SUNDAY, MARCH 29: FOUR MAC AND CHEESE GAMES ON THE DOCKET >>>

Laid-back is the essence of Sunday. That means a lazy mid-afternoon mac and cheese, no work, phone off the hook, flip-flops ... you know the routine. The mere thought of lifting a finger to wash the mountain of dishes in the sink should make you shudder. Yesterday, a good chunk of the South Sound changed its Saturday routine. Voting in the Tournament of Mac and Cheese was added to the mix. Yesterday's vote total nearly doubled the previous record high for most votes in a day. Don't you people have lives?!

Yesterday's Results

Game 1: Harmon Brewery & Eatery (1938 Pacific Ave., Tacoma) vs. Over The Moon Café (709 Opera Alley, Tacoma)

Sixty-five votes. That's the margin of victory Over The Moon Café had over the Harmon Brewery & Eatery. Was it Over the Moon Café owner Deanna Harris Bender's love of "elevated old school" cooking that advanced the Opera Alley restaurant into the next round? Maybe it was the funky knick-knacks in the building's bathrooms. Most likely it was the seasonal mac and cheese with penne pasta, rich cream sauce and Gruyere cheese. Whatever it was Over The Moon Café will need it March 31 when it faces neighboring STINK Cheese & Meat in the Cheesy 16 round. Families will be torn apart that day.

Game 2: The Forum Tacoma (815 Pacific Ave., Tacoma) vs. BITE at Hotel Murano (1320 Broadway, Tacoma)

BITE restaurant took a big bite out of The Forum's Tournament of Mac and Cheese dreams. The modern restaurant inside the Hotel Murano grabbed 66 percent of the vote over The Forum. Could the orecchiette pasta and truffles in BITE's mac and cheese have anything to do with the win? Or did the Murano's Bellhops whisper suggestions as they opened the front door? BITE moves into the Cheesy 16 and a March 31 date with Bar Bistro.

Game 3: Marrow Kitchen + Bar (2717 Sixth Ave., Tacoma) vs. Southern Kitchen (1716 Sixth Ave., Tacoma)

Tacoma's Sixth Avenue is a long-ass street. And it's loaded with mac and cheese dishes in this competition. Two of them - Marrow Kitchen + Bar and Southern Kitchen - faced off yesterday in a brutal battle that went down to the wire. After the cheese stopped bubbling, Marrow emerged victorious with 51.39 percent of the vote. Yup, I'm talking a two-vote difference. Marrow moves into the Cheesy 16 and a March 31 date with The Valley.

Game 4: Westside Tavern (1815 Harrison Ave. NW, Olympia) vs. El Gaucho (2119 Pacific Ave., Tacoma)

Despite a late push from fancy El Gaucho, Westside Tavern and their large, devoted strongly motorcycle-riding following proved too powerful in yesterday's action, catapulting into the Cheesy 16 with 63 percent of the votes. You can't question the Westside Tavern's following, and sometimes a following is just what it takes in the Tournament of Mac and Cheese.  

Let's weed through the cheese. The following are advancing to the Cheesy 16:

Over The Moon Cafe

BITE

Marrow Kitchen + Bar

Westside Tavern

The daily mac and cheese battles here on Served in the South Sound are sponsored by BITE Restaurant & Bar inside the Hotel Murano.

OK, let's check out today's Second Round mac and cheese battles. Vote for one mac and cheese dish per battle. Voting for today's mac and cheese battles ends at 11:45 p.m.