A gourmet twist on Mac-and-cheese By Jon Shecket Staff Writer (Originally published February 8, 2007, by the Wave) This is not your mother's macaroni and cheese. NorthEast Seafood's signature dish has a gourmet twist on a childhood favorite -- Lobster Mac-and-Cheese. "It's one of our biggest sellers," owner Matt Haley said. "People go nuts over it." Like everything else on the menu, the Lobster Mac-and-Cheese is made from ingredients found in the New England region. The cheese sauce is made from Vermont white cheddar and Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, which is a Northeastern-style microbrew. The sauce is finished with a roux of butter and flour, cream, whole grain mustard, celery seeds and celery leaves. Fresh lobster meat and al dente penne pasta complete the dish. Lobster Mac-and-Cheese has been on the menu since shortly after NorthEast's opening in 2005. It was created in their kitchen by chef Phil Mastrippolito and his staff. "It was about taking the simplicity of mac and cheese and turning it into something that fits here," he said. Mastrippolito said that the mustard and celery seeds give the dish its own special "kick." "It's not a spicy kick, but the whole grain mustard gives it a different accent so it's not just cheese and macaroni," he said. "It gives it a different dimension." Like each of Haley's restaurants, NorthEast follows a specific theme. As Haley is fond of saying, "If the fish doesn't swim in the Northeast or North Atlantic, you won't see it at the NorthEast Seafood Kitchen." Of course, there is a wide variety of seafood that hails from the Northeast. Haley did the research for the restaurant by traveling through New York and Boston and towns such as Ipswich and Gloucester, Mass. "We researched the old seafood shacks and some of the nicer restaurants that are up that way and we decided we wanted to do an upscale seafood shack," he said. NorthEast Seafood offers a variety of specials. Thursday is Lobster Night with lobster specials available for $19 and below. Half-priced bottles of wine are offered on Mondays, and, like all of Haley's restaurants, a three-course Sunday Supper is available every week for $19. The restaurant also has an early bird special, with all diners arriving before 6 p.m. receiving 10 percent off.