During our last trip to Bath, we stopped in at Same-Same but Different, a little bistro on Bartlett Street. It had a distinctly Parisian feel to it, but with an English twist–sidewalk tables and chairs, but wicker and steel, not wrought iron; creaky floors of dark wood, but well-lit from lamps and windows; a laid-back, unhurried tempo, but with attentive service.
It also had an eclectic menu, which intrigued us both. I had a Caesar salad with duck and a poached quail’s egg, while my wife had an old standard: macaroni and cheese.
Mac-n-cheese is a comfort food for many. Personally, I never warmed to it, but after tasting the version we had at SSBD, I knew I had lived a deprived life. I talked to the chef at SSBD, and he graciously gave me the basics of his dish, which I fleshed out and kitchen-tested myself. Mac-and-cheese is no longer on the menu at SSBD, so I feel comfortable posting my interpretation of his recipe.
I’ve kept chef’s original “single serving” proportions, which make it easy to multiply for as many mouths as you wish to feed.
Unraveling Time
Desert Wind
Ploughman's Son
Ploughman King
The Year the Cloud Fell
The Spirit of Thunder
Shadow of the Storm
The Cry of the Wind
Beneath a Wounded Sky
Cryptogenesis: A Memoir
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 