Greetings from Carrboro,

Potlucks are scary. Because, face it, a lot of people can’t cook. Ok, shouldn’t cook. Yet they somehow still feel guiltily tied to the mast of that sinking culinary ship and oh-so-kindly drag us along for the ride. Thank god there’s no equivalent assembly demanding everyone sport clothes that they made themselves. Lord knows, it would take weeks for my poor children to recover from donning anything stitched with my *dope* sewing skills.

But here we are. In our food-obsessed world there is seemingly no end in sight to the cultural guilt-trip that everyone, and I mean everyone, needs to be a good cook. Decent just doesn’t cut it. And if you’re not, well, consider therapy. Or an Instant Pot. Thank heavens that this insistent DIY guilt doesn’t extend much past the dinner table to bedroom furniture or, god forbid, dental surgery.

And the grand dame of DIY culinary guilt has got to be Thanksgiving. On that day, Butterball has a 24-hour turkey hotline to help talk lost souls off the precarious poultry ledge. Magazines entreat “Make Lifelike Marzipan Pilgrims! That Move! Easy!” And celebrities talk on TV about their personal Thanksgiving “secret” tip like growing their own cinnamon. Organically. In Thailand. Somebody pass me the Pumpkin Spice Ibuprofen.

Spoiler alert; it doesn’t have to be that way. Imagine: no shopping. No dishes. No surreptitious self-medicating while peeling potatoes. Just a perfect meal with the people you love. This is the moment in our little tableau where the sun breaks through the clouds, the choir of angels sing, and you say, “amen.”

For the past 20 years, Acme has served a Southern Thanksgiving dinner just for that reason. Hey, we love to cook; that’s our job. We love the slicing and baking and chopping and peeling. All of it. So, on Thursday, November 28th Acme is going to make your Thanksgiving dreams come true–even if you don’t like turkey or pecan pie. Think of us as your holiday heroes. Because, believe it or not, Thanksgiving can be about giving thanks.

Acme Thanksgiving. Thursday, November 28th – noon until 8pm. The three-course dinner is $45 per person. Menu is below. Reservations are required and are available on our website here. This is always one of the most festive days of the year at the restaurant. Join us; you’ll be happy that you did.

And today is Acme’s Half-y Hour. Every Thursday, our glorious Shooting Point Oysters on the half-shell are half the price for half the night. Consulting my abacus, that comes to a buck an oyster. And as we like to say, that ain’t half bad. Thursdays could definitely be a lot worse.

Well, that’s all the news from Carrboro. The staff at Acme look forward to serving you soon.

Cheers,
The Staff at Acme
Reservations: online or 919 929 2263

The Acme Thanksgiving Dinner Menu
[Click HERE for reservations]

1st

Curried mountain apple soup (GF)
pomegranate, crème fraîche, garam masala 

Acme field green salad (GF)
smoked blue cheese, pomegranate, black-eyed peas, sherry vinaigrette 

Main

Lowcountry fried Carolina turkey
mashed yukon gold potatoes, wild mushroom & country ham gravy, sage & rosemary dressing, bourbon mashed sweet potatoes, collard greens, slow-cooked green beans, cranberry-ginger compote 

Pan-seared wild salmon (GF)
green tomato relish, two-hour cheese grits, black beans 

Grilled tenderloin of beef (GF)
mashed yukon gold potatoes, grilled asparagus, green peppercorn gastrique

Farmer’s market vegetable risotto (GF) 
shiitake mushrooms, butternut squash, grilled onion, arugula, Hickory Grove cheese

Dessert

Classic pumpkin pie
fresh whipped cream 

Chocolate & bourbon pecan pie
fresh whipped cream

Autumn apple cobbler
brandy & orange sauce, fresh whipped cream 

Dark chocolate terrine (GF)
salted caramel sauce, fresh whipped cream