My low-brow love affair with macaroni & cheese

Due to popular demand, I delve into my love of macaroni and cheese.Macaroni and cheese is my favorite food. I would (but don't) eat it every day, given the opportunity.  While other people are experimenting with risotto, whipped parsnips, leeks, roasted asparagus, etc.(yes, I acknowledge that those sides have their place and are tasty),  I pair macaroni as a side with nearly all entrees. Mac & cheese never lets me down.
Foods I have successfully (in my mind, at least) paired with macaroni:

• grilled salmon--one of my favorites
• meatloaf
• chicken: grilled, fried, or baked
• pork chops--excellent pairing
• steak--sirloin, filet mignon,
• tilapia, mahi-mahi...just about any fish
• Hamburgers
• Country fried steak
• hot dog
• bratwurst
• ham
• turkey
• An integral part of a vegetable plate

When would I not use macaroni? This list is short:

• probably not with another pasta dish...lasagna, spaghetti, etc. 
• UNLESS--you are at a pasta buffet...then all bets are off!
• breakfast. I don't think it would go with pancakes, for example
• I just had a brilliant idea involving adding sausage to macaroni and adding a bit less cheese. Hmm. See?  It's so versatile! It could be an alternative to hashbrown casserole!
•  mexican--tacos, enchiladas, etc. 

I would like to say that I prefer gourmet mac & cheese, involving rich bread crumb crusts and a mix of gruyere and swiss for the cheeses. Sadly, my favorite macaroni is Velveeta Shells and Cheese. Velveeta is a "Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product"!  It's not even real cheese! Growing up, my Grandma F. made my favorite food using heaping spoonfuls of Cheez Whiz. She also died of a massive heart attack, so maybe that isn't the route to go.  My Grandma T. has been a devotee of the classic Kraft Macaroni and cheese dinner in the blue box. This formula has been pretty much unchanged since 1937. The powdered cheese packet was good enough for the depression, but it's way down on my priority list. If you add some butter, then we can talk.

Even though it's my favorite food, I have never found a good recipe for homemade style that doesn't taste too froofy. I have a few co-workers that have amazing recipes: simple, creamy, & classic, but they have not shared their recipes with me.  Hmm.

I decided to see if Wikipedia could help me. They did not have THE recipe, but they did have a link to the earliest known recipe from the 14th century:
http://www.godecookery.com/goderec/grec6.htm

Please share with me if you have a good recipe!

Since I don't prepare authentic macaroni and cheese myself, I often order it from restaurants. In my opinion, the best is from Logan's Roadhouse, followed by Cracker Barrel. In Lexington, Malone's has a great shells and cheese side. I love most of the food at Ramsey' (local to Lexington), but not the macaroni; I find it has a bit of a bitter aftertaste.

Does anybody out there have a great homemade mac and cheese recipe for me?  Another restaurant recommendation? Also, does anybody out there NOT like macaroni?