September's Mac of the Month: The Chicken Pot Pie Mac

There are mac and cheese people, and there are chicken pot pie people. We got tired of making everyone pick a side.

Two Comfort Foods, One Bowl

September's Mac of the Month at Bull Moose Bar & Grille is the Chicken Pot Pie Mac, and it is exactly what the name promises. We start with an Alfredo base instead of a standard cheddar sauce, which gives it the creamy, gravy-like richness you want out of a pot pie filling. Then it gets seasoned with sage and thyme, the two herbs that make anything taste like a pot pie the moment they hit the pan.

From there we fold in a vegetable medley of corn, carrots, peas, onions and garlic, add chicken, and bake the whole thing under a golden breadcrumb crust. That crust is doing the work of the pastry top. You break through it and everything underneath is still steaming.

It is $17.99, and it is on the menu all September long.

Why the Mac of the Month Works

Every month we build a new mac and cheese from scratch and put it on the menu for exactly thirty days. Some of them come back. Most of them do not. August belonged to the Rajun Cajun, with its Cajun shrimp and smoked sausage, and before that we ran the Backyard BBQ Mac through the summer.

The rotation is the point. If you have a favorite, you have about four weeks to get it, and then it is gone until we decide otherwise. The Chicken Pot Pie Mac runs September 1 through September 30.

What Else Is New for Fall

The Mac of the Month is not landing alone this year. Our full fall menu is rolling out the first week of September:

• Maple Bacon BBQ Wings — homemade barbecue sauce with notes of soy and maple, finished with bacon bits. Sweet, smoky and savory all at once.

• Italian Philly Cheese Steak — the returning Philly, built on tender sliced Italian beef and topped with sauteed onions, bell peppers and mushrooms on a French roll with garlic aioli and queso. $17.99.

• Caramel Apple Fried Cheesecake — fried cheesecake tossed in cinnamon sugar, topped with spiced baked apples and a caramel drizzle, served warm with ice cream. $13.99.

And our fall drink lineup arrives right behind it, led by the Cookie Jar Colada as September's Drink of the Month.

Weekly Drink Specials

Whichever day you come in, there is something running:

• Monday — $1 off all drafts, $5 Well Mules, and the $9.99 burger all day instead of just the lunch window

• Tuesday — $1 off all tequila drinks, $1 off Corona, Corona Light and Modelo, plus double CLUB points all day

• Wednesday — $1 off wine and whiskey, $3.50 mixed wells

• Thursday — $2.50 Miller Lite and Coors Light bottles, $1 off rums, gins and bourbons

• Friday — $4 premium drafts, $1 off signature drinks, $4 bombs

• Saturday — $1 off all vodkas, $4.50 seltzers, $15 domestic buckets

• Sunday — $2 domestic drafts (16oz), $3.50 Bloody Marys, Recovery Hour 12 to 2 PM

Happy Hour runs Monday through Friday, 4 to 6 PM, with $1 off all drinks.

Join The CLUB

Every dollar you spend earns a point. 150 points gets you $5 off, 500 points gets you $20 off. You earn double points every Tuesday and during weekday lunch from 11 AM to 2 PM. Points are earned in house or on direct orders at bullmoosebar.com.

Find Us

Bull Moose Bar & Grille is at 202 S. Main St., Sandwich, IL 60548, serving lunch and dinner daily in the heart of DeKalb County. We are a short drive from Plano, Somonauk, Yorkville and Newark, and yes, you can eat in our restored 1893 Pullman Palace dining car.

Come get the Chicken Pot Pie Mac before September runs out.