Anything but generic at Acme

Ever since El Bulli closed and Noma took its position as the number 1 restaurant in the world, New Yorkers have been clamoring for a seat at one of the New Nordic Noma-like establishments that have recently opened in NY. And I was no exception. So when we finally got ourselves a 6:45 table at the forager hotspot, Acme, I jumped. After all, when one of the founding members of a discipline opens an outpost in your neighborhood, you get on line.

Walking up to Acme, which inhabits the former southern restaurant of the same name and facade, I realized that I didn't quite know what to expect.  As a young foodie I repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to get a coveted seat at El Bulli for years but Noma has remained a bit of an enigma to me.  And while I did try to reach out to a friend from my semester abroad who currently is a line cook at Noma, my interests remained at arms length from the Copenhagen establishment.  New Nordic or forager cuisine is in contrast to the Modern gastronomy of El Bulli, WD~50 and others because it is a return to basics.  Instead of using newfangled scientific breakthroughs to turn an ingredient into a dry-iced, liquified. reconstituted, aerated version of its former self New Nordic cuisine is a return to simple, local and often raw foods.

And even with this knowledge I still wasn't sure what Chef Mads Refslund's creations would be.  But I soon learned that this obsession with local, seasonal ingredients foraged from the landscape around us would make for elegantly simple preparations of amazingly fresh food.  By returning to traditional techniques like drying, smoking, pickling and curing and applying them to ingredients so fresh that eating them raw is a pleasure in and of itself, Chef Refslund is reminding us that there is beauty in what's found around us.

We began the evening with Sweet Shrimp and raw Bison atop butter lettuce and salty green almonds.  The dish was salty but not overwhelmingly so, and the raw shrimp and bison coupled with the fresh crisp lettuce was delightfully light and fresh. The Farmer's Egg came as a frothy mix of cauliflower and aged Parmesan; each heavenly spoonful was airy and hearty at the same time.  The slices of decadently delicious Country Toast covered in sweet caramelized onions, brie and honey were here one minute and gone the next.

With such delicious food, arranged under the simply alluring categories such as Raw, Cooked, Soil and Sea/Land, I can see why diners are desperate to get a seat (and return for seconds).  We ended the meal with the lace like chocolate crisps which protruded from ganache all accompanied by coffee ice cream.  And like the rest of the meal, I had no idea what to expect from dessert but it delivered a perfect ending to a meal that was anything but ordinary.

Acme
9 Great Jones Street
NYC