Greetings from Carrboro,

We had to bring everything with us. Everything. Going to the beach was no culinary adventure for us. It was a week of hot dogs and frozen casseroles and spaghetti and cereal. Potato chips and popcorn and Kool-Aid were the rule. Because there wasn’t a grocery store on the island or air-conditioning in the house and you even had to walk up to the real estate office and stand in line to use the phone.

But beach week was glorious. And then some. Ghost stories and giant sand castles and looking for sand dollars after a thunderstorm. And then on Thursday night we’d leave Ocean Isle and drive south to eat dinner at Calabash. We’d walk on the docks as we waited for a table, the boats bumping against the pillars in unison with the ebb and flow of the surf. When we sat down in the restaurant, there’d be jars of both cocktail and tartar sauce  on the table and a basket of plastic-wrapped captain’s wafers. And I’m not sure it is possible to make sweeter iced tea.

Those weeks – and that dinner – always felt perfect. And for 12 years we’ve been doing our best to recreate that dinner in Carrboro. It’s an itch we can’t help but scratch. So while we can’t whisk all of you to the beach for a week, we can do our best to bring the beach to you. Acme’s 12th Annual Beach Week – August 7th – 10th. It’s a Calabash staycation and then some. Shrimp and flounder, scallops and tuna, crab and drum, hushpuppies and watermelon and corn-on-the-cob. There will be piña coladas and watermelon sangria, cold wine and colder beers. There will, of course, be plenty of other menu items for all the landlubbers. You really can’t go wrong. Though falling asleep in the back seat on the way home might not be the best idea.

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

Cheers,
The Staff at Acme