Macado's Restaurant and Bar - Boone, North Carolina

A Little Bit of Everything, but Not Much More

Macado's is a small chain of restaurants based mainly in the southeastern United States. With locations in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, this little chain is perhaps most recognizable for its gargantuan menu, which at last count contained a dozen appetizers and more than 40 varieties of sandwiches. In addition to sandwiches, Macado's also serves soups, salads, spuds, quesadillas, pitas, wraps, chicken, lasagna, alfredo and much much more. Unfortunately, what Macado's has in quantity doesn't necessary translate into quality.

A Whole Lot of Variety, Not a Whole Lot of Consistency

While Macado's has a large selection of items to choose from, a few visits and you will quickly realize that not every dish is a winner. Though Macado's offers over 40 sandwiches, a great number of them are forgettable and lack anything resembling a distinct flavor. There are exceptions to this; the Crazy Chris wrap, for example, uses a distinct buffalo sauce to create some interesting flavors, but even this sandwich is not exemplary. While there is nothing outwardly undesirable about most of Macado's sandwiches, there is also nothing to distinguish them from any competing sandwich. The large menu may cover many tastes but it does nothing to improve the actual taste of their items.

Likewise, many of Macado's alternative options are no more impressive than their sandwiches. The appetizers tend to be slightly more expensive than the competition for slightly less product and often arrive at the table feeling "warmed over," as if the dish were simply reheated to a moderate temperature. The soups suffer this same fate; while not wholly undesirable, it is apparent that little to no in-house effort goes into their creation, and they simply feel thrown into a bowl and reheated. As it stands, most all of the items available could be summed up with this sentiment; it appears that Macado's great variety has led them to an over-reliance on pre-cooked and pre-made items, and it shows.