My 2019 wrap-up report as sadly my time in Maine is over. Every single thing Will (pit master) makes is amazing. I had a chance to chat with him a bit. While his brisket is extraordinary he sort of waves that off saying you can’t open a bbq place until you have nailed brisket. He is proudest of his pastrami and his jerk chicken, saying those are much more technically difficult and took him far longer to learn. The chicken in particular (in order to deliver the tender perfection that he does) took a lot of trial and error over where he placed it within his huge smoker. He truly is a man with an obsession in the best possible way.
In addition to the consistently excellent food, I also enjoyed the many interesting folks I chatted with around the big communal tables over the summer, both locals and visitors. Many food tips were exchanged as well as travel tales told. One gentleman who lives locally told me that Will takes orders for Christmas brisket which is certainly something to keep in mind. One last point: if it is pouring rain at 4:00 am when he gets his smoker going and likely to keep raining, Will will be closed for the day. There wasn’t much heavy rain this summer so that only happened a few times.
ETA: get there early (best before noon) to have the best chance of getting what you want, or place an order the night before on the website. Pastrami Saturday only. I have gotten there at 12:30 or 12:45 to find “only” brisket left, and once he had already sold out of everything.
