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June 30, 2016
Greetings from Carrboro,
Game of Thrones would be so much more, well, cheerful if “summer is coming” was the ever-present backdrop. Just think: the Starks would be busy scrubbing up their beach floaties and taking the Weber grill out of the catacombs. The Lannisters, certainly, would be planning some exotic trip abroad and ironing their linen shirts. Daenerys would work on her tan and finally – finally – get into that untouched stack of Dothraki beach reads. And the wall? People would flock simply for the panoramic view and that fresh, clean summer air. Ahhh.
Not to mention, of course, that everyone would get along. Splendidly. Because, of course, tomatoes would be in season. German Johnson. Cherokee Purple. Lemon Boy. Pink Girl. A veritable panoply of summer bliss. It must be said that our favorite red summer icon almost by itself can be a vaccine against sorrow. Because, face it; good bread, Duke’s mayo, and sliced, ripe tomatoes would make even a sour-faced eunuch smile. But, alas, that doesn’t make great drama. Beheadings and swordplay and dragons seem to be doing really, really well. And somehow picnics and porches and pink wine don’t reverberate in quite the same way.
So I guess that leaves all that up to us. And guess what? We are more than happy to oblige. The 15th Annual Acme Tomato Festival is coming. Proudly. July 7th through July 10th. It’s Acme’s annual deep-fried, wide-eyed, rarified, belly-flop into summer. Think of it an equal celebration of the hard working souls who do daily battle with heat and humidity and heaven-knows what-all and the luscious fruits of their labor that give the festival its name. In the four days we’ll go through some 700 pounds of tomatoes. A lot. An awful lot. We’ll slice and dice, simmer and sauté, fry and oven-dry like there’s no tomorrow. If tomatoes are not your thing, I’d definitely try eating somewhere else next weekend.
Acme is kicking things off on Thursday, July 7th, with a wine dinner with local tomato legend Craig LeHoullier. Famed for discovering and naming the Cherokee Purple tomato, Craig has written several books on tomatoes and avidly pursues unique cultivars at his home in Raleigh. This year, he supplied (through Acme) some of those unique plants to two of our favorite tomato growers – Alex Hitt of Peregrine Farm and Elise Margoles Bortz of Elysian Fields Farm. Excitingly, we will be using these tomatoes at the dinner. Cool, right? And on top of that, it’s going to be a downright delicious meal. What’s not to love? Price for the dinner is $65. Reservations are required by phone (919 929 2263). We will get started at 6:30 and the menu is below. We expect the dinner to sell out, as space is limited.
The Tomato Festival is always one of our favorite times of the year at the restaurant. It reminds us why it’s so great to live right here. Right now. We can cook our hearts out to let everyone know how truly great local can be. And, anyway. Dragons, shmagons. I doubt that anyone from the seven kingdoms has ever seen a Green Zebra. Much less eaten one. And we have them on our menu. In Carrboro. So, take that, King’s Landing. And let me assure you – where I’m from, that clearly means summer is 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 online or 919 929 2263
Tomato Festival Wine Dinner
with Craig LeHoullier
Oven-dried yellow Roma tomatoes
housemade ricotta, olive oil
Gruet Blanc de Blanc Brut New Mexico
Blue crab stuffed beefsteak tomato,
tarragon beurre blanc
Domaine Sigalas 2015 Assytriko Santorini, Greece
Pan-seared mahi-mahi
heirloom tomatoes, CHC fresh mozzarella, charred onions, grilled bread, basil pesto
Stoller 2015 Pinot Noir Rosé Dundee Hills, Oregon
Pork tenderloin
corn pudding, tomato & bacon jam
Castello di Ama 2011 Chianti Classico Tuscany, Italy
Sungold tomato cobbler
buttermilk ice cream, cider reduction
Marques de Poley Pedro Ximenez Amontillado Sherry Spain
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