Greetings from Carrboro,

Her linguistic adventures in American sayings were legendary by the time I met her. They were a sort of verbal rendition of the aurora borealis; people would gather in hopes she’d drop one of her gems. “I feel like I’m between a needle and a haystack” was a classic. I’m 90% sure that she was Turkish, but I could be wrong. She dated a friend of mine in college. Her laughter at those malaprop salads was charming, to say the least. Though what amazed me was that everyone always knew exactly what she meant. Wrong words and all.

I think that a lot of recipes are like that. There’s more about the deeper spirit of the dish that has to be captured and less about the measured specifics. Exactly 1 cup of celery. Cook for 7 on medium heat. Things like that. Though admittedly there are times when science demands its due and too much/too little of ingredient Y will certainly make for a tragic conclusion. But by and large, cooking isn’t about any “secret” that so many people ask me about at the restaurant. Rules can often do more to strangle a recipe than bring it to life.

But don’t get me wrong; I wish there were secret ingredients for cooking. Every single day. That would be amazing. But I have to admit that there are two not-so secret ingredients that do make everything much, much better. At least in my opinion. And that would be my fantastic daughters, Mary Louise and Addison. With Father’s Day this weekend, I can’t help but feel so incredibly grateful that they are in my life. Every day. Each in their own, unique way. And if you asked me to choose my favorite, I’d definitely be between a needle and a haystack.

This weekend @ Acme: Acme tomato plate. Grilled pork tenderloin with corn pudding. Blueberry cobbler. Watermelon margaritas. Prime NY strip steaks. Acme cornbread. Southern tomato pie. Pecan-crusted fried chicken. Shooting Point oysters. Succotash. Angel biscuits. Acme smash burgers. Watermelon salad. Forever roasted pig. Peel & eat Carolina shrimp. Brussels’ sprouts. Fried oyster po’boy sliders. Acme wedge salad. Blackened salmon. Ice cold martinis. Honey pie. Flash-fried flounder. And biscuits and bacon and gravy and eggs and cinnamon rolls for the best Father’s Day brunch around.

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

Cheers,
The Staff at Acme