It's Friday, which means I tempt you with another South Sound mac and cheese dish I believe is worthy of the Tournament of Mac and Cheese next spring. Of course, you, the reader, will ultimately decided the fate of the dish when nominations open in February 2015.

Wildly annoying name aside, Lit'l Smokiesaren't necessarily so bad on their own. What's not to like about a bite-sized pellet of sodium and grease from various protein sources after all? Where Smokies take the step from kitschy tooth-picked to awesome is when a cheese sauce starts to get involved.

Engine House No. 9 combines the two in its Tailgate Mac and Cheese, a creamy, workingman's take on the classic dish. The E-9 kitchen sautés cheddar and jack cheese with the Smokies and elbow macaroni, then tops the dish with green onions and crouton crumbles. It's a mild, cheesy concoction that fills for $9.99.

This mac and cheese dish is the new piglets in a cheese blanket.

Pair it with E-9's Rowdy Dick Amber and the game.

ENGINE HOUSE NO. 9, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday, 611 N. Pine St., Tacoma, 253.272.3435