake Road N.E., Huntsville, sacskitchen.com

Oh man, Sac’s Kitchen is so rad. This North Huntsville gem’s mac and cheese is complex and a textural bonanza, from the baked top to the funky innards. Paired with their lively collard greens and my favorite fried chicken in Huntsville, it’s a soul food triptych for the ages. Each week, Sac’s goes through 50 or so pans of their three-cheese mac, which they bake in their oven for 30 to 35 minutes.

2. Niyah’s Southern Cuisine

Mobile food trailer, Huntsville, facebook.com/niyahssoutherncuisine

Great Southern food often comes from small kitchens. Such is the case with the queso mac and cheese from Huntsville food trailer Niyah’s. As this variant’s name suggests, it’s a delectable Tex-Mex mac you’ll wanna mop up every molecule off your plate.

1. Betty Mae’s Restaurant

2007 N. Memorial Pkwy., Huntsville, facebook.com

In 2018, Latanya Purnell’s mom Ruby Marie was on her deathbed at the end of her battle with cancer. Latanya promised Ruby she’d continued to spread love through the food they make at their family restaurant. She’s honored that promise a thousandfold. Betty Mae’s, named from Latanya’s grandmother, is hands down a Huntsville meat-and-three must-do. Their fried chicken’s jackpot, too.

Betty Mae’s mac and cheese has that spirit-warming effect all great versions do. No razzle dazzle. Just a quintessential mac knocked into the upper deck. (Along those lines, local treasure G’s Country Kitchen does a nifty classic mac and cheese, too.)

Latanya says Land O Lakes Extra Melt American cheese is a vital part of Betty Mae’s mac and cheese. Betty Mae’s is set for the next generation, with Latanya’s son Jaylon Atkinson part of the restaurant. As she puts it, “I love that I can brighten your day with food.” Thank you for your fam’s culinary sunshine, ma’am.

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