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Showing results for tags 'www.bryanvoltaggio.com'.
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I had a chance to swing by Family Meal this past weekend for lunch. I was surprised to find it in a pretty industrial part of town and it's essentially a shiny glass island of a building on a huge blacktop so it's easily found if you're not familiar with Frederick. Even though the place is pretty expansive, there was a constant flow of traffic the whole time I was there. The lunch menu is littered with a lot of familiar American classics like deviled eggs, fried chicken, burgers and shakes. But, if you're looking for something a little more interesting, you can also find crispy pig ears and duck poutine. I ordered the heirloom tomato gazpacho, fried chicken and banana split. The gazpacho was a refreshing start which included two generous chunks of shrimp and a dollop of avocado. The fried chicken was nicely crispy on the outside and really moist on the inside. The side of hot sauce was something new for me when paired with fried chicken and gave it a nice additional flavor. The banana split is more like banana slices on top of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream. I liked the thinner spoon size slices of banana and the bourbon vanilla ice cream stood out in the dessert. I liked the overall experience of the restaurant but I don't know if I would recommend a road trip just to go there. However, if you're in the area or it's not too far out of the way, then it would be worth your while.
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Serendipity led me to Bryan Voltaggio's blogfor his upcoming restaurant Volt in Frederick, MD. It appears that they are targeting mid-July for an opening date. I only had lunch once at Charlie Palmer's when Voltaggio was there and my friend and I had a very good meal, but nothing exciting. I have to say, though, that his blog makes me excited for Frederick. They need this place, so I hope they support him. Check out the cheese they're planning on using! Someone needs to give the Tasting Room a kick in their ass b/c I think they became complacent a while ago. If you go to page twoof the blog entries you can see a video of the space post-demo and pre-construction. It was neat to see the inside of the bay window that I longed to be part of my apartment; looks like it'll be used as a private party room for 10 people. In general, it looks like this place will be small. The video said the restaurant will seat 38! They'll have to have a pretty high price point to pay for the real estate and renovations to this place on top of the high quality of ingredients and staffing I'm sure he has planned. The Tasting Room thrives b/c the swanky fishbowl environment draws in the trendy drinkers who like to be seen. Volt won't have that to fall back on. They'll just have to knock folks' socks off with damn good cooking in a cool, seemingly more quiet atmosphere. Best of luck to them and I look forward to making the trip back up 270. ETA: Looks like the total capacity is more like 100. Pax, Brian -
Don, Not sure if you'd prefer to place this in the former "Family Meal" thread, but I didn't find another thread for Aggio in Ashburn. I've been to Aggio three times now. We first visited before we moved to Ashburn, and I thought it would be fun to check the place out. We sat next to the open kitchen to celebrate a birthday. Everything was great, but the place was empty and the service was a bit off. Oddly enough, there was little interaction with the chefs despite the fact the place was nearly empty. We moved to Ashburn in July, and our second visit was a couple of of weeks ago. Here's what I posted to yelp (hoping to give a little boost to their business). I'm finally getting around to providing a mention here, in hopes that some of Rock's readers will give it a try. **************************** If you enjoy fresh house-made pasta and delicious drinks that are fairly priced, do yourself a favor and go to Aggio. The food certainly stands up to some of the best in the DC metro area, and the prices make the establishment an absolute bargain. Our server was excellent, and she was friendly and attentive during the entire meal. We enjoyed a couple of wonderful cocktails, that thanks to happy hour pricing they were also an incredible value. All drinks are half price during happy hour. $4.50 for a well-made boulevardier? Yes, please. The warm focaccia arrived with whipped ricotta with accented with lemon zest and pepper, as well as a whipped mortadella spread that was plated on a *pesto reduction. Both were wonderful. We chose the Burrata and the Brussels for appetizers. Both were delicious; the burrata dish featured beautiful and tasty heirloom tomatoes, and interestingly was topped with olive oil "soil". We both ordered pasta for our entrees; the Cacio e Pepe was a creamy, silky version topped with a 63 degree egg (think lightly cooked yolk). (No picture of that dish) The lasagna consisted of several layers of tender pasta that was crisp around the edges, and enveloping an incredible lamb bolognese. The dish was both light and rich and rich at the same time, and its certainly one of the best versions of lasagna I've tasted. ******************************************** We paid another visit a week later, and the food remained excellent. I enjoyed a short rib dish, served with fresh corn polenta, glazed carrots, and gremolata, that was superb. It had an interesting texture--very similar to pastrami-but the flavor was rich and the meat was tender. I asked about the preparation, and was told that the beef is marinated and then prepared sous-vide. We ordered a goat cheese ravioli that was described as "Ravioli, goat cheese, garlic scapes, corn" but when the dish arrived, it was prepared much differently, and served with roasted beets. Hmmm. During this visit, our server was pleasant and worked hard, but it was very apparent she had not received nearly enough training. I'm not saying this to be harsh, but she knew almost nothing about the menu, and didn't know anything about wine basics. Fortunately, the manager, who we thought was just the bartender, visited our table when we asked about wine pairings. He recommended a red for the ravioli, which I thought was odd until he explained the change to the preparation. As it turns out, he has worked with Voltaggio for some time, and he had been brought in to help with the front of the house. I realize Ashburn does not have the server "bench" that's available to DC restaurants, but I really hope Aggio will devote some time to improving the service by educating their staff about the basics. They made changes to simplify their menu, so it certainly appears they are making changes to drive their business. Prices are reasonable, and I don't know of another place in this area that features homemade pasta.
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Lunchbox is now open daily for lunch (11:30am to 6:30pm) and is a really sweet place. Their website mentions that they are adjacent to the public library, but actually the entry is off the Carroll Creek Promenade's walkway reached from between the side of the Library and their building. [We initially walked into the library and ultimately got directions from staff. "Where's Lunchbox?" is currently their #1 FAQ] The restaurant backs up to the Carroll Creek Deck [44 East Patrick Street], but is only entered through the door facing the Creek. Lunchbox has windows on three sides that bring in abundant sunlight. Tables included 2 and 4-tops as well as a picnic table with benches. Seating was tight when we arrived, but a table opened up before our food was ready. In articles about the planning for this site, Chef noted that he wanted to have a mom & kid-friendly place. It has a super large washroom including a "real" changing table stocked with ample clean diapers and wipes. On the down-side, I'm not sure how strollers would navigate the elevator-less garage and stairs-only access to their front door. Lunchbox's menu is separated into pressed sandwiches, soup, salads and cookies. Lunch today, split with my +1, was a wedge salad [good amount of blue cheese, but the lettuce was shredded instead of wedged], butternut squash soup [spicy with glowing turmeric] and a pilgrim sandwich [very moist, warm & meaty inside and crispy outside - thanks to their Electrolux Pannini Press w/built-in microwave] . There's good post-meal strolling and shopping (antiques, furnishings and vintage women's clothes) on Patrick Avenue. More detail from Adrienne Lawrence and Bethany E. Starin's article in the Town Courier [there aren't as many food options on their current menu]. What's next? According to Washingtonian: a diner located in a former car dealership, Range (a meat-centric place in Chevy Chase), and North Market Kitchen in Frederick. Sadly, in January, they will cease weekday lunch service at VOLT. -
Didn't see any thread about this new venture slated to open late fall in Chevy Chase Pavillion. More details at www.bizjournals.com. -
In the spirit of the Mattaponi River and its tributaries (I'm curious to see if anyone will figure this one out), the folks from Volt are planning to open Aggio near the Inner Harbor in the Power Plant Development. "Bryan Voltaggio To Open Restaurant In Baltimore" by Richard Gorelick on baltimoresun.com "Bryan Voltaggio: 'Baltimore's Restaurant Scene Is Ripe For Growth While D.C. Is Getting 'Saturated''" by Sarah Meehan on bizjournals.com -
I have never been to Volt, I keep saying it is on my list. I did try once when I was in Frederick for the day and they were closed for a private party. I am not a fan of Range, I have been there twice and very underwhelmed both times in service, and price for value. I can say that I do like Family Meal, having been there about a half dozen times the most recent on a weeknight about a month ago when I had to run an errand out there. The service there was really great at Family Meal with a young, fun, enthusiastic staff. I realize these three places are very different and the only thing in common is that Brian Voltagio owns all three places. I don't think he comes in very much to FM. The night I most recently went in was a night that Top Chef Masters was on and at 10pm when the show started it was not even playing on any of the tv's. Don - I know I got off topic but don't think we have a Brian Voltagio thread.
