I’m surprised there isn’t one endorsed by Mario Batali. You know, with Italian design and German craftsmanship. Ergonomic and colorful and expensive. I know they’d sell. Three different guys in the kitchen bring their own to work every day. And pretty much everyone else is jealous. No, it’s not an immersion circulator; we only have one of those. Or anything involving liquid nitrogen. So what, you ask, is the latest must-have kitchen gadget? A fan. That blows air. One’s called a Vornado! Which definitely sounds like a colorful cocktail at Hooters.
It’s hot. And in the kitchen, well, it’s hotter. The fans are the restaurant equivalent of someone in a cubicle taping a vacation picture to their computer monitor – a memory of the good times. I’ve seen Dan with a Ziploc bag full of ice on his head, eyes closed, six inches from his fan. Jiro may dream of sushi, but linecooks dream of snow.
You’ve got to love what you do to put up with summer in the kitchen. Got to. That, or you have to be rather nuts. For our purposes, we are going with the whole passion-thing. Discussing sanity in a kitchen is never a great idea. Trust me. Discussing food, on the other hand, is. And discussing food AND wine is even better.
On Thursday, August 6th, Acme is hosting a wine dinner with the renowned Merry Edwards Winery. Famous for her Pinot Noirs, Merry Edwards has been at the forefront of great American wine since the 1970s. Joe Gambrell will join us to offer insight into their wines and their storied Russian River Valley heritage. And the lineup of wines is pretty ridiculous. Each of these wines is a benchmark for what American sauvignon blanc and pinot noir can be. And the food – well, it’s going to pretty good, too.
The Acme wine dinner with Merry Edwards. Thursday, August 6th at 6:30 in the evening. $75 per person. Reservations by phone are required (919 929 2263). We expect the dinner to sell out as space is very limited. Menu is below. It’s going to be a great night. Hot, for sure – but great. Is it too much to say fan-tastic?
Well, that’s all the news from Carrboro. The staff at Acme look forward to serving you soon.
Merry Edwards Wine Dinner
Thursday, August 6th
6:30 in the evening
1st
Cucumber gazpacho
goat cheese, tarragon, summer shrimp
2013 Sauvignon Blanc
2nd
Smoked salmon risotto
charred tomato, basil, field peas, Calvander cheese
2013 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
3rd
Grilled veal chop
creamed corn, fingerling potatoes, blackberries
2012 Meredith Estate Pinot Noir
4th
Cast-iron skillet duck breast
chanterelles, gruyere mashed potatoes
2013 Coopersmith Pinot Noir