ARE YOU FRIGGING KIDDING ME?????

“You have to be joking!!!” is what I said to my friend when he said that he had learned that the popular Acme Bar and Grill over at 9 Great Jones Street had closed it’s doors after twenty five years in the location. I cannot tell you how upset that this news makes me. Oh wait, yes I can and I will as that is what the blog is for. With that being the case, the closure of Acme Bar & Grill really bummed me out because it was a place that I had been enjoying for about six years.

I realize that I had not been coming here as long as some other folks but I sure made good for it over those number of years that I had.  I first ventured into its doors when the band Blackfield was playing at the Bowery Ballroom.  I was hitting that show with Skeleton Pete and he suggested it as a dining choice.  Having enjoyed the Cajun style of food I was totally down for this.  I actually remember what I ordered that day for some odd reason and it was a chicken fried steak, with their mashed potatoes and some black eyed peas.  This would become one of my favorite dishes at the establishment and a fail safe order for me in the event of indecision.

There was so much good about this place and after that night it became one of my continual picks as a spot to hold media discussions with press friends, enjoy the company of lovely dining companions or just chill out with buddies who were just wanting a good dinner and drink night out.  The food never disappointed us nor did their wall of hot sauce.  I wish I had photos of that in my archives but I never shot images of them because quite honestly I never thought I would be lamenting the restaurant’s having gone away.   The place would start its diners off with an order of freshly made corn bread and while that is not the most calorie conscious kind of thing, it tasted so good that few would argue.

 

 

I also enjoyed their house brew which was a red ale of some kind.  It was not too heavy and had a nice bite to it.  Sometimes they would do $2 pints of the beers and that always managed to make for a fun night.  I found the waitstaff for the most part to be friendly and on a number of occasions I met some interesting people in entertainment.  Some were dancers while others musicians or actors and actresses.  A typical New York situation.   The other aspect of the restaurant was that it was also the home to the once called Under Acme Rock club which eventually became Ace Of Clubs.  In my adventures as a music journalist I had covered a few shows at the space and also just went to rock out when the time was open for me to do so.

 

There was a rumor that Acme was going to reopen after being worked on but that doesn’t seem very likely since I read postings on popular regional blogs that said the whole staff had been terminated and that what all knew and loved as Acme was gone for the foreseeable good.  I will miss the place for sure since it was such a good memory for me and those who enjoyed being here with me.  The upside of being in NYC is that you can always find a new place and they can eventually become a favorite.  That sure doesn’t take away the sadness at this restaurants closure.  Thanks Acme, I will miss you very much.