Bag Me a Lunch, Acacia

When I get an e-mail saying "too good to be true," I sign up immediately and when it turns out to be as good as it sounds, I call it a score. For an hour today, Acacia's Dale Reitzer was making soft-shelled crabs, one of his personal favorites, and creating a lunch-to-go around them. I couldn't think of a single reason not to avail myself of such an offering; I immediately thought of a friend who likes softshells as much as I do and invited him along.

The menu was simple: a softshell sandwich with slaw (say that three times fast), housemade potato chips and a cookie. The e-mail said, "Take Acacia home with you, to the office, or enjoy your bagged lunch in the park." There was never any question that we'd be eating ours anywhere but in the park.

Stopping at Acacia to claim our reserved bags, we were delighted to discover that a limited array of beverages were for sale, mainly soda and water, but also chilled Miller High Life ponies. Can you imagine a more ideal brewed accompaniment for an outdoor lunch? Just a little beer to wet your whistle with your softshells; I thought it was brilliant and told our server so. She explained it by saying, "It's just what I'd want to drink with my lunch in the park."

So we were off to Scuffletown Park with our aromatic white bags to see what Dale had wrought. The sandwiches were large and on the most divine flour-dusted chewy roll you can imagine. The crab and slaw were arranged generously within that show-stopping bread. The housemade chips came in their own lined bag with just the right amount of saltiness. The cookie was molasses and rolled in sugar, providing the perfect sweet (but not too rich) ending to a lovely lunch.

I'm not so foolish as to wish that Acacia did bagged lunches all the time. But when a delicacy like softshells are in season, it's like a gift from the food gods to have someone willing to bag them up to be enjoyed in nature. And at only $10 (including tax, btw), it does border on too good to be true.

Luckily, some things (and people) are too good and true. Those are the things and the people I'm more than happy to experience.