Volt Restaurant, Frederick, MD

Being a foodie as I am, I was thrilled this weekend to go with my daughter and her husband to dinner at Volt restaurant in Frederick, MD.


I had never eaten in this type of restaurant and had never tried some of the food I had. The restaurant is classy and the service was excellent. Not being sure of myself I just looked at the waiter when he came with two carafes and asked "sparkling" or "still?" While I looked at the carafes, my daughter responded with,"still," and I got that it was water. We had "still" all around. Then he appeared again with a small white dish and 3 spoons with compliments from the Chef. He announced it was Arctic Char Tartare with chives. He brought an amazing selection of warm rolls with that. I thought, ok, I can eat raw fish--even though I never have. It was SO good! I knew I could trust the food. Laura and I decided to share the first two courses. The first one was Duck liver with pears, pistachio and tiny lettuce. It was accompanied by toasted vanilla brioche. This was a surprise. The liver tasted nothing like any liver I've ever eaten. It was creamy, light and smooth. The little dollops of pear butter were so good over it and it went suprisingly well with vanilla brioche. It was the most surprising combination I've ever sampled. We decided it was good that we had split it because it was rich. For our second course we ordered Goat Cheese ravioli with sweet corn, chanterelle mushrooms and beans. Once again we had split the course and found it was enough for us. The ravioli was tender and the sweetness of the corn was a perfect complement to the very pronounced flavor of goat cheese. The tiny chanterelles were delightful as was the puff of white corn foam that topped the dish. It was time for the main course. Mine was perfect Roast Chicken--crisp on the outside, tender inside--with fingerling potatoes and Hen of the Woods mushrooms. I had eaten Hen of the Woods many years ago when I found some in our woods. These were the best. Mustard greens balanced out the course. For dessert we chose vacherin with pistachio gelato, raspberry and lemon rosemary. At the end of the evening we were given a tour of the restaurant and met the Chef, Bryan Voltaggio--a contestant on "Top Chef," and, we HOPE, the winner. For people who love food-tasting, excellent service and "Top Chef" it was a totally memorable experience. We absolutely loved it.  We plan to come back one day and treat ourselves to "Table 21."