637 replies to this topic

[RShack]

We went to Volt in Frederick last night. For $95 you get a six course meal. Granted the courses are small because its fancy as hell. But the food was delicious. Despite the small plates a big guy like me was actually full at the end. Probably because I took my time and savored it. Im a guy that houses a large pizza in 20 minutes and feels sick for hours after.

It was a slow night so the chef brought us out an extra appitizer with a few small bites, and an extra dessert flight, again small bites. Also sent us home with coffee cakes for breakfast the next day. I thought that was nice considering the $$$.

Its amazing how they come up with these food combinations. Stuff I would never eat like squash, mushrooms, radishes, duck liver, I ate it all. One dish was like a ravioli with a squash and white chocolate puree with an egg yolk inside. Topped with shredded duck liver. Once you cut into it, the liver dissolved into the yolk/puree. Crazy delicious.

Id recommended it for a really special occasion, because its pricy. You really have to be open minded. Dont get queasy when they bring you the breaded and fried thymus glands of a baby cow.

 

From your description, welcome to the wonders of fine dining.  My bride turned me on to that kind of thing in, um, lessee... borrow-the-one...  1991. Changed my friggin' life.

 

Did they have pairings of wine for the various courses?  If they did, try that sometime.  That changed my life too.

 

When it's done right, the wonders of both that kind of dining and the appropriate good wines is that both the food and the wine do amazing tricks in your mouth.  First, the front tastebuds will notice This, then the roof of your mouth will notice That, then the tastebuds at the back of your mouth will notice the Other Thing.  So, you end up taking a bite, putting down your fork, closing your eyes... and you end up grinning like a fool.  Then you sip the wine and the same thing happens again.  It's great.

 

It might cost a lot per meal, but if you measure it terms of grins-per-buck, it's actually way, way cheaper than almost anything that's legal.  Plus, it gives you and your dining partner plenty of be-here-now stuff to talk about while it's happening...

[NewMarketSean]

You have to think that if you eat twice at a Chili's, TGIF, Applebee's, what-have-you, and you get drinks, an appetizer, two entrees, share desert, you're spending about as much or more than you would at a nicer restaurant. Maybe not Volt. But probably as much as you would at any of the top 25 Baltimore restaurants, excluding Charleston of course. So are two different meals at a chain restaurant worth one or 1.5 at a nicer establishment? Not for me.

 

I'm no food snob...I just love good food, and I am willing to pay for it.

[RShack]

You have to think that if you eat twice at a Chili's, TGIF, Applebee's, what-have-you, and you get drinks, an appetizer, two entrees, share desert, you're spending about as much or more than you would at a nicer restaurant. Maybe not Volt. But probably as much as you would at any of the top 25 Baltimore restaurants, excluding Charleston of course. So are two different meals at a chain restaurant worth one or 1.5 at a nicer establishment? Not for me.

 

I'm no food snob...I just love good food, and I am willing to pay for it.

 

Well, for me the effect was that fine dining absolutely ruined the idea of going to the food chains... it makes the idea of spending money at TGIF, etc. seem like a complete waste of money.  Now, if I'm somewhere new to me, I always ask around about a good local place.  Even if it's not fine dining as described above, it's still way more interesting than the same-in-1000-places menu.  

 

The grins-per-dollar metric reveals food chains to be really, really expensive.

 

Plus, it's a good thing to support chefs who have the balls to think for themselves.

 

EDIT:  When you try a local non-chain place, there is some risk, but I have found it to be very slight if you go by local recommendations.  It is more than outweighed by the satisfaction that comes from walking out of some place you never heard of, feeling that you found a great little secret...

[NewMarketSean]

No doubt. Yelp is great for that. Trip Advisor too. 

[RShack]

No doubt. Yelp is great for that. Trip Advisor too. 

 

Cool.

 

You and I often disagree about various things.  I'm glad we found something we're on the same page about.  (Really, no kidding...)

[McNulty]

Yelp is awful.  Its become a place for people to tell you about their stupid night out instead of the restaurant/bar/whatever.  

[Chris B]

You have to think that if you eat twice at a Chili's, TGIF, Applebee's, what-have-you, and you get drinks, an appetizer, two entrees, share desert, you're spending about as much or more than you would at a nicer restaurant. Maybe not Volt. But probably as much as you would at any of the top 25 Baltimore restaurants, excluding Charleston of course. So are two different meals at a chain restaurant worth one or 1.5 at a nicer establishment? Not for me.

 

I'm no food snob...I just love good food, and I am willing to pay for it.

 

Nah, I'm all about the app, two entrees, and dessert for $20 at Chili's. 

[NewMarketSean]

Yelp is awful.  Its become a place for people to tell you about their stupid night out instead of the restaurant/bar/whatever.  

 

There is some of that -- a lot at times. 

 

But as is the case with any review site you have to wade through some crap to get to legit reviews -- or learn when you dismiss a review, especially a negative one, for trite complaints.

[NewMarketSean]

Nah, I'm all about the app, two entrees, and dessert for $20 at Chili's. 

 

To each his own.

[Chris B]

To each his own.

 

I just don't mind those places' food options. I get that the fried stuff isn't for a lot of people. I know a lot of my friends think it's some low-class dinner option since it's a chain (which I think is ridiculous, but whatever).

 

A lot of the stuff at Chili's is crap. I know that. But some of the options are solid. Just stick to those and you're golden. 

[Mackus]

Learning how to filter out bullshit reviews where someone is overly complaining about some typical restaurant problems is a key aspect of using sites like yelp.  But if you can do that reasonably well, it's very reliable.

 

Local hole in the wall eateries, even cheap carryouts, are always way better than chain restaurants.  The one exception for me is PF Changs.  I'm a slut for Chinese food anyways, but I've never had anything at PF Change's that wasn't good, and aside from tipping for the service or if you get drinks, it's not really much more expensive than carryout Chinese.  And PF Chang's seems to be as good or better than any local Chinese restaurant's I've been to (not carryouts, but designed sit down places).  There is one place I've been to (Jesse Wong's in Columbia) that's a clear step or even two above, but everything else is more or less the same.

[RShack]

Nah, I'm all about the app, two entrees, and dessert for $20 at Chili's. 

 

That's just because nobody changed your life yet about dining out... (trust me on this one...)

[Chris B]

That's just because nobody changed your life yet about dining out... (trust me on this one...)

 

I will say, when I lived in Cincinnati, I rarely went to chains for dinner. I think that's just the city lifestyle considering there aren't many chain restuarants in downtown/close-to-downtown areas. A lot of fantastic small eateries out there, as is I'm sure the same in Baltimore.

 

When you live in the suburbs with 3 boys, things get a little trickier, especially when we were young, picky brats who just wanted chicken fingers and fries. Chain places are just so prevalent it's easy.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Volt is amazing.

 

And yeah, it's definitely a special occasion type place. 

 

Check out Range in Chevy Chase if you want to explore some more Voltaggio restaurants.

 

Family Meal in Frederick is also good.

 

Family Meal coming to Baltimore as well.

[RShack]

When you live in the suburbs with 3 boys, things get a little trickier, especially when we were young, picky brats who just wanted chicken fingers and fries. Chain places are just so prevalent it's easy.

 

Well, if you have kids, forget it... the only way to even think about fine dining requires a babysitter... taking kids along would be a crime against fine dining...

 

But put it down for the next time you and the bride can sneak away for a few days... (which you gotta do if you don't wanna lose your mind   )

[Chris B]

Well, if you have kids, forget it... the only way to even think about fine dining requires a babysitter... taking kids along would be a crime against fine dining...

 

But put it down for the next time you and the bride can sneak away for a few days... (which you gotta do if you don't wanna lose your mind   )

 

Ha, I was talking about me as the kid. 

[RShack]

Ha, I was talking about me as the kid. 

 

Well, then... then you have NO EXCUSE!!!!

[Nigel Tufnel]

Charleston in Harbor East is also great.  I'm probably forgetting something, but off the top of my head it's the only place in Baltimore that's comparable to Volt.  I might even like it a little more than Volt, although that might only be because the tables are further apart.

[Nigel Tufnel]

Chicken Rico opened an Inner Harbor location today.  Holy crap, that's some good chicken.

[Nigel Tufnel]

Baltimore Restaurant Week:  Feb 15-28.

 

http://www.absolutelyfebulous.com/eat