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Review: Table 21 @ Volt (Part IV - Courses #15 through #23)
Course #15: Braised Longnecker Farm Rabbit. Probably my absolute favorite dish of the night. The rabbit was incredibly succulent and the way Bryan infused the applewood smoked bacon into the meat was nearly breathtaking. I was really blown away by how good this dish tasted. Well done, chef.  Course #16: Quail, accompanied with brussel sprouts. I forgot to bring the menu with me while writing this up so unfortunately I cannot recall the other ingredients, but yet again, Bryan did not disappoint. The quail was very flavorful and proved to be another highlight of the protein courses thus served that evening.  Course #17: Lamb with madras curry. Another home run. The lamb was perfectly cooked and meshed really well with the curry. Oh hell, it was probably the best lamb I've ever had.  Course #18: Wagyu beef with potato puree and garlic chip transparency. First off, the potatoes, just like the aforementioned lamb, were the best I ever ate. Words can't describe how full of flavor they were. As for the beef, well, I wish I had seconds. I'm a huge steak fan so I was looking forward to this one the most as I had never had Wagyu before. Incredibly tender and perfectly executed. This was also the last entrée course which was kind of a relief because we were so full (yes, even me).  Course #19: Cheese course featuring cheese from Sweet Grass Dairy, accompanied with a tarragon crisp and gelato. I'm not a cheese buff by any stretch of the imagination but it was still an enjoyable course. The gelato added a pleasant sweetness to the cheese and served as a nice segue to the forthcoming desserts.  Course #20: Dulce de Leche goat cheesecake with green apple sorbet. Rachel was pretty much floored by how good this dessert was and always recalls it first when looking back on our Table 21 experience. It was that amazing. The white chocolate power surrounding the cheesecake was also a very nice touch and added even more flavor to an already outstanding course.  Course #21: Three flavors of white: coconut, vanilla, and lavender. Another memorable dessert that was both creative in its composition and presentation. It was comprised of coconut ice cream, vanilla pudding, and lavender power. Really different yet really satisfying.  Course #22: Chocolate peanut butter mouse. This was probably my favorite dessert of the night. You can never go wrong with the incredible combination of chocolate and peanut butter, especially when it's prepared from a restaurant like Volt. Really rich and had a nice, crispy texture on the bottom.  Course #23: Mignardises - miniature homemade ice cream sandwiches. Volt can do wrong. It was sad to finish these bite-size desserts since it concluded what was perhaps the best meal I've ever had in my entire life.  After we received the bill, our waitress supplied us with our very own copy of the menu as well as a blueberry muffin to take home with us. The staff, from the hostess to the sommelier to the waiters and waitresses were all very friendly and made a great meal an even better one.  When we headed out after spending nearly four hours (!) at Table 21, we saw Bryan at the bar talking to a few guests while the kitchen was shutting down for the evening. Rachel asked if he could sign her menu and, if possible, take a picture with us. He couldn't have been a nicer guy about it. I applaud both him and his staff for having such a unique restaurant in this area that only provides great food and service, but also cares so much about supporting local businesses and the community. Would Volt work in DC? Definitely. But there's a certain charm about the restaurant being situated in Frederick that simply cannot be replicated elsewhere. I can't wait to go back up again.
Review: Table 21 @ Volt (Part III - Courses #8 through #14)
Course #8: Bryan came over and introduced this dish himself while shaving white truffles over the perfectly-cooked 61 degree egg. It was accompanied with salsify and caviar and proved to be another excellent course. The eggs were provided by nearby Whitmore Farm as Mr. Voltaggio ensures that all of his items are locally produced and farm fresh at Volt.  Course #9: Goat cheese ravioli and butternut squash. Yes, this was the same ravioli that was featured last night on Top Chef, and let me tell you, it was downright incredible. Perfect flavor and texture. One of the top courses of the night.  Course #10: Butter poached lobster with forbidden rice and coconut air. Another dish that was hit out of the park. Just an incredibly delicious, rich piece of meat that was cooked to perfection. I’m not sure if I’ve ever ate forbidden rice prior to Table 21, but now I definitely want to buy some and cook it with some fish the next opportunity I get.  Course #11: Seared halibut with risotto. Another solid dish. It was a bittersweet moment because I was really enjoying the fish but soon realized we were halfway through our meal. The best was yet to come though.  Course #12: Crispy veal sweetbread with flavors of picata. Delicious.  Course #13: Iberico pork trotters with a trio of beans. I was looking forward to this dish since it sounded interesting, plus the serving was a generous portion (two pieces per plate). You could somewhat compare it to pulled pork that was then breaded and deep-fried. Rachel even gave me some of hers since she’s not a huge pork fan. Score.  Course #14: Hudson Valley fois gras with vanilla brioche. Just incredible. We took our time spreading the fois gras over the homemade brioche just because we didn’t want this course to end. A favorite amongst all four of us.  Coming Up: Our final seven courses of our dinner at Table 21. PS - This was post #1000 of The Upstate Life. Wow.
Review: Table 21 @ Volt (Part II - Courses #1 through #7)
Course #1: Our first course was presented by the sommelier in what was described as a homemade cream soda made with Absolut vodka. It was actually dispensed via a seltzer bottle and then poured into a martini glass which provided a sneak preview of the creative innovations Volt would provide later that evening. It was like drinking an alcoholic Dr. Browns. I might have to start making a habit of adding vodka to my cream soda. Course #2: Bryan himself came over to the table and introduced himself to everyone while describing the most amazing appetizer ever, his own rendition of chips and dip. We were then served dried prosciutto “chips” accompanied with a bowl of rich potato dip. We were only into our second course but this one stood out as one of my favorites because of how unique and delicious it was.   Course #3: Up next was a bite of avocado filled with tuna tartar topped with wasabi foam. It was very good but the portion could’ve been a little bigger, but maybe that’s because I love tuna.  Course #4: Shitake with chili oil and pine nuts. Now I’m not sure how they made this dish, but it was hands-down the most “scientific” of the courses served. Volt prides itself on molecular gastronomy, but it’s utterly jaw-dropping to see shitake mushrooms in liquid, spherical form. Just an amazing sight to behold and, of course, really tasty!  Course #5: Trio of macaroons. Just the presentation alone blew me away. Three macaroons each individually placed on three different spoons. The first was a take on Caesar salad, the second was guacamole, while the last was beets. Each time you placed one in your mouth it instantly melted followed by a rich flavor of the filling. You just don’t see this sort of thing in other restaurants.  Course #6: Boneless chicken wing. Gotta love this story: Bryan asked us if we saw the episode of Top Chef when his brother concocted this dish. Turns out it was Bryan’s to begin with and he let Michael use it on the show! Anyway, it was of course incredible. Just the right amount of buffalo sauce flavor accompanied with bleu cheese crumbles that were frozen via liquid nitrogen. (Forgot to take a pic prior to consumption...)  Course #7: Clam chowder. Really rich, a little salty, but still very satisfying. I’m pretty sure that every ingredient besides the broth was in miniature cube form (including the clams).  Coming Up: The second seven courses of our dinner at Table 21.
Review: Table 21 @ Volt (Part I – A Preface)
Our experience at Table 21 simply cannot be captured in one post. So instead, I'll be making this a four-part series where I'll break down our meal into three 7-course posts throughout the week. But first, I'll start off with a prologue on how this came about since the back-story deserves a post of its own. Rachel's 30th birthday was a few weeks ago, and since this was one of those milestone birthdays and all, I had to make sure that this would be a memorable one. You see, despite Rachel's reluctance to admit that's she's 30 (which she thinks automatically labels her as "old"), she was still carded when she bought a movie ticket to Tropic Thunder last year. So, um, yeah. Anyway, we had been meaning to go to Volt long before chef Bryan Voltaggio was slated to be a contestant on this season's Top Chef, but it wasn't until September that we had found out about the amazing 21 course menu served inside the kitchen. This sounded like quite the experience so when it came time to plan her birthday, I decided to make the reservation later that month in fear of it booking up because of Top Chef starting around the same time. Furthermore, I wanted to keep this dinner a surprise, and since Table 21 is a communal table that sits up to four people, I called up our friends Kim and Brian to see if they wanted to be my partners in crime for this instead of being paired up with some random patrons. They went with the plan since they also had an upcoming wedding anniversary to celebrate, plus they're awesome. Our only problem was how we were going to surprise Rachel when Volt is situated all the way up in Frederick. Well, leave it to Kim to create a fake invitation for an early holiday party her coworker was supposedly having up in Frederick the very same day of the reservation. Rachel amazingly bought it since Kim begged her go as her beau had work to do that evening. Kim had also said that they'd stop and grab a drink at Volt first so Rachel could take a peek at Mr. Voltaggio since she blatantly has a crush on him (dare I say even had a dream about him? But I digress). Anyway, Rachel just made the MARC train up to Frederick while it took me nearly two hours to make the drive up to 270, but I was still able to arrive early enough and meet Brian before the two of them showed up. The surprised look of Rachel's face seeing Brian and I standing at the bar had already made my night. The hostess then took our coats and guided us past the dining room which created even more confusion for Rachel until we were ultimately seated at a table inside the kitchen that was literally within arm's reach from where the chefs were working, including Mr. Bryan Voltaggio himself. Rachel could not stop gawking. Coming Up: The first seven courses of our dinner at Table 21.
Dolphin Pride
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TUL's Take: Matt & Kim @ University of Maryland
The blog is back! At least for now. I'd get into why I've been on hiatus for oh so very long but that's not why we're here today. No, instead, I'm here to discuss how we were embraced by the infectious energy of Matt & Kim inside the Stamp Student Union at the University of Maryland last Friday night. Despite their hit song "Daylight" being the soundtrack of a Bacardi advertisement, Matt & Kim have rode the wave of success following the release of their first proper full-length, Grand. They had already played a sold-out show at the Black Cat a few months ago, but their popularity has even soared higher since then. Let's put it this way: the band was slated to open for Weezer at a sold-out Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City the very next night. Something tells me that they felt a hell of a lot more comfortable in College Park performing in front of a few hundred students whom were for the most part decked out in Halloween regalia. Matt & Kim came on-stage around 9pm sporting fake black eyes and immediately began into their set, kicking off (from what I can recall) with "Cutdown". Honestly, it's hard to remember their entire setlist because the two of them were so into each song (and each other) that you were simply captivated by how much energy and happiness they were exuding while they were respectively bashing their drums and keyboards. One could tell how much fun the both of them were having by not only their nonstop smiles at one another, but also from performing in front of a lively crowd in a somewhat intimate setting complete with bopping heads, dancing, and even some crowd-surfing. When Kim's snare drum broke, Matt initiated a hip-hop beat on his synthesizer and told his bandmate to get down while her instrument was being attended to which elicited a roar from the crowd. Not to be outdone, Matt claimed that in the spirit of Halloween, he would remove an article of clothing before each song. Let's just say by the time the band closed the evening with "Daylight", Matt was left singing in just his underwear. Don't think they could've pulled that off at Hammerstein. All and all it was a very enjoyable show and their hour-long set seemed to fly by due to their nonstop dynamism. Excellent concert and instantly made up for the fact that I was unable to attend their Black Cat outing. Dare I say this show was probably better given the atmosphere and antics? Well done.
TUL's Take: Virgin FreeFest @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
Let me start out by saying that this was the easiest, most convenient music festival experience I have ever been apart of. We barely hit any traffic while driving up to Columbia and easily found parking in the Columbia Mall parking lot which equated to a five minute walk to the festival grounds. This was already much better than getting to Pimlico and we hadn't even stepped inside yet. Once we did, we were instantly enamored with the layout as it brought out a more homey feel than that of the Baltimore racetrack where previous Virgin Festivals had been held. Between the hills, trails, and shade it kind of reminded us of Bumbershoot as that was probably one of our favorite festival venues prior to this weekend. While heading over to the pavilion to see Mates of State, we stopped at the Dance Tent and checked out a bit of Holy Fuck and kind of regret not spending more time over there as they sounded like they were putting on a good set. Once we found some seats inside the pavilion, we quickly realized we were perhaps the only MoS fans within a five foot radius as everyone around us seemed to be waiting for Taking Back Sunday. I mean, come on: rocking married couple with baby > well, whatever TBS is. It's science. We then made our way towards the West Stage which was where we would eventually spend the majority of the day at. Up first was DC-native Wale, who, compared to when I saw him at Bohemian Caverns back on Inauguration Day, had an entire band (local go-go group UCB) backing up instead of a DJ. This was a good idea since it translated well to the festival audience. Wale is quite the showman and his banter between songs was rather entertaining, especially when tossing water bottles to the crowd "Check it, I'm Jason Campbell. Oh wait, I got sacked." Up next was none other than The Hold Steady, a band I have seen over a handful of times. Their set on Sunday, however, didn't really do it for me. Maybe because I was already getting drained from standing in the hot August sun for too long, but despite sounding great, I just couldn't get into it as much as if I were at some small bar in Albany where they're relentlessly rocking out in a crowded, dank space. They still wear their heart on their sleeve when performing regardless of venue though. Public Enemy was up next after their DJ did 15 minutes of scratching. The crowd was the largest of the day thus far as Chuck D, Flava Flav, and the entire Terror Squad brought us back to the Terrordome. I was never a big Public Enemy fan but these guys, despite their age, put on a tremendous effort and really got the crowd going during their hour long set. Halfway through the show, we decided to check out the various tents and vendors before coming back for The National. Ah yes, The National. While their records have been solid, I was never rally captivated by the times I've seen them perform live. Sunday, however, was different. It's been roughly two or so years since I saw them in concert, but since then, they have improved by leaps and bounds and it visibly showed onstage. Lead singer Matt Berringer was a force to be reckoned especially during "Mr. November" and "Squalor Victoria". The added horn section was a nice bonus and added a new dynamic to the band, especially for a setting as large as a music festival. What can I say, they won me back over during their powerful hour-long set and I think I'll have to go to their next show at the 930, whenever that may be. Speaking of the 930, I don't think I learned my lesson when I stood in front of the subwoofers at the club when TV on the Radio came to town. Granted I had a great spot to see, but I couldn't hear shit. Turns out I made the same mistake when Girl Talk performed on Sunday, except dude had the bass at 11. It's become quite evident that one doesn't need to be along the barrier to watch Greg Gillis do his thing, especially when you have a bunch of clowns dancing up onstage trying to upstage one another. Rachel made the intelligent decision to head up towards the back of the field so she could actually hear all sound frequencies while I was stuck using makeshift earplugs made from the toilet paper they were shooting out by Girl Talk's accomplices. The band I was really excited to see all afternoon was in fact the headliner of the West Stage, Franz Ferdinand. And boy, these guys delivered on all fronts. I've seen them three times prior to Sunday, and this by far was their best performance to date. Not only that, but I personally felt that they stole the show at FreeFest. Kicking off the set with "No You Girls", the band has truly perfected performing live. Between the razor-tight guitar riffs, call-and-response tactics, and collective (and ridiculous) drum solo, the boys from Scotland put on one hell of a show and closed the FreeFest out with a collective bang (minus the cymbals as they were already disassembled during the rousing finale "Lucid Dreams"). Overall, the FreeFest was a huge success and I was so glad to be a part of it. Virgin and IMP did an impressive job and I actually preferred the grounds of Merriweather over Pimlico should they decide to hold another festival. All of the vendors were friendly, getting to/from stages was easy, and the food selection was great. Here's hoping Virgin Fest returns in some sort of fashion next summer!
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