Only U can make a pretty good Mac
I went to UBC for three years to finish my degree. Then, when I was on the cusp of freedom, I got separation anxiety and started working there. What that means is that I’ve been eating UBC food for over four years now. Sometimes, when I think about my food options at UBC, I want to puke. Ugh. I’ve eaten everything 100 times and I am just so bored of it all.
Naturally, I was shocked to learn that there is a little diner on campus that I had never even heard of. How is that possible? Not sure, but for years, Only U Cafe hid from me. Perhaps it is because it is not that great or perhaps it is because it has an out-of-the-way location. But, who are we kidding? Everything at UBC is sort of out-of-the-way.
Well, thanks again to my co-worker Celina who told me about the Mac at Only U. Now, Celina had also raved about Burgoo, and we all know how impressed I was with them…not. [Yeah, that's right, a written not joke.] So, I wasn’t expecting much, especially since she said, “it’s pretty good.” What is pretty good to Celina? Not sure, but I knew it was time to find out.
The Macaroni & Cheese was on Only U’s “Hot Entrees” menu. All entrées are served with salad and garlic bread, which means that I received a fairly complete meal for $6.99. Not bad at all.
Macaroni & Cheese meal
Now as you can see from the picture, the “garlic bread” was more like garlic toast. It was obviously edible, as I ate it, but it kind of tasted like white Wonder Bread. The toast was topped with a light spread of butter and garlic so that I didn’t feel like my arteries were clogging, yet it had a little bit of flavour.
The salad was a big improvement over the toast. The salad was fresh and tasty with romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, diced tomatoes, and freshly sliced cucumber. It had a drizzle of mild Ranch dressing.
Salad
Now the good stuff: the Macaroni & Cheese. What a surprise! Only U can make a pretty good Mac. The noodles were coated in a white cheddar sauce—that appeared to have a bit of chili and/or cumin in it—with loads of cheddar on top. It was sprinkled with a generous serving of Parmesan cheese. Despite all this cheese, there was absolutely no oily residue in the bottom of the bowl when I finished, just a small remnant of sauce.
Macaroni & Cheese
Overall, this was indeed a “pretty good” Mac. It was certainly better than Burgoo’s bland Mac and it was nearly as good as the Acme Mac, if you can believe it. Even though the Acme Cafe’s Macaroni noodles are superior than the rather delicate noodles at Only U, one thing this Mac’n'Cheese really had going for it was the non-greasiness to the dish. I didn’t feel like I was one step closer to a heart attack when I was finished with my meal.
If you are one of the thousands to make their way to UBC on a daily or weekly basis, you might want to swing by to check it out. It is on the ground level of “The Village,” on the back side near Red Burrito, Starbucks, and the sushi place. It will take a bit of searching to find Only U, but if you like Mac’n'Cheese, the search is worth it.
#116 − 5737 Dalhousie Rd.
Vancouver, BC
604-221-6511
