Events: the Big SMAC-Down

Last month saw the first meeting of the Scottish Macaroni Appreciation Club - or SMAC for short - held at Sloans in the City Centre. The event sold out in a day and I wasn't quick  enough to snap up a ticket, so told myself I would definitely make an effort to get along to this month's event, which was held last night. The concept is very appealing to me - people that love macaroni sit around eating lots of macaroni and talking about it. Throw in some cheesy tunes and a friendly atmosphere and it sounds like my kind of party.

I do love macaroni - I get mistaken for a vegetarian sometimes because if it's available on a pub menu I will be likely to pick it over a meatier option. I'm no macaroni snob though - in fact one of my guiltiest pleasures is a box of Kraft Cheesy Pasta/ Mac and Cheese. I know, I know. "It's not real macaroni" my foodie friends will cry. "It's bright orange", "it's never seen actual cheese in it's life", and so on. I don't care, it's neon coloured and basically the hot, pasta version of Wotsits but I stand by my choice. That said, I do love a gourmet mac too - one of my favourites is lobster mac and cheese. It's amazing.

I was very excited about going to SMAC as I do get excited about any kind of themed occasion. I did not have enough time to pull together a proper macaroni themed outfit (IMAGINE) but decided to do a nail art tribute using some orange and yellow OPI nail polishes. I decided on a dress with a bit of stretch in it to help handle the food baby sure to emerge later in the evening (turned out to be a smart choice since I asked for seconds) I also threw on a pair of orange tights in attempt to 'mac it up' and headed into town. The orange tights were declared to be 'sexy' by some passing jake at the subway station - not my target audience but I will take it! Maybe he thought my legs were super tanned due to his own tanning of some (Tennents) Super? I'd love a pair of macaroni patterned screenprinted tights - anyone want to make me a pair?

Onto the event itself! My faithful cohorts and I rocked up to Sloans restaurant and were shown to our table. Good thing we booked tickets as it was very busy. At each seat we had a printed guide to the evening ahead and the macaroni's that would be served. That night it was going to be Stornaway black pudding, caramelised sweet potato with rosemary & garlic and Sloans' original macaroni's. The fourth dish was the much-discussed 'Mystery Mac' which would be revealed later in the evening to be cauliflower mac and cheese - apparently President Obama's favourite kind.

After trying all four dishes (and sides) we were given the opportunity to vote for our favourite and see which would be crowned the winning dish (or 'SMAC Daddy'). It was a close call, all of the macaroni's were delicious and I thought I was going to vote for the sweet potato one until I tried the Mystery Mac (which I am now calling Barack and Cheese). The cauliflower one was awesome - turns out I like cauliflower, who knew?!

The staff running the event were super nice and very efficient. The atmosphere was good, it didn't take itself too seriously and a bit of humour was definitely thrown in which helped keep things fun. We were each given a card with 'SMAC Founder Member' printed on it which I thought was a nice touch! We were also all 'sworn in' to the club by reciting the following pledge:

I hereby pledge allegiance to all things macaroni, regardless of creed, consistency or topping, so help me SMAC

It was a funny moment! After the plates were cleared away the cheesy pop songs were pumped up and I spent some time sitting chatting before heading home. I would recommend popping along to SMAC if you like your food, conversation and music with a huge serving of cheese! I had a brilliant time and will most definitely be back for another helping. 

Are you a macaroni fan? Have you been to SMAC? Did a jake yell at your legs this week?