Bites at the Temple for Performing Arts, featuring Centro and South Union Bread Café.

Oh, glorious sin. What luxury the Four Cheese Mac at Centro is! The sweet funk of gorgonzola, combined with the sharp edges of white cheddar, asiago, and parmesan excites the taste buds, whetting my appetite for more forkfuls. Delicate, seasoned bread crumbs add a light crisp that contrasts well against the velvety cheese sauce and the chew of al dente penne pasta. No dessert could further enhance my oral pleasure. For an afterglow cigarette I sipped on a bracing espresso.

The Four Cheese Mac isn’t on Centro’s regular menu, but appears occasionally as a daily special.

Next door at South Union Bread Café I’ve been enjoying their monthly sandwich specials, as suggested by patrons, and even got my own idea offered as a monthly special.

The Hunk of Burning Love – the sandwich special this past February – offered pepper jack cheese, banana and roasted bell pepper, jalapeño, red onion, and a creamy chipotle sauce on South Union’s famous focaccia. Crisp, fresh jalapeño slices made the sandwich!

After enjoying a delicate expression of a Muffuletta at The Cheese Shop of Des Moines [see blog post], I had suggested the sandwich as a monthly special on South Union’s Facebook page. And darn if they didn’t pick it up for March!

South Union’s more robust take on the classic New Orleans sandwich did not fail to impress, built with ham, pepperoni, salami, mortadella, an olive tapenade, and Provolone on focaccia. It was a epic sandwich!