Restaurant experiment: Volt

Volt

228 North Market Street

Frederick, MD 21701

301-696-VOLT

http://www.voltrestaurant.com/

Normally I wouldn’t write about a restaurant outside of NYC, but since Volt has attained fame on a national level, I thought I would blog about it.  I don’t even watch Top Chef but I know a lot of my friends do.  All I knew beforehand was that there were two brothers Voltaggio on the show.  One won and the other was the runner-up.  The latter, Bryan, runs the kitchen at Volt in Frederick, MD.

In historical downtown Frederick, Volt resides in a stunning warm red brick building that used to be the home for six spinster sisters.

Top Chef enthusiast Esther had snared the private dining room for our larger group.  This dining room was a solarium.  While this sounds pleasant in theory, on a sunny afternoon, it’s not so desirable.  I was sweaty and blinded and considered donning my sunglasses.  Maybe some blinds would be wise.  On the upside, at least there was oodles of light to help my pictures look pretty.

Our server was on point and very professional.  The service was just like any starred restaurant in NYC.  We all had the $55 lunch tasting menu.  Complimentary sparkling or still water was served.  A couple of folks had bloody marys and highly recommended them.

I’m going to cobble this together from various menus posted on the website.

Breadsticks: the spice choices were a little harsh for such a simple item, but that’s just my thought.

Bread: a basket of options came round.  I picked the chive biscuit.  I think you were supposed to pick one, but a few of us tried two.  I had a bit of the chocolate croissant, fantastic.  The Vermont butter pushed the biscuit into lip smacking good territory.

Tuna tartare amuse bouche: nothing to say except that this was exceptional!  I wish this were one of the courses instead of the other fish dish.

Tasting of Tuscarora farm beets: as anti-beet person, I can’t admit I loved this dish.  But I learned that there are different varieties of beets, of different shades of the rainbow.  Out of all the colors, I liked the dark purple beet the best.  The meringue beet (the violet styrofoam-like cylinder) dissolved on your tongue.

Cherry Glen Farm goat cheese ravioli: the general consensus was that this course was one of the showstoppers of the meal.  If this were a Broadway musical, this would be the part when the diva finishes her big number and the audience leaps to their feet to applaud.  The squash sauce was a yummy pairing.  I don’t know about all this foam business though; sage foam didn’t really add much to the overall effect but look like dishwashing bubbles.  Though I did like the little maitake mushrooms.

Fish: The beans look like caviar but are definitely not fish eggs.  Were the cauliflower dyed or naturally those hues?  I guess we’ll never know.  White fish rarely dazzles me.  This sturgeon was fine but nothing to put you in a pleasure stupor.

Meat: solid steak.  Unfortunately this one left less of an impression, not because it was bad, but maybe since it came towards the end of the meal.

Goat Cheesecake: for me, goat cheese is a little too caustic for cheesecake; I simply prefer more mellow cheesecake (hello, cream cheese).

All in all, $55 well spent.  Volt is at full capacitance and electrically charged.  So when you hear Volt, don’t think about Chevy’s lame new car but about this charming, fantastic gem in old Frederick, MD.

Restaurant experiment: Chai

Chai

930 Eighth Avenue at 55th Street

New York, NY 10019

212-707-8778

http://www.chai-restaurants.com [The URL is missing the “s” on the business card!  Shame!]

Mike, a Midtown restaurant review for you!

Leslie and I came here after a showing of Secretariat (characteristically Disney cheesy but with exciting horseracing scenes).  I had jotted down a list of dinner joints not too far away, and since Leslie had been to some already, it came down to Guantanamera and Chai.  Guantanamera’s menu had a few more bucks added to each item, so Chai it was.  A bevy of other folks had the same idea; practically all of the tiny tables were occupied.  But no fear, we were able to be seated promptly.

Rather, seated promptly at a table so close to surrounding tables, it was practically like dining in the laps of other diners.  Never been a fan of this trick.  As with practically all Thai places in NYC, Chai sports a slinky modern design.  I guess the benefit of such a teeny space is that the servers can’t hide from you and are pretty attentive.

Leslie ordered the pad sea eiw while I tried out the kao pad lychee which was “fried rice with lychee nuts served with shrimps, egg and scallions in a flavorful chef’s sauce.”  We also ordered Thai iced teas which were not on the food menu or drink menu, but what Thai restaurant doesn’t have Thai iced tea?

Anyway, the first thing you notice is that the portion is not stingy.  +1.  I rarely eat lychees prepared in meals, usually just as they are, so it was kind of novel to have bursts of sweetness alongside traditional fried rice tastes.  Lots of nuts in there too.  Thumbs up.

The bill was ~$25 for two entrees and two non-alcoholic drinks.  Radness.  But there was a note on the check holder that read the minimum was $15 to use a credit card.  Leslie and I had wanted to split the bill onto our two cards, Leslie pointing out that splitting the check and with tip would be ~$15 on each piece of plastic.  The waitress wasn’t having it but wasn’t expressing herself very clearly.  Leslie gave up trying to talk sense into the woman.  Minimums are dumb.

Aside from that credit card blip, I was happy with my eatery suggestion and rewarded myself with a virtual pat on the back.  Chai was a smart dining pick, meaning dirt cheap and rather delicious.  Leslie and I waddled down Eighth Avenue, and I felt nearly sick but in a content way.  If that is even possible.

Restaurant experiment: Donnybrook

Donnybrook

35 Clinton Street at Stanton Street

New York, NY 10002

212-228-7733

http://www.donnybrooknyc.com/

Donnybrook’s business card declares it to be “home to lively debate and raucous revelry!”  This statement could be debated.  But I’ll let it slide since it was a weeknight and there were no drunken, foolish antics to witness.  The bartender seems jovial enough.

Luckily, I made it to Donnybook a few minutes shy of the end of happy hour (8pm).  I ordered a Blue Moon for $5.  Not super cheap, but I shrugged my shoulders; that’s the LES for you.  Then I found Afua at one of the sturdy wooden tables and gabbed with her until Julie showed up with her crew.  A blonde waitress kept attentive watch over us.  And she was sweet as pie.

Seeing as though I was starving, I had food on the brain and settled quickly on the fish pie ($12) which consisted of shrimp and fish with some sort of cheese crust, the menu informed me.  Afua also certified the fish pie to be tasty; it was settled.  We actually ended up doing shots since it was her brother’s birthday.  My lemon drop was $8, ouchie.

I will admit that when the fish pie made its entrance, it was not what I was expecting.  I was expecting something along the realm of a chicken pot pie, but this was more like a creamy seafood stew with toast triangles on the side.  Maybe in Ireland, pie means stew?  The little side salad was a nice touch.  However, it appeared that the salt dispenser was not handled with a light touch, more like a lead hand.  Too much salt and the intense creaminess did not balance out.  Too bad, because I tasted the potential for greatness, but it was buried in salt

My bill was $20, and I tipped $2 by accident.  The drinks convinced me that a 10% tip was magically a 20% tip.  I felt bad but only realized this error after I was too far from the bar.  Luckily Afua agreed to toss in a few bucks on my behalf.  I’m terrible.  And it was worse because the waitress was excellent!  Argh.  I encountered transit issues later as divine punishment.

In case you were wondering about the bathrooms, there are four (I believe)  individual, separate rooms.  It was a cool touch that the bathroom rules were die-cut decals.  Pretty sharp.

Restaurant experiment: Scobee Grill

Scobee Grill

25229 Northern Boulevard at Little Neck Parkway

Little Neck, NY 11362

718-428-5777

Ah, the NYC diner.  It’s been a while since you and I met up.  Apparently Scobee’s been around a while.  And according to Wikipedia, former CIA director George Tenet even worked there as a busboy.  Ooh history.  When Dave and I went, only one section of the diner was open; the restaurant itself is massive.  When you walk in, a bakery case greets you and lets you know that all of its goods were baked on the premises.  Cookies the size of frisbees, I swear.

As with most diners, the menu is twenty pounds and filled with the standard fare.  Dave and I settled on burgers which seemed pretty much like a safe choice.  He picked out the New York burger and I the Greek option ($8.95).  The service was courteous though maybe not the most attentive.  The burgers appeared in short order, and whoa, onion overload.  Were they trying to unload all their red onion stock onto me?  I love onions but not that much; I’d be reeking for weeks.  Notice the swimming pool in the middle of the patty.  Dave griped that his rare burger was not rare.  Are diners even capable of serving meat rare?  I highly doubt it.

Anyway, the feta was fried which I had never seen before but it was actually a smart idea so the crumbles didn’t go every which way.  Mmm, tzatziki sauce.  Unlike Dave, I found my burger to be perfectly serviceable.  Yeah, it wasn’t a fancypants burger, but it was good enough for me, considering the circumstances (meaning, being in a diner).  I did want to throw in a thumbs down on the bun.  It was of poor quality and falling apart in my very fingers.  Bleh.

Dave was decidedly down on this place, but I’m a little more forgiving.  It did have a lottery ticket vending machine in the lobby, uh, weird?

Restaurant experiment: Pho Hoang

Pho Hoang

41-01 Kissena Boulevard between 41st & Barclay Avenue

Flushing, NY 11355

718-762-6151

Dave wanted to eat at Pho Bang, where we’ve eaten before, but alas, the chairs were on the tables and mopping was taking place.  Luckily, Pho Hoang next door was open, and we were told it closes at 2 AM.

As with these sorts of joints, service is not very solicitous.  Brusque at best.  Dave and I ordered large sized bowls of pho for roughly $6.25 each, whatta bargain!  Dave requested a bowl option with lots of meats in it, and I picked out a standard beef one with eye of round.

When I asked for no cilantro, apparently the cooks read that as no greenery at all.  I was sad that there were no scallions in my bowl, so I asked a runner for some scallions/green onions.  He barely comprehended what I was saying, even with Dave’s visual aids.  As you can expect, the green onions never showed.  Tsk tsk.  Lousy service.

Since there were lemon wedges presented with the bean sprouts and cilantro, I took it upon myself to squeeze citrus into the broth.  It actually tasted quite pleasing.  It might not be for everyone, but I sure dug it.

The bubble tea that we sampled was chock full of bubbles that were quite dense.  The tea itself was ultra sweet.  Too sweet.  If you didn’t want regular tea, you could add bubbles to other drinks for $0.50, I believe.  But the free tea was a win.

P.S.  Bathroom smelled like pee and lacked toiled paper.