Table 21 at Volt

So Fougoo, Redneckhunter and I were lucky enough to score reservations to Table 21 at Bryan Voltaggio's Volt restaurant in Frederick, MD the week after the finale of the most recent season of Top Chef. Unfortunately, Bryan was not in the kitchen the night we had dinner there. Regardless, it was an unforgettable experience.
We started with a drink of ginger ale with an absinthe foam. Not too heavy on the alcohol- nice starter.
Our next course was his take on chips and dip. However the "chip" was freeze dried prosciutto, and the dip was a potato foam. The combination was really clever.

Course 3 was had one of the items he won with on an episode of Top Chef. There were 3 macaroons- a sweet & sour guacamole, a beet foie gras, and a Caesar's salad. The guacamole one was probably still my favorite.

We then had a tuna tartare with avocado, wasabi, and whitefish roe.

Course 5 was a pine nut veloute with shitake pearls, chili oil and basil.

The following course was a boneless duck wing presse on top of onion noodles with dehydrated bacon and and celery. Kind of like a gourmet McNugget. The noodles were not so much of a success though- bit rubbery.

Course 7 was delicious: it was a ravioli stuffed with Cherry Glen Farm goat cheese with brown butter served with butternut squash puree and topped with sage foam.

We then had seared scallop on top of beluga lentils and cauliflower with a vintage caymus reduction.

Course 9 was sturgeon on top of ruby quinoa with black trumpet mushrooms.

The last seafood course was a Marveta farmed prawn with a vinaigrette served with a sunchoke puree and strips of green apple. Yes, I did eat the head.

We then started into the "meat" courses. The 11th item was fried sweetbread with meyer lemon, olive and caper sauces to accompany the dish.

Course 12 was a duo of slow braised pork belly which was delicious. I liked the bacon chip that came with it. It came with nice calypso beans, an heirloom white bean, and some nice chard leaves.

The next item was Hudson Valley foie gras that was prepared in more of a dessert fashion. It was topped with Seckel pear marmalade and pistachio soil, and the "bread" was vanilla brioche toast. This was really nice- the foie gras was smooth and buttery and complemented the sweet flavors well.

Course 14 was Longnecker Farm rabbit prepped in 3 different ways. It was a mini version of a dish on the regular menu. The rabbit is still one of the best tasting I've ever had, and I like the little ribs. It came with a sweet potato puree and brussel sprouts.

We then had beautifully cooked Heritage duck served with orange braised endive, kohlrabi and crosnes (the cute spiral item on the plate).

Course 16 was lamb, cooked sous vide, topped with grains of salt, and served with curry yogurt, cauliflower & edamame, and garlic spinach.

The 5 courses were dessert. We started with a cheese dish. We were served Monacacy Gold, a soft creamy goat cheese, with orange gelato and balsamic vinegar.

Course 18 was my favorite dessert, a Meyer Lemon curd with ginger ice cream and anise hyssop.


The 19th item was a dessert that was all white: coconut sorbet, vanilla cup and lavender dust. I'm not a fan of lavender as it reminds me of lotion when too strong.

Although bursting at the seams at course 20, I did enjoy the chocolate peanut mousse with tonka bean ice cream.

The final dish was mini ice cream sandwiches.

Return to Volt in Frederick, MD

I went back to Bryan Voltaggio's restaurant, Volt, in Frederick, MD with some friends. This time, we tried items from his regular a la carte menu.
We were given an amuse bouche of halibut ceviche with baby cilantro.
For my first course, I had the charcuterie plate, which had in-house made venison & pistachio sausage, fennel sausage, head cheese, and mortadella. It also came with in house made pickles and pickled shallots. My friend got the yellowfin tuna wuth yuzu vinaigrette and chili oil- which was so fresh and amazing.
For my second course, I ordered the pork belly on a bed of fresh cannellini beans. I liked that is came with a little pancetta chip.
After 2 courses of pork overload, I decided for my main dish to be the halibut served over squash and parsnip purees and red quinoa. The fish was so nicely prepared, and the chef clearly respected the ingredient, by letting it's flavor stand alone without so many bells and whistles.

My friend ordered the Longnecker farm rabbit, which was the rabbit broken down and prepared four ways. My friend said it was probably one of the best rabbit dishes he had ever had.

We all tried each other's desserts. I ordered the deconstructed banana split. It was a streak of pureed banana with chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream. Best part- the spherical maraschino cherry.

My friends tried the chocolate peanut butter cake and the item called "Textures of Chocolate". The TIGBG gang has reservations for Table 21, his 21 course tasting menu next month. We're certain to post on that.

228 N Market St
Frederick, MD 21701-5335
(301) 696-8658

Edgar Allan Poe Dinner at Volt, Frederick, MD

Last week, as part of The Big Read program, the restaurant Volt in Frederick, MD, run by Top Chef Las Vegas contestant Bryan Voltaggio featured a special tasting menu inspired by the life of Edgar Allan Poe. It was my first time eating at Volt, and it was impressive.
Right away, we started with the amuse bouche, which was the dish that won him an elimination challenge on Top Chef, a sweet and sour lime macaroon with guacamole.

We then were served bread. I chose the roll that had applewood smoked bacon in it.
The tasting menu offered two choices, Boston and Baltimore, contrasting the towns where Poe was born and died.
The first course from "Boston" was a New England clam chowder that was special in that the root vegetables, potatoes and carrots, were not quite vegetables, rather, the potato was like a small gnocchi and the carrot were more like noodles. It also had small spheres of balsamic vinegar in it.
The "Baltimore" opener was a blue crab cake topped with a chip seasoned with his take on Old Bay and served with a green apple remoulade and celeriac.

The second "Baltimore" course was a perfectly cooked pigeon served with caraway potato balls, cabbage, chard and roasted mustard seeds. The bird was so delicious and delicate in flavor, I can say that I have never had pigeon made so beautifully.

The second "Boston" course was Taylor Bay scallops with sea urchin, maitake mushrooms, coriader blossom with soy air. The blend of flavors, particularly with the sea urchin was wonderful.

For the main course, the "Baltimore" featured Voltaggio's take on pit beef with cut of wagyu beef prepared sous vide style to recreate the slow cooking. It was served over pureed potates and carrots and turnips. The resulting beef was tender and delicious.
The "Boston" main course was inspired by Poe's "The Raven" as he grilled black chicken served on two purees- parsnip and chestnut. Too bad the cooking took the black color out of the chicken.




For dessert, Voltaggio made a version of the Lady Baltimore cake with Mission fig and pecans accompanied by a fig sorbet.
The other dessert was a deconstructed Boston Cream pie.
As an extra treat, we received little ice cream sandwiches with homemade cookies. My favorite was the oatmeal cookie with coconut ice cream.


228 N Market St
Frederick, MD 21701-5335
(301) 696-8658‎