Is The Ainsworth Mac & Cheese Burger As Delicious As TikTok Says?

In New York City, it seems like there's a new viral food sensation born every 15 minutes. It's not an uncommon experience to have to wait in line at an old favorite pizzeria after it was "discovered" by a TikTok influencer, or to get up early to try some cool new donut that's only released at 7 a.m. on a Wednesday. It can be hard to tell which trendy dishes are worth the hype, and which work better on camera than they do on the actual plate. But whether it's the addictive 'Roni Cups and Ranch from Bad Roman or the insane Ocky Way breakfast sandwiches from the Red Hook Food bodega, sometimes the hot new thing looks too good to pass up. I felt the same way about the Mac & Cheese Burger at the Ainsworth in midtown Manhattan. After watching videos of patrons struggling to get their mouths around this edible monstrosity and then glowing with delight once they succeeded, I knew I had to try it.

I expected the burger to be kind of gimmicky, sure. Over the top? Definitely. But I also expected it to be gooey and overwhelming in all the right ways. I'm generally a fan of the wild hamburgers you can get in this country. Unfortunately, the Ainsworth Mac & Cheese Burger came out so very wrong, and I'm sorry to say it is one of the worst burgers I've ever had.

This sandwich has a panko crusted puck of fried mac & cheese, beef patty, cheddar cheese, special sauce, and an entire bowls worth of mac & cheese all on a toasted brioche bun. Sounds good! Looks good too, right? Well, it tasted pretty bad. And I was worried about it from the moment I was seated. The Ainsworth itself is a sports bar that's draped in crystal and fake white roses, and features menu items like mozzarella sticks and chicken wings coated in 24 karat gold. It looked like this was a place that prioritized photography over flavor.

It took 35 minutes for the food to arrive after ordering, and I wonder if it spent 20 of those minutes under an air conditioner, because everything was colder than room temperature. I took the server's recommendation for medium cooked beef, but the dry, unsalted patty was beyond well done, and it tasted like it had some kind of binding agent like in a slice of meatloaf. Not the juicy sandwich I was expecting. The rubbery pasta was coated in cheese sauce that resembled partially dried glue, both in appearance and flavor. I would have rather had a Burger King Whopper buried in Kraft Mac & Cheese.

A burger topped with mac & cheese should be an extravagant treat. However, it is my recommendation that if you'd like one, skip the Ainsworth, and whip it up yourself at home. Try these mix-ins that lead to an all-around better burger, and finish it off with Homeroom's Ultimate Mac and Cheese recipe.