My father drove Fords. Always. Though I’m pretty sure that he would have been happy to drive most anything. But the fact was that he couldn’t walk and needed a wheelchair. And the larger Ford two-door sedans allowed him just enough room to pull his folded chair into the car by himself once he’d slid into the driver’s seat.

So you can imagine my surprise when a boy in fifth grade wanted to fight me solely because my dad drove a burgundy LTD. I missed the bus one day and he’d seen my father drop me off. Standing on the playground, I wasn’t sure if divulging that my mother drove a Buick might improve the situation. Or make it worse. Dumbfounded, I endured the spittle infused insults until the kid walked away with his equally offended cohorts.

My personal corner of the south didn’t fix cars on the weekend – we fixed dinner. Whereas I was completely clueless to the apparent tribal NASCAR allegiance my father was swearing to with the make of his car, by and large any cultural reference to food made perfect sense to me. So at 15, when an uptight woman sitting behind me at the Knife & Fork in Charlotte complained that her food wasn’t fully separated on her plate, I definitely winced. There was a lengthy pause. Then the waitress finally said, “Honey, you better get used to it. Around here your food’s gonna touch.”

You see, that I get. At church suppers, if you didn’t have room on your plate for something, you just stacked it on top of something else. Problem solved. And I’m fairly confident that’s a good part of why the “meat & three” has remained a sure-fire staple in restaurants and diners across the south – because, well, we like our food to touch. I’m struggling to think of something at Thanksgiving that I don’t want gravy on. You with me?

This weekend, to honor that storied tradition we will begin offering our very Acme-fied version of the classic Meat & Three. Choose either our Firsthand Foods pork chop or our New York strip steak and then choose the three sides from our menu that you want with it. Simple. And then it’ll be on us to make it fit on one plate. Not so simple. Or you can choose ‘chef’s choice’ and let Justin do his magic. But let me assure you, either way, your food is gonna be delicious. And, well, it’s most definitely gonna touch.

For those of you playing at home, tonight is Acme’s Almost Friday 15. Where – you guessed it – every entrée, every Thursday, is $15. Think of it as our private little shortcut to the weekend. Trust me; taking the long way isn’t nearly as much fun.

This weekend @ Acme: Southern tomato pie. Forever roasted pig. Acme cornbread. Butterscotch pudding. Crab cakes. Wedge salad. Cold beer. Fish & chips. Acme Brussels’ sprouts. Peach cobbler with blackberry ice cream. Smoked tomato risotto. Roasted beets & plumped apricots. Martha’s chile relleno, Acme deluxe smash burger. Shooting Point oysters. Blackened salmon. Mississippi-style tamales. Pecan-crusted fried chicken. Cocktails galore. Justin’s Lunch at Grandma’s bento box. Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.

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

Cheers,
The Staff at Acme