Acme- More Than Meets the Sign

Acme, like the neighbohood in which it hangs its storied sign, has undergone a major makeover.  The outside remains virtually unchanged, giving no indication that this restaurant entered the cocoon as a divey cajun joint and emerged a sexy slick Skandinavian spot. The cover is blown upon entering, however, where a suited, ear-pieced bouncers stops you in the vestibule to weed out the hungry patrons heading inside for dinner and the thirsty crowds hoping to gain entrance to the “exclusive” underground lounge.  Just ignore him.  You can have an extremely fufilling evening without needing him to grant you entrance anywhere beyond the front door…Acme is on OpenTable bitches, lose the ‘tude…

Anyway, once inside the restaurant, the space is sexy;  a narrow area that opens up in the back where most of the tables are.  The bar is suitable to eat at, and the back lit bottles are pleasant to look at; there is also counter seating that works for eating as well.  If you are a deuce you run the risk of being sat in one of the front tables, but it is worth it to try to finagle spot in the back.  The servers are all good looking in a downtown way, but friendly also.  The menu at Acme is slightly challenging, and the deafening din doesn’t help concentration at all.  Our last visit found us with a waitress who spoke way too quickly and rhapsodized about some truly silly details (“first, we take an egg and remove all of the contents”….she could have just said the dish is served in an egg shell) when we asked for some direction. The menu is divided into seemingly vague categories (soil, land, sea) that give no indication as far as dish size or order; the land/sea options are the largest, and everything else if pretty good to share.   Also, if you don’t like eggs, you are shocking bereft of options- those fuckers show up in more dishes than not.  The menu changes quite frequently, but the Chicken and Eggs seems to be a standard hit; besides never having to wonder what came first, the dish is a deconstructed pot of chicken, potatoes and fried eggs, and they all mesh together once the yolk is broken and envelopes everything in a yellow gooey glaze.  One time we were treated to these huge, delicious oysters that are apparently quite rare, although I can not remember what they were called, but six of them ate like a meal. The mushroom and egg dish is an earthy salty spoon treat that is served in the aforementioned egg shells, and the sausauge stuffed peppers arrive arranged on a plate in a way that recalls sperm, but they are great little bites, almost like bar snacks.  The sweet corn ice cream dessert is not to be missed (Thanks Craig), with raspberries for color and popcorn for crunch, as well as some toasty meringue thrown in.

Downstairs is a pretty cool spot if you can get yourself admitted- very loungey and good for couples who want to bop a little; best bet is to go early, or try to sneak in from the restrooms of the restaurant…