Dinner at VOLT
Jim and I went to VOLT on Friday night for my birthday, which was Saturday. Let me start by saying that we went in knowing we were going to splurge. I don’t ask for gifts for my birthday but a really nice night out is the best gift I can receive. And I got it. (By the way, the menu when we went was totally different from the one that’s on their website)
I’ve read all the reviews here and elsewhere so I went in keeping some of the complaints and praise for this restaurant in mind. We had 8:30 reservations and got there about 10 minutes early so we expected that our table wouldn’t be ready. We went into the bar area which was hopping with activity and waited 10-15 minutes before our table was ready. We opted for the a la carte dining room and, in my opinion, we got the best seat in the house in the front window overlooking Market Street. In fact, these sunflowers were right next to us and they were beautiful. Unfortunately, it was a rainy night so there wasn’t much street activity. There was plenty to watch inside though. We were fascinated watching as a table was turned over and the precision that went with it. As someone would change the table linens, someone else came along with a steam iron to smooth out the wrinkles in the tablecloth. I have honestly never seen that before.
We decided that we would order something off of each course on the menu. I didn’t taste any of Jim’s choices but I was very happy with mine. My first course was a medley of locally grown beets with 3 dollops of the most amazing whipped goat cheese. I’m not a huge fan of goat cheese but this presentation was so light and fluffy and went well with the beets. My second course was the corn ravioli and while I gave Jim a few bites of beets, I wasn’t going to share the ravioli. I could have eaten a double order of these and been happy for the rest of the night. Truthfully, I don’t eat a lot at one sitting and I was getting pretty full by this point so I was happy that my striped bass entree was a reasonable size. I could see why some would say it’s a small portion but it was perfect for me. It was accompanied by sauteed dandelion greens and baby carrots. Delicious! Jim’s steak entree was a much larger portion and while he liked it, he says he wouldn’t order it again. The cut was a bit tough for his liking and truthfully, the portion was too large.
We ordered desserts too, something we never do. I ordered the chocolate hazelnut “pave” (which is on the online menu) and Jim ordered a berry dessert. My memory is a bit fuzzy on the dessert details since we were on our second bottle of wine by then. Speaking of wine, Aaron the sommelier helped us choose the second bottle after I requested an Oregon Pinot Noir. The second bottle was amazing. The first was OK. Jim knew he wanted something bold and red and French and ordered a Margaux. Aaron suggested the wine be decanted. That wine (and if I could remember the label I would tell you) got better with each glass, but the Pinot was lighter and went well with the steak and fish and also with dessert. We also neglected to get the name of that wine.
Back to the desserts. The chocolate was amazing. We can’t remember the berry dessert (although we ate it. I remember the large, sweet berries but I can’t remember what they came with) . We were surprised that Chef Bryan came out to say hi to us (remember, we’ve met him before) and he sent out all the desserts for us to try. (And Fred Foodie, he was definitely smiling when we saw him!) The poached pear dessert came with a delicious custard and there was also a goat cheese cheescake that I didn’t care for but Jim liked. If you have a sweet tooth, it’s pretty obvious that VOLT takes pride in their dessert offerings. Not to mention that after dessert, a small sweet tray of biscotti and chocolates comes with coffee and and each of us went home with a small box of cookies.
All in all a very good birthday!
Glad to hear you had a good experience. I wish we would have had the same. Our experience is detailed on Fred Foodie
Looks like we shared a similar experience Liz, but I respectfully disagree on the seating. Front window is great I’m sure, but being in the kitchen ROCKS! Did you like the beet meringue? I hate beets in a way I cannot describe, and yet, I really enjoyed that taste and texture. Woo hoo!
Christine, I like beets any old way. It was all good!
Maybe next time we will try the kitchen seats.
We went to Volt on opening night, and had a fantastic time. We have a few photos of the decor and food HERE. Find more photos like this on FredRocks.net
We’re going in October for our anniversary. Kitchen seating. Whee! I loved your review, Liz. I was cracking up toward the end, I expected it to end with “And somehow I woke up at home…” Sounds like good wine.
The wine was excellent! I really should have taken notes though!
If my partner’s steak is too big, that’s okay by us. We’ll eat the rest later.
But if we go to a high-end restaurant, and they serve us an expensive steak that is “a bit tough,” we both would be disappointed by our experience. While it certainly would not ruin the evening, we would expect better.
Did your husband order it rare, medium rare, or medium? What cut was it–and how expensive?
Gus,
Actually the portion size would’ve disappointed a lot of people and certainly wasn’t “large”. I am not certain of the cut of meat, but there were actually two different meats: a steak and a piece of BBQ.
The waiter said the Chef recommended the steak cooked at medium rare, but I told them I prefer my steak served as rare as reasonable.
It was blackened/charred on one side and I’d say it came out medium rare (red but not ice cold in the middle as I like it). It wasn’t a tough cut of meat by any stretch, but not something you could cut using a butter knife.
The “BBQ” portion was the element I wasn’t particularly fond of. I think it was beef. Maybe the two bottles of wine or the fact I wasn’t really paying attention, but I have no idea of the cost.
I am not a huge BBQ fan, but you are right. It didn’t deter from the enjoyment of the meal, although I wasn’t overwhelmed.
I remember Christine telling us when we were doing the FNP interview that she once broke down and cried because a dish she ordered at some swanky joint was so perfect. Maybe that was the emotion I was was hoping for and didn’t get.
I forgot to add: we are definitely going back on my birthday in October, if not before.
Everyone, I found out that Bryan is a neighbor of mine down the road. Nice guy, and I always see him heading to work at 730 in the morning. which given restaurant hours is a long day.
My wife and I went for our anniversary on the 13th. We have been there 5-6 times for dinner, lunch and brunch. This was by far the best of some very good experiences. The service is much more streamlined and efficient. The menu is evolving daily/weekly. The wine list continues to grow with new and hard to get choices (Mischief & Mayhem Pinot Noir !!) at decent restaurant prices. I really think they are clicking now compared to early August.
Other touches: A miniature wedding cake as an anniversary dessert at no charge Cigards, cognacs, whiskies available and you can smoke in the garden off of the bar.
FYI the below appeared in Tom Sietsema’s (Washington Post Restaurant Critic) “AskTom”
web chat on Wednesday the 10th:
Frederick, MD: Any word on VOLT yet?
Tom Sietsema: All I can say right now is that my review of the new restaurant, run by Bryan Voltaggio, will appear Oct. 5 in the Magazine.
Bill, thanks for mentioning the upcoming Tom Sietsema review. Aaron mentioned that to us as well.
I have read other reviews here and elsewhere that mentioned service issues. I thought the service was impeccable when we went.
Lizfrog- Happy Birthday. I look forward to seeing what Sietsema has to say. Anyone want to make any predictions on the number of stars? My bet is three.
Thanks Fred! Aaron said Sietsema was there at least twice and that he must have been in a disguise. I read the chat transcripts as well and Sietsema mentioned that the first time he went, he didn’t get good service so hopefully his second visit was more like mine was.
My prediction is two and a half stars. Sietsema isn’t easily impressed and hasn’t been kind to Frederick in the past. But compared to Phyllis Richman, he’s a pussycat. Richman was hell on wheels–and proud of it.
I’m happy to hear that a restaurant like Volt is fianlly open in Maryland. I didnt however say that it should be Volt. I had dinner there a few weeks ago, and I really wish I could get my money back. Paying for food that has already been done, and at Volt done poorly, just isnt fair. The food wasnt tasty, service was poor, and all in all I felt awful that they think this is what a restaurant should be. A little slice of underseasoned foie with a piece of melon??? Is this a joke? Its like they are mocking the fine dining world. I’m so sorry to see a restaurant like Volt pop up and put a bad name on food. And on a final note…the chocoalte pave is the kit kat bar from Happy in the Kitchen. Talk about lame….
I thought Sietsema reviewed The Tasting Room? Can’t remember????
Our anniversary is coming up in October. Last year my hubby surprised me with a trip to the Keys! (I’m talking about the Florida Keys, not our hometown baseball game, though we did do that for his birthday.) He didn’t even tell me where we were going! This year, we wanted to do something special, but something a little more low-key. I’ve been so curious about Volt. There seem to be a lot of mixed experiences here. Still, I’d like to go.
Sietsema gave The Tasting Room–a restaurant many locals consider Frederick’s best–2 out of 4 stars.
He wasn’t terribly impressed by the late Zest, as I recall.
Wonder what he would think of Dutch’s Daughter. Or worse, La Paz.
Liz,
Just curious since Monocacy Crossing is our favorite restaurant and I know you really like it. Would you go back to Volt first before picking Monocacy. We don’t go out to eat very often at all so when we do go, we always stay with what we love… thanks!
Debbie
Debbie, I would still pick Monocacy Crossing as a more “go to” place and at this point, VOLT as a more special occasion place. We probably go to Monocacy Crossing about once a month and they are always reliable and delicious and less expensive. Plus, they are near our house.
Thanks Liz, you answered my question! We’ll keep true to form, I have never had a meal at Monocacy I didn’t love!!!
We did restaurant week last night at Volt. This is our second time there and probably good that it wasnt our first. The food was very good but for what it all costs, not really worth it. My wife’s monkfish was undercooked. We asked about it and they said they serve it medium but it just seemed mushy. She also ordered a drink that tasted like cough syrup and even though she sent it back after one sip, it still ended up on our bill. Lastly, they advertised a $15 wine pairing for the pre-fixe menu and then charged us $20 when we got there. The waitress said “oh, we just decided to raise the price of that.” The food was still good as always but for the price, i dont expect these types of issues from a restaurant competing with the top notch. It still seems there are many kinks to work out on the service side. This is also the second time we went and had undercooked fish. I have learned my lesson. Did anyone else have an experience at Volt from Restaurant Week?
@Sean, I hope you spoke up to the Maitre d’ about your complaints. We had the opposite experience there on Weds. We ordered the chicken and the pork tenderloin from the Prix Fixe menu. Both were a bit salty, but delicious. The staff kept bringing us tiny morsels of food to sample between courses: mini brioches, cevice, tiny cookies, etc. When I pointed out that someting was missing from my entree, they apologized, subtracted a few dollars from the bill and brought us an extra dessert. Then we got a tour of the restaurant and the kitchen, where we met the chef. We got VIP treatment, even though we were (almost) the only diners there who weren’t over-40 and rich. I probably would never go there if it weren’t Restaurant Week, because of the prices, but I might go for lunch or eat at the bar (they have a separate bar menu). Also, they told me that they would be extending the $20.09 Prix Fixe lunch specials for another week or more (at least through Feb. 27).
I’ve heard the burgers form the bar menu are very good. I still haven’t had the chance to check Volt out yet. Someday.