Greetings from Carrboro,

The pilgrims would assuredly cringe. And then probably do something Puritan-esque, like throw holy water on me and run willy-nilly out of the Acme kitchen and hide behind the bar. Oh, it wouldn’t be the turkey or the green beans or the sweet potato part of this modern-day Thanksgiving tableau that would evoke such a soul-wrenching fit of 17th century heebie-jeebies. No. No. They’d love the food. It would be the 4am kitchen soundtrack. And, well, the volume.

Let’s just say that I like to put the “rock” in Plymouth Rock. It’s my Thanksgiving ritual – 19 years and running. Every tawdry 80’s anthem you can imagine mixed with oh-so many cups of hot coffee and an illicit amount of bourbon pecan pie. It’s a heady combination. Foreigner for gravy. Madonna for mashed potatoes. Prince for cornbread stuffing. And all, needless to say, LOUD. You can’t get more American than that.

Lucky for you, I only sing for the first three hours or so. The other people arriving to work in the kitchen see to that. But the cooking definitely doesn’t stop. Thanksgiving is a holiday about food and friends and family. And, honestly, that’s what Acme is all about, too. So we’ve done this for 19 years. And from the first incarnation to the last, Thanksgiving has always been one of the very best services at the restaurant for our guests and our staff. We serve all day – 12pm to 8pm. The meal is more-or-less reservation only. And, year after year, by mid-November it’s more-or-less sold out.

Acme Thanksgiving. $44 per person for the three course meal. Of course, we serve our version of the traditional Thanksgiving feast. Yum. But we also offer entree selections for those not so turkey-inclined. Menu is below. As it’s such an important day, reservations for Thanksgiving can only be made by calling the restaurant – 919 929 2263. A credit card number will be required to hold the reservation.

And this year, we are offering a new wrinkle – the opportunity to get our delicious Thanksgiving feast family-style through Acme To-Go. Hello, holiday hero. Whether it’s two people or twelve, we’ve got your Thanksgiving covered. Just sides? Got it. Whole bunch of turkey? Sure. It’s fast, easy, and delicious. We are however limited in the number of meals we can serve, so when it’s sold out, well, it’s sold out. Read: don’t wait too long to put on that mask and cape. And if you need a soundtrack, intrepid holiday hero, call me; I’ve got some ideas. (Starting November 5th, place your Acme To-Go Thanksgiving meal pre-order online at acmecarrbo.wpengine.com.)

And speaking of giving thanks – we are beyond grateful that we got some beautiful, fresh soft shell crabs today. Oh boy. The culinary version of an October surprise. If you miss them this weekend, it’ll be well into 2019 before you’ll get the chance to have soft shell crabs again. Enough said.

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

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

Acme Southern Thanksgiving

First

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

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

Main

Lowcountry fried Carolina turkey
mashed yukon gold potatoes, wild mushroom 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 demi-glace

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

After

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, salted caramel sauce, fresh whipped cream (GF)