Culinary roots: Roberts was born in Indiana and moved to Atlanta at age 5. He admits that he still gets hankerings for his mother's decidedly Midwestern dishes, like her egg noodles and beef and her rhubarb pie.

But over the years, he honed his appreciation for barbecue, greens and other Southern classics — by participating in his annual church barbecue fund-raiser and mastering the art of the Lowcountry boil and oyster roast while attending college in Spartanburg, S.C. "Food was always great, but the time spent together creating these feasts was what it was really about," he says.

Louie Favorite/Staff (ENLARGE)

Dave Roberts and his mother, Jean, come together for a meal recently at Sam & Dave's BBQ1. Though he specializes in barbecue, mac and cheese remains his favorite.

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After studying pre-med and computer science, he chose the culinary route and landed jobs in white-tablecloth restaurants, including the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead and Brasserie Le Coze. None of these restaurants, however, "really had the personality that a good barbecue restaurant has."

And so in 2004, he joined forces with competitive barbecue champions Sam Huff and David Poe to open Sam & Dave's BBQ1 . A second branch opened in 2006.

Career highlights: Consistent top ratings from local dining critics, including the AJC's Meridith Ford; recently catered a barbecue lunch for the U.S. Senate in Washington.

Favorite childhood dish: His mom's macaroni and cheese — one dish that transcends any regional divide.

The story: "Our family always ate breakfast and dinner together at the dinner table. No television or other distractions, just family time and homemade food, reliving the day's events and things to come. My favorite was mac and cheese, with Dad's Saturday morning French toast being a close second.

"During my college years, leftover mac and cheese in the fridge was usually the first thing I would do after the initial greetings were taken care of and dirty laundry dumped off.

"Homemade food was something I really missed in school. A good meat-and-three could not replace Mom's food. Even the years of work in great restaurants with the best-quality ingredients couldn't take away the cravings for what goods I might find on a late-night raid of the fridge at my folks' house."

How he adapted it: "All we really did to adapt this to the restaurant was use heavy cream instead of milk and cut the straight cheddar approach with Monterey Jack. And use the fat noodles in place of the traditional macaroni."

He also uses it to make an addictively rich concoction he calls Redneck Lasagna: mac and cheese mixed up with barbecued pulled pork.

Why he doesn't stray much further from tradition: "Those times of sitting around the dinner table with a home-cooked meal are becoming few and far between. Maybe the food we make here and the atmosphere created by staff and customers alike will help bring people together at the dinner table, even if they have a Styrofoam container of barbecue and aluminum pans of mac and cheese."

— Susan Puckett

Dave Roberts' Mac and Cheese 4 to 6 servings

Hands on: 15 minutes

Total time: 1 hour

1 (16-ounce) box rigatoni noodles

8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese

8 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese

4 ounces grated fresh Parmesan cheese

2 cups heavy cream

Salt and freshly ground pepper (if desired), to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Season with salt ("till it tastes like sea water," Roberts says). Add the pasta and cook until just tender, about 12 minutes or according to package instructions. Drain well in a colander without rinsing.

Transfer the pasta to a large bowl. Add half the cheddar, Monterey Jack and Parmesan, reserving the remaining half of the cheeses for the top. Add heavy cream and stir to combine. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper. Transfer the noodle mixture to a medium gratin dish or casserole. Sprinkle remaining cheddar, Monterey Jack and Parmesan cheeses on top. Bake until bubbly and golden brown, 30 to 45 minutes.

Remove to a rack to cool slightly before serving.

Per serving (based on 4): 1,400 calories (percent of calories from fat, 58), 57 grams protein, 90 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 90 grams fat (56 grams saturated), 295 milligrams cholesterol, 1,270 milligrams sodium.