Greetings from Carrboro,
A friend of mine was given a pair of Dutch wooden gardening clogs. You know the ones. With windmills. And then, in a fit, she made the rather fateful decision to actually wear the gifted clogs while working in her Orange County garden. Why not give ‘em a try? Tradition and all. Spring was in the air. Lord, what a mistake. The poor woman ended up with blisters on top of blisters on top of blisters. Oh, the tangled web of obligatory kindness. There’s a reason Nike doesn’t make shoes out of wood. Some things are better left to history.
So, to that end, do we blame Norman Rockwell? Is that where this whole thing started? This recasting of Thanksgiving as a diorama of familial angst? Please, don’t get me wrong; I love Thanksgiving. At the end of the day, it is a food holiday. And I do have a rather fond opinion of food. If you haven’t noticed. But the stress and obligatory shoe-horning of modern life into some ritualized and rather impossible antiquated expectation always seems unnecessary. And just a tad painful.
That’s why we started serving Thanksgiving at Acme 18 years ago. We wanted to do the impossible and mix family and holiday and food without the secret sauce of stress. Or shopping. Or dishes. It’s just delicious food and the people you love. And, to me, that’s what Thanksgiving is all about. OK, that and a really good nap.
Acme Thanksgiving. Thursday, November 23rd. Noon until 8:30pm. Three courses. Yes, with choices. Reservations can be requested by calling 919-929-2263 or by email to stephen@acmecarrbo.wpengine.com. $42 per person. It’s always one of the great days of the year at the restaurant. Deep-fried local turkey. Pumpkin pie. Mashed potatoes. Gravy (let’s all say that together: “grā – veeeeeee”). Slow-cooked green beans. Dressing. Bourbon sweet potatoes. You get the picture. And for those who prefer, we’ll serve filet of beef, salmon, or risotto in place of the traditional turkey dinner. Basically, no matter how you slice it, Thanksgiving at Acme is a feast.
This weekend at Acme: Pan-seared vermillion snapper. Grilled NY strip steaks. Acme tomato plate. Gumbo. Fig hand pies. Pecan-crusted fried chicken. Heirloom autumn squash soup. Shrimp chile relleno. Carolina Mules. Forever roasted pig. Acme pecan pie. Rocket salad. Blackened salmon. Curried delicata squash. Shooting Point Oysters on the half-shell. Old-school tomato pie. Acme deluxe burger. Crab Cakes. Bubbly. Dinner is just better here.
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
