COHOES — At one end of Remsen Street during Saturday’s Mac-n-Cheese Bowl, veteran participant and frequent winner Druthers Brewing was serving a popper stuffed with cheese, pasta, jalapeno, bacon and potato. At the other end, the first-timers at Glenmont Job Corps Center offered samples of a traditional baked macaroni and cheese but with five kinds of cheese and a hint of curry.
In between the two stands, 22 more providers, 11 breweries and 13 other vendors attracted a crowd estimated at 3,000, who showed up despite dreary weather that fulfilled a forecast calling for morning flurries, midday sleet and hail and afternoon rain.
Being held for the 13th time, and the second as a street festival in Cohoes, the timesunion.com/Table Hopping Mac-n-Cheese Bowl is a fundraiser for its organizer, the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York. In its first 12 years the event has brought in about $500,000 for the food charity. Revenue totals were not final Saturday afternoon but were projected by the food bank to be almost $60,000, down about 20 percent from last year, which had more tickets sold and higher overall attendance. Noting that many attendees appeared to be with family or in other groups even if only some in the party bought a ticket, food bank officials estimated 3,000 people would visit Remsen Street throughout Saturday, with ticket sales exceeding 1,300.
Ticketbuyers voted online for their favorites, and a panel of judges gave an award as well. First place in people’s-choice voting went to 110 Grill, a Northeast restaurant chain with locations including at Crossgates Mall in Guilderland and in Latham; the judges chose Mess Hall in Poestenkill as their top taste of the day. Both served versions of mac-n-cheese with pulled pork. Second place in public voting went to Druthers Brewing, often a winner at the Mac-n-Cheese Bowl, with longtime rival for awards Valente’s Restaurant coming in third.
The Mac-n-Cheese Bowl was…
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