VOLT follow-up
2008 June 15
According to VOLT’s blog, the restaurant has a tentative opening date of July 18th for dinner and the lounge/bar area and July 29th for lunch service. Of course, these dates are subject to change depending on the construction timetable so be prepared to be a bit flexible.
If you are interested in a job at VOLT, they are holding open house interviews beginning June 22nd. The dates are Sunday and Monday, June 22nd and 23rd and Sunday and Monday, June 29th and 30th. Times are between 2PM and 6PM.
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Forget a job….how do we get reservations for dinner??
Click on my link for “tentative opening date”. All the info is on the VOLT blog.
Here is an interview with Bryan Voltaggio.
Does anyone know if Volt actually opened last Friday for dinner? Has anyone been yet if they did open?
To answer my own question. it looks like Volt is now supposed to open this coming Friday, the 25th.
At least according to today’s FNP:
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/art_life/display_food.htm?StoryID=77843
Check this article out: http://www.zagat.com/Blog/Detail.aspx?SNP=NWDC&SCID=41&BLGID=13596&zagatbuzzid=july08week4
Oops, I thought there was more to it than the date of opening.
Thanks Monica. At least it’s a 2nd verification of the opening!
It is definite for Friday and the place is awesome.
So who went to Volt last night? I’m anxious to hear how it was!
I was bummed…we had reservations for chef’s table last weekend – and sadly they didn’t open on time! We have re-scheduled for the end of August – but would love to hear if anyone else had the chance to do the tasting….Especially if it’s worth the $$
My wife and I went Friday for the opening in the main dining room really anticipating a great meal and were unfortunately disappointed. While the food was prepared well, I was not expecting to leave hungry. I thought a shared first course and dessert with each of us having our own second course and entree would be plenty, I was sorely mistaken. That, coupled with 40 minutes between courses, was not was I was hoping the restaurant would be. After our 2.5 hour meal, we had to go elsewhere to get a bite to eat before bed. We felt like we were in that Visa commercial.
The wait staff was abundant. It often seemed like they were hovering rather than being attentive but out of the way. I can forgive this since it was opening night, but I felt uncomfortable like I was being watched.
Again, I hope things improve over time, but I won’t be going back for a while at least.
The Volt opening went very well as far as 1st nights go.
My wife and I joined a large party in the Chef’s Dining room for the 5 course tasting menu and wine pairing. The Chef’s Dining room is adjacent to the kitchen. The proximity was fascinating without being intrusive or noisy.
We were attended by John and his service team. The staff’s knowledge and professionalism was impressive for a young team in a new location.
The food was excellent. The 5 course tasting menu was offered in both standard and vegetarian versions, and we tried both. The courses were quite varied, but well thought out. The standard menu is described below.
Yellow Tail Hamachi was delicate and flavorful. An heirloom tomato compilation of a “tomato ice cream” and heirloom grape tomatoes was fabulous. Striped bass and ruby quinoa was full flavored and well textured. A cold pea soup and blue crab grew more flavorful the longer it rested in my mouth, a tip I picked up from someone who had previously tasted the dish. The locally sourced Angus steak was succulent and well complemented by rich shitakes.
All of these were paired with a variety of wines selected by the Volt sommelier, Aaron. The wines were well matched, with 2 that really stood out; a white Bordeaux (Chateau Soua) and a very rich Washington State Shiraz (Yakimma).
Dessert blew everyone away. A small but rich panna cotta swimming in a cool blueberry soup.
The tasting/pairing combination made great sense as we were a large group, and it gave us great pleasure to compare notes on the individual plates and wines.
The 5 course menu was $69, and the pairing was $45 for a total of $114/person.
There is much more to Volt than the food. I could go on for quite a bit, but the building, the architecture and restaurant design are really striking, yet also very comfortable.
We went back for drinks on Sunday night, and really enjoyed the lounge and the bar staff. The cocktail menu (which I generally avoid) is creative without being precious.
We’ll be regulars….Bill
Bill, I’m curious how long it took you to get through the 5 course tasting menu. We went for the 4 courses in the main dining room. And we were there for *three* hours. Once we hit the second hour, I was really losing steam.
We agreed that we would probably go again in the future. I’m curious to see the lunch and lounge menus when they come out. The food we had was excellent.
Purfling,
We were a party of 10, and we sat down a bit late, around 8. We were a lively group, and also a bit picky. We ordered both the standard and the vegetarian 5 plates, while also substituting plates as we had a few diners who did not eat beef or seafood. This caused some delay in the kitchen to accomodate us. Net, net we were in for about 3.5 hours, til 1130. The wine pairing did not falter, and kept pace with the service. We were a pretty lively group and were happy to be there for the opening, so the long meal suited us (especially since we probably caused it for ourselves and perhaps for others).
The standard spacing is 2-2.5 hours for the 5 course tasting as I understand it. Opening night is all about getting it right and fixing the process issues that arise. I think they’ll be fine.