FRIDAY, MARCH 20: FOUR MAC AND CHEESE GAMES ON THE DOCKET >>>

Following on the successful heels of the Weekly Volcano's 2014 Tournament of Burgers, we present a new NCAA Basketball tournament-like event.  We're hosting daily games that pit one restaurant against another, leaving it to you, the reader, to decide the final outcomes all the way down to a final four and then a grand championship. (For newbie readers, Olympia's Westside Tavern edged out Tacoma's Maxwell's Restaurant in the final seconds of last year's Tournament of Burgers.) 

This year, we pit 64 South Sound restaurants offering the ultimate comfort food - macaroni and cheese.

Without further ado, let's take a gander at yesterday's results, and then preview today's matches. ...

Yesterday's Results

Game 1: STINK Cheese & Meat vs. Penny's on the Blvd.

STINK Cheese & Meat stuck to the winning formula: a mac and cheese roux of mild and sharp cheddar with a quarter stick of cream cheese, which helps bind it together. STINK's weekly rotating gourmet mac and cheese dishes are complex and textbook perfect, whether it's a truffle version or the fun cheeseburger mac and cheese. This foundation can grabs wins alone, but STINK dropped a bomb on Penny's on the Blvd. when the Tacoma Triangle District über deli announced their converting their neighboring wine bar into a Spanish Tapas restaurant. BAM! STINK dominated from start to finish, grabbing 82 percent of the votes, and a trip to the Second Round.

Game 2: Sorci's Italian Café vs. Doyle's Public House

Sorci's Italian Café is a quaint spot nestled in downtown Sumner, with beautiful outdoor seating on their back patio, and at night, its interior is the center of romance with dim lighting, candles and soft music in the background. Doyle's Public House has Jameson Irish whiskey ... oh, and delicious mac and cheese. The United Kingdom-style pub put the dispsy-doo double-a-roo on Sorci's, securing 85 percent of the votes from way at the end of the stovetop, BANG! Doyle's will face STINK in Second Round action March 27.

Game 3: The Hub vs. Viva Tacoma

A veteran of the Weekly Volcano's food tournaments, The Hub channeled its experience and put the hurt on vegetarian restaurant Viva Tacoma in Thursday's First Round action. Grabbing 71 percent of the votes, the Stadium District pizza and beer hub dominated the stove the entire game, only letting up slightly when Viva unleashed a whole bunch of texturized vegetable protein. The Hub moves into the Second Round.

Game 4: Boathouse 19 vs. Red Robin

Boathouse 19 grabbed Red Robin by the beak and kicked them out of the nest with a whopping 97 percent of the votes. Boathouse 9 moves to the Second Round, facing The Hub March 27.

Let's weed through the cheese. The following are advancing to the Second Round:

STINK Cheese & Meat

Doyle's Public House

The Hub

Boathouse 19

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 First 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.