Baltimore-area blogger Trix had a great lunch at Bryan Voltaggio's restaurant Volt, in Frederick, MD, which she shares with us here.Top Chef fans will recognize Volt as the restaurant of finalist and first runner-up Bryan Voltaggio, brother of winner Michael Voltaggio. If you don't watch the show, there's a good chance you've never heard of the place, unless you happen to live in Frederick or the Baltimore/DC metro area. That's too bad: The vibe at Volt is definitely more urban than the Western Maryland location would lead you to expect, and I'd happily drive double the hour-plus it takes me to get there to enjoy both the (mostly) spot-on food and the impeccable, knowledgeable service.
My party - Poppa Trix, mother-in-law Trix, brother-in-law Trix, and his wife - chose the three-course lunch with wine pairings. If you know of another fine dining restaurant where you can get a deal like this for $35 ($20 for lunch, plus $15 for the wine pairings), please let me know and I'll meet you there! Seriously, lunch at Volt is a steal: I've spent more money in one sitting for cruddy food, flat beer, and saucy service.
First things first: the bread. This is a make-or-break moment for me. No matter how nice a place is, if they skimp on the bread, you'll never convince me that they really care. Fortunately, I felt the love right off the bat with still-warm roll that was fragrant with rosemary and seasoned with flecks of salt:
Did the bread sticks really need that fennel pollen? Maybe not, but it was a fun touch:
Voltaggio has said that one reason he has stayed in his hometown of Frederick is because of its proximity to agriculture and fresh produce. Whenever possible, he sources his ingredients locally and/or sustainably. This philosophy was showcased in my first course, a salad of Tuscarora farm beets, Cherry Glen Farm goat cheese mousse, pea shoots, and balsamic vinegar:
This was a simple and fresh way to begin my meal. The pairing, a 2007 Graham Beck Rose from South Africa, balanced the earthiness of the beets without overpowering the delicate goat cheese mousse.
Bro-in-law Trix had a shiitake veloute with chili oil, basil, and a pinenut sabayon:
I confess that in general I am not the biggest mushroom fan - but this soup may just have converted me. The mushrooms were not at all overpowering or one-note; rather, combined with the sabayon, they were a subtle, woodsy, and mellow presence.
But Poppa ordered the stand-out starter, the yellowfin tuna tartare with avocado, yuzu vinaigarette, chili oil, red shiso, soy air, and sesame lavash:
A lot of ingredients? Oh yes, and in the hands of a lesser chef this dish could have been chaos. Instead, when tasted together, all of the flavors remained distinct, yet also came together to form a succession of lingering taste impressions, ending with a pleasant heat. I admit, that soy air may be a bit fussy ... but it worked.
Next up, Poppa Trix and I both had the striped bass with a farro risotto and a cardamom-spiced carrot broth, along with more of those pea shoots:
This was actually our least favorite course. There was nothing wrong with it at all - in fact, the fish was perfectly cooked and wonderfully moist in the inside, with that little bit of crunchy skin - but something was missing. Perhaps it was because I couldn't taste the cardamom in the carrot broth, or it may have been that the farro "risotto" was a tad under seasoned. Don't get me wrong: This was a really good dish, and it may just be that everything else was so perfectly seasoned and "wow," that it suffered by comparison. In any case, for this to be the weakest dish is really a testament to the strength of the other courses in the meal.
But it was dessert, which I usually find to be the least memeorable or exciting part of the meal, that has really stuck with me. The problem is that all too often, desserts are overly sweet, and obliterate the flavors of the savory part of the meal, when instead the last course should complement what has come before. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you ... textures of chocolate. Sorry Poppa Trix - I think I want to marry this dessert:
Ah, just look at that ... white chocolate mousse, crunchy, slightly-bitter dark chocolate tuiles, raw organic cocoa, chocolate caramel, and milk chocolate ice cream - and none of it was a cloying sugar bomb! Hooray! Perfectly paired with the 2008 Robertson Winery Gewurztraminer, this was a dessert to savor slowly, and enjoy the way the textures and flavors of bitter and sweet worked together.
As if all this wasn't enough, we were sent off with muffins to enjoy the next day for breakfast:
I'm looking forward to a return trip - if I can get a table, that is. We ate there just days after the Top Chef finale (I had made reservations many weeks in advance), and the place was just packed and buzzing with excitement. In fact, the chef's table is booked through November 2010. It's a good thing lunch is my favorite meal of the day!
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Other competitors included Top Chef Masters 2's David Burke and past Top Chef guest judges Rocco DiSpirito and Daniel Boulud. TCM1 finalist Art Smith helped judge the competition. And last year's winner, season 4's Spike Mendelsohn, lost out to Iron Chef Michael Symon. 
Named 2009’s Best Chef at the Houston Culinary Awards, Monica Pope is a 2007 James Beard Award Nominee for Best Chef: Southwest and the owner of t’afia and Beaver’s in Houston. The only Texas woman to ever be named a Top 10 Best New Chef by Food & Wine magazine, Pope first learned to cook from her Czech grandmother and went on to earn her Chef’s title from Prue Leith’s School of Food and Wine in London.
Hailed by Zagat as “a culinary genius,” Susur Lee has emerged from his humble beginnings as a 15-year-old apprentice in Hong Kong to become a worldwide leader in Asian fusion cuisine, blending traditional Chinese dishes with classical French techniques. In 1987, Lee opened the doors to his 12-table Lotus restaurant in Toronto, earning rave reviews from The New York Times, Art Culinaire, Gourmet, and Food & Wine magazine.
Rick Tramonto is executive chef/partner at the world-renowned four-star and Relais & Chateaux restaurant Tru, in Chicago. Tramonto is also culinary director of Tramonto’s Steak & Seafood, RT Sushi Bar, and Osteria. He has received a bevy of awards and honors including the James Beard Foundation for Best Chef: Midwest Award, the Robert Mondavi Award for Culinary Excellence, Food & Wine magazine's Top 10 Best New Chefs 1994, Outstanding Service Award from The James Beard Foundation, Four-star Mobil, and the Wine Spectator Grand Award.
The 2009 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: Northwest, Maria Hines sharpened her culinary skills at reputable restaurants from coast-to-coast before becoming a sensation as executive chef of Earth & Ocean in Seattle in 2003.
Jody Adams is a James Beard award-winning chef with a national reputation for her imaginative use of New England ingredients in regional Italian cuisine. Her four-star Rialto restaurant in Cambridge has been named “One of the top 20 new restaurants in the country” by Esquire magazine and “One of the world’s best hotel restaurants” by Gourmet.
A James Beard Award winner and four-time nominee, Debbie Gold has led Kansas City’s The American Restaurant to national recognition as its executive chef. Initially studying restaurant management at the University of Illinois, Gold received her professional culinary training at L’Ecole Hoteliere de Tain L’Hermitage in France.
Next, I ordered the Lamb Tagine. I have had various tagines in Moroccan restaurants in both NY and Israel...and Chef Eli's version tasted exactly as expected...ridiculously, a disappointment. I was looking for something fresh and new...and I make an amazing Chicken Tagine (Mark Bittman's recipe) that I honestly like better.
My husband ordered a duet of lamb and beef as his appetizer. Looked pretty boring on the plate, but he said it was terrific. He didn't share. His entree was a rack of lamb ribs. I snatched a little taste and thought it was delicious, but I didn't get a big enough piece to discern any flavors.
Desserts were off the chef's menu, so I will not go into them (yum).
Jenn Murphy of Sweet Water keeps on trying out recipes from Season Six of Top Chef. Here are two more delectable dishes:
As a whole dish I have to say this may have been my least favourite so far.
...that Top Chef 7 may be filmed in the Nation's Capital. When we polled our readers back in the first week of January, 28% thought D.C. would be the place.
If I wasn't snowed in and could get to the store to buy chicken wings, I'd be making these to nibble while watching the Saints beat the Colts:
Slashfood has compiled lists of the hottest men and women in food and it's really no surprise to find that there are several Top Cheftestants, guest judges, and hosts in the mix.
