Volt Restaurant in Frederick, MD

This past Saturday, I had lunch at Volt in Frederick, MD.  Wait a second, I needed about a hundred exclamation points after that sentence!!!!!!!!  I ate at VOLT!!!!! Bryan Voltaggio from Top Chef is the chef/owner there! I was SO excited.  Ok, there, I got it all out.

I had been studying the lunch menu for days before our arrival and knew exactly what I was getting.  Of course, we arrived and it was all different.  But, this was actually a very good thing for us.  

There was a five course tasting menu on the left side of the menu and on the right side was the restaurant week menu.  Wait - its restaurant week in Frederick?  3 courses for $20.10 and add $15 for a 3 course wine pairing?  I couldn't believe our luck.  

House-made bread sticks were immediately brought to our table.  I tried one and they were crisp and salty.  Reminded me of a pretzel.  They also served warm rolls and butter, but my camera decided to die at this point.  Good thing I brought two cameras.  I wasn't going to miss documenting this dining experience for anything.

Shortly after we ordered, the first wine pairing arrived.  The type you received was dependent on the course you had ordered, so we were each having different things.  I was impressed with the server's knowledge of each of the wines and the generous pour.

My first wine course was Graham Beck Brut Rose 2007.  From South Africa, it is "made with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, this blend offers big bubbles, strawberry/cranberry flavors with a bit a of crisp apple zing on the back."  I enjoyed the light, sweetness of the wine. (source)

My first course was the tuscarora farm organic beets cherry glen farm goat cheese, upland cress.  The most interesting thing about this dish was the beet meringue.  The goat cheese was softer than I had ever had, but I thought all the flavors worked well and this meal was off to a great start.

My mom chose the potato-leek chowder w/ applewood smoked bacon, sea scallop, leek transparency and I was jealous as soon as I saw the perfectly seared scallop and the way the soup was poured into the bowl.

My sister had the cherry glen farm goat cheese ravioli celeriac, sage brown butter, hedgehog mushrooms.  She got the fancy foam stuff on her dish!  ;)  The bite I had of her ravioli was delicious.

My next wine course was Damilano Nebbiolo d'Alba 2007.  "This red wine is a big, bold wine packed with ripe fruit, sweet spices, licorice and leather."   (source)

This red wine was just my speed.  Fruity and light.    

My second course was the pork tenderloin, braised savoy cabbage, caraway potato.  The server mentioned that it usually came out medium-rare, so I requested it be more medium.  This pork was absolutely delicious and went well with the cabbage and potato.  I would order this again in a second.

My mom ordered the wellington farms chicken, forest mushroom risotto, arugula, chioggia beets as her second course.  We like to share bites, so everyone can try everything.  The chicken was moist and the risotto flavorful.  I feel like I am running out of nice things to say, but the food was really this good. 

My sister went with the sturgeon, beluga lentils, cauliflower variations, verjus.  The fish was flaky and I thought the entire plate was a unique, colorful display.  Three colors of cauliflower - white, purple and green!  I had to use wikipedia to figure out just what verjus was: Grape seeds preserved in salts were also called verjus during the Middle Ages.  So cool!

My final wine pairing was this "sticky chardonnary", The Stump Jump.  Love the name.  "The nose is packed with rich flavors of marmalade, cumquat, ripe peach and orange butter. The cumquat character follows through on the palate with layers of yellow peach, butterscotch and a hint of green apple. "  (source)

The color was so bright and it was extremely sweet.  Not really my thing, but I enjoyed getting to try this wine.

My dessert was coconut passion fruit, pineapple, coconut ice cream, caramel crumble, homemade marshmellow.  The waiter informed me that the pineapple had been Sous-vide. This dish reminded me of a de-constructed pie.  I had to hold myself back from licking the plate.  Great way to end my meal.

Another artistic dessert was my sister's textures of chocolate: white chocolate ganache, chocolate caramel, raw organic cocoa.  I enjoyed my bite, but it was very rich.  Would be perfect for a chocolate lover.

My mom had the Cheese cake, kumquats, ginger ice cream, cardamom.  This de-constructed cheesecake was another winner.  Enough said.

From left to right: Moi, my mom, Jen, Marcia, Kristin & my sister.

What a great lunch!  Definitely something I will not forget.  It will be hard to top this place in my book.  The service, food and atmosphere was top notch.  Thanks SO much to Marcia for getting us a reservation during restaurant week! 

Just when we thought things could not get any better, we were presented with these goodies to take home with us.  What a great touch.

The ladies room was directly across from the kitchen and after a closer look - Bryan was back there!

Or at least we think that was him!  He never turned around.  Probably because some crazy person was taking pictures.