ACME

Best known for its pig's head macaroni, ACME serves comfort food, amped up ten times. A meal at ACME is not fine dining, but it's certainly no casual eatery either - the dishes are designed to be shared, the serving size is very small; so between two people the recommended order is 3 starter-sized plates and 3 pastas.

The last time we visited ACME, we went for a very light meal; so this time, we went all out for their 7-course "crush me" menu, plus a dessert. The "crush me" menu involves 4 starter plates and 3 pastas of the chef's choosing - though in reality the good people at ACME are happy to "workshop the menu" with you, so you end up being able to have ample control of what you eat.

But first, a drink.

Vermouth Rose, strawberries and mint, $14

Instead of doing the usual gin and tonic, Acme does two vermouth and tonics at $14 a pop. You have a chose between a rose vermouth and a dry vermouth. The result is a refreshing drink that's like a gin and tonic, but a little more fun. More places should offer vermouth and tonic.

Baloney sandwich, $6 each

Ah, the famous baloney sandwiches. Served toasty warm, the milk buns are so tiny and soft, you could almost eat into them with one bite. I have never been a fan of baloney, yet this sandwich made me like them.

Grilled radicchio, ranch, chives, $16

When this dish was first presented, I thought - what? It looked unappetising - pretty much half a blackened lettuce drenched in ranch sauce. I was, however, surprised by the taste. Placing the radicchio on the menu is pretty brave, because it is a very bitter vegetable. The creaminess of the ranch sauce, however, takes that sharp edge away from the radicchio and it really worked!

Toast, whipped ricotta, squash, pomelo, $18

Another seemingly bizarre item on a dinner menu, this sourdough toast is topped with things I would never have thought of putting together (just as I would never have thought of serving toast at dinner). The slightly sweet, nutty flavour of the squash is beautifully balanced with the sweet tartness of the pomelo and honeyed ricotta, making this one delicious toast, albeit a little awkward to share.

Capaccio, $24

This was a magical, magical dish. The thin slices of raw, melt-in-your-mouth wagyu beef  has the texture of very fine sashimi: fatty yet gentle; without any gamey taste at all. You kind of forget you're eating raw meat as you dig in, it's that beautiful. This was probably my favourite dish of the evening.

Maltagliati, brussel spout pesto, pistachio, $22

ACME is known for its unusual pasta choices, and I love it! The maltagliati are roughly cut sheets of pasta which are cooked to al tente perfection - there is still a bite to the texture yet no rawness at all - and the paring of this rustic-feeling pasta with the clean, soft flavours of brussel sprouts and pistachio is inspired.

Spaghetti, spanner crab, garlic butter, $26

Probably the most "normal" item on the menu (along with roasted peanuts, which we didn't order, I suppose), the genius of this dish lies in its simplicity: without much dressing, the natural sweetness of the spanner crab is allowed to shine through.

Macaroni, pigs head, egg yolk, $24

The dish ACME is best known for - another brave choice, as modern western food seems to have an aversion to unusual animal parts - but the risk has certainly paid off. This is a heavy, rich dish; and the addition of the runny egg yolk gives this salty dish a creaminess that coats the palate.

Potato ice cream, grapefruit, smoked yogurt, $12

By the end of the "crush me" menu, we were both feeling pretty full, but we simply could not resist this unusual-sounding dessert. And oh man, I didn't know potatoes could make such amazing dessert. The strange thing is, it is so difficult to imagine potatoes in an ice-cream, yet when you taste it it makes perfect, creamy sense. The sweet silkiness of the potato ice cream is balanced by the very tart grapefruit granita and the yogurt, which, as its name suggests, has a distinct smokey flavour.

Score: 4.5 / 5 
Price: the 7-course "crush me" menu is $65 per head; but if you decide to have a drink or two plus a dessert, you're looking at closer to $100 per head.
Address: 60 Bayswater Rd, Rushcutters Bay
Website: http://weareacme.com.au/