Greetings from Carrboro,

I was probably 11 when I got my first real taste of New Orleans. Not in any literal sense of taste. My college age brother returned from the Crescent City with two things: 1) a giant hurricane glass from Pat O’Brien’s and 2) a pair of glow-in-the-dark underwear that became especially scandalous under a black light. The one sat on his dresser like a football trophy. And the second, well, didn’t. These were the first two ingredients thrown into the cauldron of my fantasy Big Easy.

The third piece was a wildly edited story of my parents on Bourbon Street that ended with my father getting peed on by a St. Bernard from a second story balcony. My take away was either not to go to New Orleans in a wheelchair or to take an umbrella. And the last ingredient was my grandparents’ trip to New Orleans with its two very disparate parts. Pictures of my grandmother on a dock with the fish she caught. And very formal pictures of my grandfather with his bolo tie standing stiff-backed in front of the Superdome.

But it wasn’t until I ate the food that I really understood the mystique. And I mean understood. Gumbo and étouffée. Beignets and bread pudding. Redfish and red beans and rice. And every year, Acme celebrates this glorious food with a New Orleans inspired menu throughout Mardi Gras. Starting Monday, the 9th, and running through Fat Tuesday itself, we are going to follow the Big Easy credo and “laissez les bons temps rouler.”

Fried oysters with celery root slaw. Crawfish hand pie. Frog legs. Andouille and crab gumbo. Fried chicken with tasso ham gravy. Boudin balls. Creole mac and cheese. Eggplant pirogue. Red beans and rice. Steak Oscar. Local pork chop with bourbon & mustard sauce. Beignets. Hurricanes. Maque choux. Oysters on the half-shell. Sazeracs. King cake. Housemade sausage platter. Jambalaya. Bread pudding. Milk punch.  And beads. Plenty of beads. Glow-in-the-dark underwear is optional. Pure pleasure is not.

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

Cheers,
The Staff at Acme