Although some friends can handle multiple nights dining out on vacation (!), I actually prefer a mix of dining at home and going out. A perfect balance happened in Portland the night before our last night in the US, and we were able to get a booking at Twelve, helmed by Colin Wyatt, the former executive sous chef at a little place you might recognize, Eleven Madison Park.
At the end of Thames Street, this restaurant is a bit further outside of the Portland city center. It’s still absolutely walkable, but there is more of a commitment than in other places we’ve visited.
Whether or not we’re fortunate to know the bar program manager, our meal starts with a free glass of bubbles for the table, putting us in a celebratory mood. There is both an ala carte menu and a highly reasonable four-course prix fixe menu, USD82 (which has 2-3 options per course), and I think this stripped-down approach is smart. We’re all in for the prix fixe, and 3 of 4 of us are in for the stunningly priced USD45 per…
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