My life has been forever changed.

As a freshman, I went to JJ’s religiously. I found community, exhaustion, and drunk people. I lived for the French toast and the dinosaur nuggets, but there was always a fleeting light that would come and go, shining into my eyes next to the French fries in the self-serve area: the mac and cheese bites. I would jump for joy, literally, and have never been more excited to see breaded triangles in a tray.

As most kids did, I grew up with Kraft Mac and Cheese. The magical cheese powder was life-changing. It was fast and easy to make. It was the pinnacle of my childhood. When I first had the mac and cheese bites at JJ’s, I felt the embrace of childhood and suddenly was at home: this was a work of genius by JJ’s, and it should never go unnoticed. 

I love these triangles. I spent every second walking down the JJ’s stairs, crossing my fingers that they were waiting for me. Their crispy exterior mixed with a classic, simple soft mac and cheese inside is a sort of delicacy to me. I think I noticed that this year, they have had them increasingly less, replacing them sometimes with nacho bites. I feel immense devastation at this information. How dare my mac and cheese bites leave me, and who is this replacement, deceiving me with a crispy triangle exterior? I gasped when I bit into a triangle –albeit on me for never reading the sign in front of the self-serve options– and found myself eating a fried nacho.

Mac and cheese bites are incredible. JJ’s does it right. They truly hate to see me coming. I had the pleasure of finding these bites waiting for me a couple of days ago, for the first time this semester. I haven’t been to JJ’s much, so that might be on me. I hope they have them there more for the sake of wishing that everyone gets to experience this elevated dish. Experiencing them again since freshman year has reminded me of the incredible impact they have. I recently bonded with someone over our shared love of these little triangles, so I know there is unity between us mac and cheese bites enthusiasts.

I will never forget your crispy outside and perfect middle. I will always be there waiting for you, JJ’s mac and cheese bites. I will be there at 1 pm or 5 am, looking for you. Thank you for being there. <3

Image via Bwog Archives