Cheese: It's what's for dinner. North Texans will find two high-profile restaurant chains selling cheesy, new dishes in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Chick-fil-A is selling mac and cheese as a side item. And Chipotle is testing a white queso. Let's get into the ooey gooey:
Chipotle's queso blanco
Chipotle Mexican Grill picked Dallas, Detroit and San Diego as the three test markets for its new queso blanco. The test started on July 29 and doesn't have an end date yet, says a spokeswoman. Dallasites' opinions of the new cheese dip might determine whether it's rolled out nationwide.
The new white queso lands about 15 months after Chipotle debuted a yellow queso that had no artificial ingredients or industrial additives. It didn't get good reviews: We found it to be gritty and chalky in a taste test. Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol said in 2018 that "there's still some opportunity to improve" on that recipe.
The new queso blanco is not necessarily considered a replacement to the controversial yellow queso, a spokesperson says. That'll depend on customer feedback, she wrote in an email.
This new queso is also made with "only real ingredients," says a press release: Monterey Jack cheese; white cheddar; and serrano, poblano and chipotle peppers.
It can be ordered as a side (with chips) or drizzled on top of a burrito bowl.
Chipotle's queso blanco test takes place in 19 restaurants in Dallas-Fort Worth. Most are west of Dallas. Here's the list:
- In Arlington: 5001 S. Cooper St.; 1519 W. Rosedale St.; and 6706 Westworth Blvd.
- In Carrollton: 1016 E. Hebron Parkway
- In Cedar Hill: 398 E. FM 1382
- In Dallas: 39779 LBJ Freeway
- In Flower Mound: 6100 Long Prairie Road
- In Fort Worth: 3050 S. Hulen St.; 4484 Bryant Irvin Road; 3000 W. 7th St.; and 6370 Camp Bowie Blvd.
- In Granbury: 321 E. Hwy 377
- In Grand Prairie: 4095 S. Carrier Parkway and 1220 Arkansas Lane
- In Lake Worth: 6547 Lake Worth Blvd.
- In Mansfield: 1971 N. U.S. Highway 287
- In Red Oak: 100 Sharaf Ave.
- In Watauga: 7604 Denton Highway
- In Waxahachie: 1440 N. Highway 77
Chick-fil-A's mac and cheese
Chick-fil-A restaurants are asking "do you want mac and cheese with that?" It's the company's first permanent new side item since 2016. (Other sides include waffle fries, salad, chicken noodle soup, yogurt parfait, fruit, potato chips or apple sauce.)
This new menu item is available in every Texas store — all 387 of them — now.
A statement from Chick-fil-A calls mac and cheese "the quintessential comfort food." It's also available in larger quantities via the catering menu.
Prices are $2.49 for a small, $3.25 for a medium.
