Irene and I first visited Volt, the restaurant that began Bryan Voltaggio’s culinary empire, to celebrate the 38th anniversary of the day we met, and since then have returned many times, including to check out the tasting menu at Table 21. But that’s not the only Voltaggio restaurant we’ve experienced. I’ve been to Lunchbox, and we were both present at or near the beginning of both Family Meal and Range.

So when I got an email recently announcing that there was going to be a “Maryland Style Backyard BBQ” to celebrate Volt’s 7th anniversary. I immediately knew—I was in.

Here’s the menu that was promised … (more…)

We’ve eaten at Bryan Voltaggio’s Frederick restaurant Volt multiple times, both in the Main Dining Room and the Chef’s Dining Room. But somehow, we’ve never been able to snag reservations at Table 21, the 8-seat counter which wraps around the open kitchen, where you’re served a tasting menu comprised of (what else?) twenty-one courses. Reservations become available at 9:00 a.m. exactly one month in advance , and I guess I just never jumped quickly enough for the days I was seeking.

But last week, serendipity worked in my favor. Old friends who’d long been drooling over my various Volt reports were visiting from out of town, and I’d gotten reservations for us in the Chef’s Dining Room. But the day before, I received a cell from Volt asking whether we might like to move to Table 21, as there were suddenly four available seats.

Who could say no to that?

And so last Thursday, the four of us headed over to Maryland to join four strangers (who due to the intimate nature of the seating would soon become friends) around the kitchen as Chef de Cuisine Scott Muns (recently of Rose’s Luxury) led his team to serve up a delicious and inventive meal.

And so it began … (more…)

I was supposed to have dinner at Bryan Voltaggio’s newest restaurant, Aggio, back when it opened, but an ice storm forced me to cancel. That an ice storm was the cause will show how early in the year this was. I wanted to try again, but life was far too busy for me to make it happen, until Saturday, when I finally had that dinner … and also the crazy idea of making it at all-Voltaggio day at the same time.

Which meant that before the evening’s meeting of the Seersucker League—aka me and Charlie Newton—first came breakfast at Family Meal and lunch at Volt. (more…)

I’ve been to (and loved) all of Chef Bryan Voltaggio’s restaurants—Volt for high-end cuisine, Family Meal for quality comfort food, Lunchbox for sandwiches, and his newest restaurant, Range, for, well, everything—so I enjoyed watching him compete in the latest season of Top Chef Masters. And was proud that a local chef (well, somewhat local) had survived all the way to the finale.

Which meant that when I found out that there was going to be a viewing party of that final episode at 10:00 p.m. last Wednesday out on the Volt patio, I knew Irene and I would have to be there. And since we were going to be traveling all the way over to Frederick, why, dinner was a must! So I made an 8:00 p.m. reservation in order to have plenty of time for a meal before the screening. (more…)

Irene and I discovered Volt Restaurant several months ago, and were taken with both the menu and its setting in a 19th Century mansion in downtown Frederick, but waited to eat there until we had an event worthy of such a meal—our celebration of the 38th anniversary of the day we met. (Which also happens to be the 38th anniversary of my first day working in the Bullpen at Marvel Comics.)

So on Sunday, we drove over to the imposing brick mansion, built in the early 1890s, which now houses Volt, for the seven-course kitchen tasting menu, which once the various amuse bouche were added in, actually came to ten courses.

While we were in the same room as the open kitchen, so we could look over and watch the cooking and assembly of each dish, we weren’t seated flush against where the chefs performed their magic. That privilege belonged to the seven diners (that night, anyway; I believe up to eight can be serviced) at Table 21, who were taking part in a 21-course tasting menu.

What follows is an embarrassingly incomplete description of the meal, for I forgot to snap a photo of the menu, and the one currently up on the site represents an earlier iteration. When I get my hands on the current menu, I’ll update what follows, but for now … (more…)