April 23rd, 2026

Greetings from Carrboro,

People say the damnedest things. Mostly out of habit. I was stunned when no one on our staff had ever heard someone showing off labeled as a hot dog. Not a one. Of course that was just my history not lining up with theirs in so many ways but, boy, did that lead to some serious miscommunication. Let’s just say that their assumed translation was, um, very far from the mark.

Similarly, the servers at the restaurant have to wade into the myriad ways guests order food. Some people feel obligated to order the meal by reading the description in its entirety. Not “salmon” but “the blackened salmon with cheese grits, black beans, green tomato salsa verde, and cilantro.” As if there were seven different salmon dishes on the menu and serious clarity was required. Others mysteriously point, the vocalizing of dinner decisions is obviously taboo in their world. Some people just order whatever the hell they want even if it’s not on the menu. A server came into the kitchen bewildered after a woman confidently ordered snow crab legs, extra butter.

Then there’s the odd habitual way people speak during the act of ordering. There’s an entire camp of people who “might have the salmon” and an equal number who will “try the salmon.” Both have a certain Russian roulette feeling, ordering dinner taken as some kind of wild gamble with fate. Then there is probably my personal favorite when a guest proclaims that they plan to “do the salmon.” Not eat or have but do. It’s a rather aggressive stance to take at a dinner table against the poor salmon. Though what the first two lack in fortitude, it makes up for in spades.

But, really, as long as you get what you want, who cares? Because no matter how you ask for it, I promise that if you say soft shell crabs this weekend, you’ll end up with something delicious for dinner. We went through 72 orders last weekend in no time and I know that some people were disheartened when we ran out. So, we got more this week. For the uninitiated, soft shell crabs on the patio is about as good as it gets in the Acme-verse. And the weather couldn’t be better.

This Sunday will be the 10th annual Rosé Soirée at Atlas. Starting at 5pm, we’ll do our version of rosé all day with 8 different pink wines, sangria, and rosé cocktails. There will also be plenty of delicious snacks from the Acme kitchen. It’s always a blast. Tickets are $40 and there are only 8 tickets left. Spring is a good thing. A very good thing.

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

Cheers,

The Staff at Acme