Cover Story: Thoroughly Modern Maine Cuisine at Twelve
Chef Colin Wyatt serves bluefin tuna fresh from the docks and a new entry into the lobster roll canon.
Welcome to the weekend!
IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER:
Cover Story: At Twelve, Eleven Madison Park alum Colin Wyatt offers modern Maine cuisine.
On the Road: Baltimore may be best-known for crabs, but we love stopping for a pit beef sandwich.
Weekend Reading List: Chicago pizza, great college-town eats, and a possible Texas train route
The Order: Oysters are everywhere in Portland, Maine, but the best deals — and a tart frozen lemonade — are at this low-key spot.
Featured Field Guide: How to download your complimentary copy of our digital dining guide to Portland, Maine.
Maine Cuisine Reborn
PORTLAND, MAINE - As we’ve traveled around the country the past few years, one thing that’s stood out is how many chefs and bartenders have left bigger cities to open their own restaurants and bars in smaller locales. (So many!) That movement not only gives folks a chance to do things they may not be able to in larger cities (not to mention providing a more sustainable pace of life), it also impacts the dining scene in smaller towns — more chefs means more restaurants, which means a more vibrant dining scene.
So when we were putting together our Portland itinerary, it didn’t seem surprising that one of the buzziest new spots in town, Twelve, is headed up by executive chef Colin Wyatt, previously the executive sous chef at New York’s Eleven Madison Park. By combining the fine dining techniques he honed there with local seafood and produce, Wyatt is approaching Maine cuisine with fresh eyes. The thoughtfulness of the dishes, along with the refined flavors, made our dinner here our favorite of the year. The space — a 150-year-old storehouse designed with reclaimed wood and local artwork — and the warm service didn’t hurt either.
Wyatt, who is originally from Maryland, moved to Maine for college, then landed in Portland, where he worked for five years. “I was working at Five Fifty-Five, which had just gotten the Food & Wine best new chef award,” he says. “To be there at that moment was special.” That job helped him make the connections that would bring him to Daniel restaurant in New York.
Despite his success in New York, Maine kept calling. When the pandemic hit, Wyatt, his wife, and daughter left their apartment in New York and moved to Maryland before ending up in Maine. “My wife grew up in Portland, and it was something we always talked about,” he says. “We just did it sooner than we had planned.”
The pieces began to fall into place - after initially working as a consultant on the project that would become Twelve, Wyatt signed on as chef. The plans for the restaurant were casual, but “our first GM, Daniel Gorlas, brought up the idea that people hadn’t dined at restaurants in a long time,” Wyatt says. “A lot of restaurants around the country were experimenting with prix fixe menus, and using that as a way to help with minimizing food waste, having a better understanding of what kitchen team you needed, and a better idea of service. What we wanted most was for it to feel like an experience of going out, and not just having dinner. And we’re able to do that in a way that does not feel exclusive.”
The food at Twelve, which opened in July 2022, fits Portland’s low-key feel by being refined yet approachable. We ordered off the a la carte menu, trying plates like Tomato, Tonnato, a round of sourdough topped with crushed tomatoes and a confit egg yolk. We dragged each bite through the pool of creamy tonnato sauce. We ate ribbons and slices of charred cucumber with sesame and green garlic and a risotto-like farro sabayon with broccolini and preserved lemon. To finish, we had pastry chef Georgia Macon’s ice cream sandwich with maple and tonka bean.
To go with all that, there’s a strong wine list and cocktails like the Coastline Martini, which features gin made for the restaurant by Blue Barren Distillery in Camden. Twelve Pattern Storehouse gin is made by infusing sugar kelp vodka with juniper, lemongrass, chives, and dill. It’s combined with Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, Lillet Blanc, and MSG solution, and finished with a lemon twist. The martini drinks bright and briny with herby notes, like a restrained dirty martini.
“All our food has a connection to Maine or New England,” Wyatt says. “It was important for us to look at classic dishes and go at it with a modern look. A big thing for us is little surprises throughout the meal, things that make it feel interesting. Another big part is including some sort of technical aspect.” Two dishes that sum up this approach were two of our favorites. The bluefin tuna features a slice of ruby-red tuna set atop thinly sliced zucchini and dressed with basil vinaigrette. “It’s Maine tuna season, so a lot of the lobstermen and smaller fishermen make good money catching tuna,” Wyatt says. “They’re allowed two fish a day, and fish are constantly brought to the docks. The fish was caught that morning and it comes in to us that afternoon. With a product as good as that tuna, we don’t want to bury it with extra ingredients.”
Wyatt’s take on a lobster roll is a half-lobster tucked into a croissant. “We wanted to do a lobster roll but didn’t want to do something that felt out of place,” Wyatt says. “In my mind, a lobster roll is Red’s in Wiscasset. It’s a warm lobster roll drowning in butter. I love the crispness of the bun.” Buttery and crispy made him think of croissants, and Macon executes one. “It’s flaky and crispy, but it still has a little chew,” he says. “It enhances the flavors without taking over the lobster itself.”
Working in Portland has brought Wyatt much closer to the food source. “Being in Maine, everything is smaller,” he says. “It’s easy to take a trip out to these farms. The fishermen come in to dine, the farmers come in to dine. Portland is small enough that you talk to a few people and the next thing you know it’s ‘You know so and so? He and I used to work on the same boat together.’ It’s a really well-connected community.”
115 Thames St, Portland, ME 04101
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Here’s the Beef
BALTIMORE, MD - When I lived in Maryland during grad school, I consumed vast quantities of crab (steamed, in soups, in dips, in cakes, you name it), as well as anything seasoned with Old Bay (I had a particular fondness for the Old Bay bagels at the Bagel Place of College Park, and was not alone in my sadness when I heard it closed). But it wasn’t until years after I moved away that I had a pit beef sandwich.
One of the state’s signature foods, the pit beef sandwich is roast beef that’s cooked over a charcoal fire, thinly sliced, and piled on a roll with sliced onions and “tiger sauce,” a horseradish mayo. When we were driving through the state, I wanted one for lunch. I read a great piece by food writer Allison Robicelli in The Washington Post and cross-referenced it with our route before settling on Pioneer Pit Beef in Catonsville, about 20 minutes outside downtown Baltimore. It’s also the preferred stop of Los Angeles Times restaurant critic and Baltimore native Bill Addison, and those two recommendations were enough for me.
Pioneer is a no-frills, cash-only mustard-yellow shack at the intersection of Rolling and Johnnycake Roads. You order inside the cramped interior, then eat your sandwich at the picnic tables outside or take it to go. But this is a messy sandwich, so you should eat it quickly. We ordered two medium-rare sandwiches with onions and tiger sauce and a side of fries with gravy. The sandwich is delicious, with smoky meat and pleasantly sharp notes from the horseradish, and the fries are also a Baltimore favorite. Pioneer is right off I-70 and I-695, the Baltimore Beltway, so it’s an easy stop on a Mid-Atlantic road trip.
N Rolling Rd & Johnnycake Rd, Catonsville, MD 21228
Her Source Goes by “Deep Dish”: What exactly is Chicago-style pizza? Deep dish? Tavern? Pan? Stuffed? It depends who you ask. Our own Amy Cavanaugh answers the question for The Washington Post. Me? I like a tavern-style pizza as my go-to, but as a teen I craved the deep dish slices from Ferentino's Pizzeria on the North Shore. Have any thoughts? (I know you do.)
Graduate Studies: We all know there’s great food to be had in college towns and Eater has rounded up some of the best places to eat and drink from campuses around the country. I mean, did you even go to Boulder if you didn’t go to The Sink?
I Feel the Need: A Texas company has partnered with Amtrak to try and bring a high-speed rail link between Dallas and Houston. Rachel Chang has the story for Condé Nast Traveler. I may be Charlie Brown with the football here, but I love train trips and am crossing my fingers that we see this someday.
— Compiled by Kenney Marlatt
Island Time
PORTLAND, MAINE - You’ll find oysters on nearly every menu around town, but our favorite spot for a dozen or two is The Shop by Island Creek Oysters, an outpost of Massachusetts’ Island Creek Oysters. The oysters on the all-Maine list are just $1.95 apiece, and come with your choice of condiments (I prefer just a squeeze of lemon, but you can get horseradish, cocktail sauce, hot sauce, and mignonette). There are also dressed oysters that come with toppings like ponzu, wasabi, and a ring of jalapeño, and specials like a seaweed ranch dip. Pair it all with a glass of prosecco or frozen lemonade.
123 Washington Ave., Portland, ME
The Shop is just one of our favorite spots in Portland. During the month of September, paid subscribers can get all our picks for the city in our Portland Field Guide for free! Our digital dining guides are formatted for your phone and are the perfect companion on your next road trip. Head over to our website and use the promo code LOBSTERROLL when you download the guide.
We’ll be back next week. Want more from American Weekender? Follow us on Instagram @americanweekender.
