Saturday, March 26, 2016

Lunch at Park + Cherry in the Dixon Gallery and Gardens

Acre is one of our favorite places in our neighborhood here in Memphis. It is where we hammered out the details of our first cookbook, The Southern Vegetarian, with our very first editor, where we've celebrated big birthdays and hung out on Saturday date nights, where a family-style meal orchestrated by a bunch of good friends cheered us up during a pretty trying holiday season last year (oh, the fluffy herb biscuits, smoked sunchokes and carrots, Vietnamese pancakes, lotus root chips, and that jar of red, spicy housemade sriracha that we took home, with chef's permission, of course!), and where we've prepped for joint events with Andrew and his awesome, welcoming staff.

All of this is to say how we'd been so looking forward to going to lunch on Friday at the new café created by Wally Joe and Andrew Adams of Acre. It's always fascinating to see the creativity and vision chefs tap into when they try something different. Park + Cherry is a casual, beautifully designed spot inside the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis, and it just opened this past Tuesday. We ordered at the counter and then browsed in the new shop that 20twelve has created right next door and got to catch up with our aunt who works there. You can choose to sit at one of the tables that circle the counter or settle in at a quieter spot in the hallway / alcove.

Yesterday, we tried the Truffled Pimento Cheese sandwich and the Goat Cheese, Roasted Beets, and Arugula one, Yukon Gold potato salad, Quinoa with Pickle Pear, Cranberries, and Arugula, and oh my, the amazing Triple Chocolate Brownie. Such a gorgeous and fun lunch! All of this and two drinks came to around $40, and though you may just stop by for a quick meal without paying for admission into the museum, we opted to spring for it in order to walk the gardens after lunch. Every year, the two of us try to make it to the Dixon to take in the change of season, and all of this newness made for one of the best adventures we've had so far in 2016.

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