The offal schnitzel was a letdown, too. The small pieces of meat were oily, lost some breading and seemed out of place in an otherwise beautiful plate boasting capers, arugula and a fried egg with a perfectly runny yolk. Had the kitchen "schnitzeled" a tender, pounded piece of pork, this might be one of Acme's best plates, but while the restaurant should be praised for embracing nose-to-tail cookery, there are other ways to get customers to eat organs than breading and bubbling oil.
Ditto on the croquettes used to hide sweetbreads and tongue in a suspension of runny bechamel. If a restaurant is to educate its diners on the enjoyment of offal it has to make the organ meat the center of the stage. It has to let the guts shine.
Lori Bandi
Pork loin chop with cream peas, ham and morels.
Details
Acme F&B
4900 McKinney Ave., 214-443-0003, acmefandb.com. 5-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 5-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday. $$$
Charcuterie plate $15
Croquettes $13
Chicken and dumplings $33
Salmon $26
Lamb $30
Pork chop $30
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Want proof? Try the charcuterie plate. The headcheese is a loose pâté made from the cooked face of a pig. The meat is coarsely chopped, lightly seasoned and subtly supported by a fig compote — it's delicious. There's a chicken liver mousse that shares the plate too. Only earthy liver dominates the palate as the smooth texture melts away, yet it's so rich and flavorful it draws an audible sigh at first bite.
Restaurants like Lucia and Campo have proven there are adventurous diners in Dallas, ready to expand their palates and explore a style of cooking that has been mostly dormant here for decades, if not forever. They've eaten pudding thickened with pig's blood and the raw hearts of cows and licked their plates clean, but they've been stuck in bohemian Oak Cliff. Acme F&B has a chance to teach a new set of diners that eating meat isn't all about rib-eyes and fillets — there are blood and bone marrow and guts, too. A whole-animal allocation program shouldn't be about disguising organ meats, but celebrating them for what they are: interesting, flavorful cuts some might otherwise never get to know.
