Volt

I went through a phase of watching reality TV shows based on food that was triggered by the early British series of Kitchen Nightmares. This took in Great British Menu, Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Food and Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations as well as competition shows such as Top Chef or Hell’s Kitchen. The brief of the competition shows was entertainment so it wasn’t worth taking them too seriously. However, there was the occasional contestant who seemed a cut above the rest on the basis of their cooking. In 2009, Series 6 of Top Chef benefitted from the inclusion of two brothers, Bryan and Michael Voltaggio who ended up competing in the final.

Bryan, the elder of the two has established his base in Frederick, a town of 65,000 in Maryland. He is slowly growing his empire of restaurants but Volt is the considered the flagship.  The restaurant opened in 2008 in a red-brick 1890’s mansion in downtown Frederick. Menu options include a la carte dishes or a six plate tasting menu. There is also the option of booking Table 21 which offers a 21-course menu in the Chef’s kitchen.

The dining room is very sombre thanks to the white linen covered tables and dark chairs dominating the space. The dark carpeted floor contrasts with the beige walls and the only light relief is the paintings on the wall that change regularly.

The tasting menu sounds good and they’ve not held back on describing everything about the dishes. It comes in quite handy when you lose any notes about the food. One of the curses of the iPhone is how easy it can be to delete Apps accidentally. With one accidental deletion the thoughts about this meal vanish.


Breadsticks and small bites

Fluke

Sashimi style fluke caught in Rhode Island. Bulbs of fennel are wrapped in salt crust and baked until soft then cracked open and cut. Ripe avocado is puréed smooth, grapefruits are charred until black then juiced to make a vinaigrette with smoked garlic shiro. Fresh lemon thyme and flowers are foraged from our garden at Volt.

Clams & Mussels

Confit of new potatoes with pork fat and fresh laurel. Broth from the clam liquor and chorizo is served warm and aerated. Purée and leaves come from local stinging nettles. The cooking liquid from the mussels is clarified to finish the broth.

This was an outstanding dish, the Volt take on chowder. Wonderful flavours throughout with the spice from the chorizo giving the dish a heat to take it to a whole new level.

Bread

Halibut

White asparagus poached in extra virgin olive oil with fresh laurel leaves and zest of orange. Bulb of spring onion charred on the plancha and compressed with elderflower vinegar and oil of arbequina olives. Halibut has been rissoled in frothing brown butter, blanquette made from bones finished with fresh lemon balm. Rhubarb diced raw and compressed in red verjus served warm.

This was another excellent dish.

Pasta Bolognese

Calamari and pepperoni stewed with roasted tomatoes. Ricotta cheese cavatelli with ink from the squid. Grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Lamb

Braised neck  from Jamison Farm in Latrobe, PA. Greek yogurt has been torched and whipped. Fresh hummus made from fava beans and purée of preserved Meyer lemons.

Chocolate

Soft panna cotta of white chocolate. Bitter chocolate and tahini are whipped together and flash frozen. Crisp tuile is baked with toasted black and white sesame seeds. Accents of smooth caramel.

Petit Fours

The food at Volt fully justified my ecision to take an extra night driving down to Baltimore and i'd happily eat there again. My biggest issue is the formality of the dining room. The service was great but the starchy settingreally doesn't help at all.

Overall Rating - 4/5

Date Visited - 14-Jun-14