4 New England Restaurants Land On New York Times' Best 50 List

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T

In The New York Times' annual ranking of 50 best restaurants in the country, two Massachusetts spots are featured as among the greatest nationwide.

Neptune Oyster in Boston and Dear Annie in Cambridge have both secured a ranking in this year's list, alongside two other restaurants in New England.

"Dishes like cuttle-ink risotto with generous chunks of lobster and Nantucket Bay scallop crudo with Persian cucumbers lift the menu above the merely canonical," Brian Gallagher writes of Neptune Oyster, which opened in 2004 and can be found in the city's North End on Salem Street.

"The grilled cheese with poblano and corn jam is a perfect high-summer bite, and the compulsively dippable seafood fumet may be the best thing to happen to the bread course since butter," Gallagher writes of Cambridge's Dear Annie.

Portland, Maine claims the other two New England restaurants that made the top 50 ranking, which is notable for a city with less than 70,000 people. Portland's entries are Leeward and Twelve.

The Times says that "summering in Maine" might soon conjure up visions of "Leeward's conchiglie tossed with sweet Jonah crab, softened tomatoes and chiles and then showered with bread crumbs," and notes that Twelve's "whey broth speckled with verdant chive oil that is served beneath a medallion of monkfish is a silky marvel, and the hazelnut creme anglaise that comes with the playful, large-format chocolate pudding is perfectly salty."

"We have a lot of goals for this restaurant but that was huge," said Colin Wyatt, executive chef of Twelve, during a Tuesday interview with NECN/NBC 10 Boston.

"The New York Times is The New York Times," Wyatt said of the accolade, which he said stands out even after his time as Executive Sous Chef of Eleven Madison Park in New York City, which has been widely recognized as one of the best restaurants in the world.

"There's no better honor than getting on that list," he explained.

Twelve's pastry chef, Georgia Macon, whose Parker House rolls were highlighted by the Times in its write-up of the restaurant, echoed Wyatt.

"It's an honor and I know that we've all looked at that list every year up until now," she said, adding that she "didn't expect to get there this quickly in my life."

Both Wyatt and Macon credit the entire Twelve team for getting the restaurant so far after just two months since its opening.

"I don't think we've really achieved everything we want to achieve yet. There's a lot we still have left to do and there's a lot we'd like to do," Wyatt said.

"Everybody on this team has worked really hard to do what we've done," he added.

Wyatt also believes Portland will continue to grow as a destination for diners, even after its years of success and recognition.

"I was here when Portland started making lists as a sneaky good food city, it's only gotten better since then.. everybody's pushing each other in the best way possible," he said.

Diners definitely agree, which is why, no matter which chef you may speak to in the city, there isn't much time to rest and reflect on recognition.

"It's right back to it, bread doesn't knead itself," said Macon.