Restaurant go-ers expect a heightened experience from the food they make at home. But one woman says she was shocked when a restaurant served her a common pantry staple as a side: Kraft mac and cheese.
In a video with over 3,000 views, TikToker Lex (@lexil012) says she ordered chicken tenders at an unspecified sports bar but found herself craving more.
“I realized this restaurant had mac and cheese, so I asked, ‘May I please have a side of mac and cheese?’” she says. She flips the camera to show the mac and cheese.
“You see that correctly. They served me Kraft mac and cheese,” she exclaims.
She gives the restaurant the benefit of the doubt, noting that she ordered the mac and cheese without looking at the menu.
“It may have said it was Kraft, but nobody told me,” she admits. Still, she decides to bring up her shock to the waiter.
“You served me Kraft mac and cheese. You need to warn Black people when they order a side of mac and cheese,” she tells the waiter.
Lex says she sprinkled salt and pepper on the Kraft mac and cheese to enhance the flavor.
“It’s okay. It’s just not what I was expecting,” she says.
What other restaurants use Kraft mac and cheese?
While many restaurants make mac and cheese from scratch, several chain restaurants include Kraft mac and cheese as an inexpensive kids’ meal menu item.
“So many restaurants use Kraft it’s crazy!” one commenter wrote.
A single box of Kraft mac and cheese costs between $1.25 and $4.00 at most grocery stores. You can find Kraft mac and cheese in bulk at warehouses like Costco and Sam’s Club for less than $2 a box.
However, Redditors on r/macandcheese note that restaurants like Denny’s, Texas Roadhouse, and Applebee’s may receive Kraft mac and cheese in pre-cooked, frozen packages only available to restaurants. Some claim that the restaurant-exclusive frozen version of Kraft mac and cheese tastes better than what you can find at the grocery store.
In the comments of Lex’s video, viewers share restaurants where they’ve encountered Kraft mac and cheese on the menu.
“Texas Roadhouse does this it PMO,” a viewer says. Lex replies, “Good to know! I frequent there and had no idea.”
Update 4:28pm, Feb. 20: In an email to the Daily Dot, a Texas Roadhouse spokesperson shares more details about their Kraft mac and cheese use.
“We do serve Kraft in some of our locations. While most of our stores have switched to a homemade mac and cheese, we do still have some locations who serve Kraft,” they write.
One TikToker said they paid $4 for Kraft mac and cheese at Texas Roadhouse, which the Daily Dot previously covered.
“They did that to me in South Carolina, I was so pissed. Called it a ‘premium side’ and charged $2 extra for it. It’s been almost 3 years, and I’m still pissed about it,” another shares about an unnamed restaurant.
Can you tell if a restaurant uses Kraft mac and cheese?
Other viewers share how to figure out if a restaurant uses Kraft mac and cheese so you can avoid (or order) it.
“Usually, places have that if Mac and cheese are only on the kid’s menu,” one commenter suggested. Lex responded, “Yes, that’s what I heard! I didn’t have a menu at all, I just ordered.”
A Texas Roadhouse server wrote, “I worked at a location in Georgia, and Kraft was printed on the menu, so if you want to be accurate, it’s not served at YOUR location.”
However, on Feb. 14, the Daily Dot reported on a former Texas Roadhouse worker who claimed that the chain no longer uses Kraft mac and cheese, praising the recent quality of items she ordered.
But the most reliable way to find out if a restaurant uses Kraft mac and cheese is simple. Just ask your server.
@lexil012 omg
♬ original sound – Lex
The Daily Dot reached out to Lex via TikTok direct message and comment. We also emailed Texas Roadhouse and Kraft for further information.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
