Celebrate, we will, 'cause life is short but sweet, for certain

Our second anniversary is October 24.  Second anniversary traditional theme is cotton.  But here's the thing: that theme sucks.  So we aren't doing an official gift exchange (yet - the original plan was to do this later on but now I actually think it's just completely unnecessary).  And since the 24th is a Monday, our celebrating took place Friday night.

I like to be surprised on occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries (because hello, I'm a girl and it's frequently more about the thought and effort than the payout).  L's figured this out over the years (okay he knew it within the first six months - I shall wholeheartedly give credit where credit is due) and is very good about planning things and surprising me with them.  Per his instructions, I headed out to Reston Friday after work to meet L at his office and go wherever L had planned.  L gave me one clue about where we'd be going, and that was that we'd be heading somewhere west.  That gave me three ideas of where we'd go: Charlottesville, a resort in West Virginia (yes, there are resorts in West Virginia; weird, I know), or Frederick, MD so we could finally eat at Volt.  L planned a whole evening of surprises, and once we were about an hour into our road trip, he spilled the beans that we were heading to Frederick!  I was super excited.  We are avid Top Chef fans and we've been talking about going to Volt since I moved up here and we've never pulled the trigger.  I was pumped!

FYI- traffic on a Friday night heading out of northern Virginia sucks.  Took forever.  Snacks were involved, but only before I knew where we were going.  There was no chance I was going to lose my appetite and screw up our dinner plans!

So we finally got to Frederick and found our way to the bed and breakfast where we were staying (surprise #2).  We ended up staying in the bridal suite, which I found hilariously appropriate since it was our anniversary.  That really just meant that our room was larger (bedroom and bathroom, plus a sitting room and allegedly a kitchen that was behind a door I never opened).  I have no pictures so use your imagination.  Same typical b&b decor with lots of antiques.  Think Kleenex box covers, crochet bed canopy, and claw-footed tub.  I loved the tub until I took a shower in it Saturday morning and then I hated it.  I seriously never want to shower in a claw-footed tub ever again.  Felt like the shower curtain liners were attacking me (I loathe when shower curtain liners touch me - sick) and the pressure from the shower head was, like, totally pushing me across the tub.  And because of the 360-degree shower curtain liners that were like a cone around the tub, I couldn't escape the water.  At all.  Not on my list of favorite showering experiences. 

But back to Friday.  We changed clothes and walked around the corner to Volt. 

Close-up shot:

We were a half hour early for our reservation so we sat in the bar and ordered drinks. 

Apple cider fizz for me

Manhattany for L (a Manhattan with blackberry liqueur instead of cherry - amazing)

Apparently the Bryan and Michael (we're totes on a first-name basis, now) recently dropped a cookbook that is best summed up as gorgeous. 

We flipped through it while we sipped our libations and quickly discovered that if we owned a copy, it would be a coffee table book.  The gadgets and tools required are not for the novice home cook.

Oh and in case you are not aware, Bryan Voltaggio is the mastermind behind Volt.  And he's also the one who was runner-up in Top Chef.  This astounds me.

Then we were seated.  Surprise #3: we weren't sitting in the main dining room.  We were sitting at a chef's table where we could watch the action in the kitchen.  Our table looked like this:

At the table where we ate, we had the option to pick one of two six-course tasting menus.  We both selected the Kitchen Menu, which was a protein-based menu (versus the Market Vegetable Menu, which was, shockingly, based on vegetables):

I also opted for the wine pairings, because why not?  I'd never done a full meal with wine pairings by course.  If you're at Volt, you might as well go all the way.  L is not a red wine drinker and some of the courses were red, so he opted to stick with the cocktails. 

Then came the food.  Yes, I took pictures (much to L's embarrassment.  Sorry for the iffy quality of everything; my camera battery died as we walked up to the restaurant, so these were all taken on the sly with my phone) of each course.  It's a freaking chef's table at Volt.  We will not be eating like too often in our lives.  Once I pointed that out, L relaxed a bit.  Plus, I wasn't exactly making a scene about it.

First was a trio of appetizers, courtesy of Chef Voltaggio. 

From left to right: beef tartare, duck foie gras bulb, and salsify "oyster".  I think.  I may not have gotten all the words right and I certainly don't have all the details for you.  Everything was delicious.  That goes without saying from here on out.

First course:

Sashimi of fluke

At this point, I actually looked up and saw Bryan Voltaggio plating food and directing his staff.  Luckily for us, we were about 15 feet away and not sitting right next to where he was (I geeked out a bit).  Then he came out and presented a course for the group at Table 21 (there is one "table" that is more of a bar setting where all seats directly overlook the plating area, much like a bar at a sushi restaurant, and all diners in these seats have a 21-course meal.  Think like El Bulle, if you've seen that episode of No Reservations).  Here he is in action:

That giant cantaloupe/egg-looking thing is a celery root.  I don't know what cool way it was prepared, but it was so cool watching him open it.

  

Second course:

Goat cheese ravioli with brown butter air

Third course:

Black bass with nori porridge (porridge is a horrible word; it sounds gross.  I assure you this nori porridge was delectable.)

Fourth course:

Muscovy duck with quince, turnips, leeks, and coffee "dirt"

Then it was time for more pics of Chef Voltaggio in action plating food.  Our food.

Fifth course:

Lamb with Brussels sprouts, farro, Christmas lima beans, and spinach

And now, we break from our current program to be presented with a special course, courtesy of Chef Voltaggio, in honor of our anniversary:

Orange pistachio semi-fredo

And then it was back on track for our sixth course:

Textures of Chocolate (white chocolate ganache, chocolate caramel, raw organic cocoa, and chocolate sorbet)

I also opted for a cup of Voltaggio blend coffee, which was a. maze. ing.  Bonus: totally French press.  So good.

And then, one final plate, courtesy of the chef:

Concord grape fruit gelee, a cookie with chocolate, a truffle, and pineapple fruit gelee

There were fancier, more detailed names for each item, but honestly at that point I'd had six glasses of wine and a cocktail so I'm not a trust-worthy source for the details. 

Then it was time to head home.  We were both insanely full but oh, so happy.  Words cannot express how insanely good that meal was.  I've never had anything like it in my life.  The fact that you can raise the food to your mouth and smell one thing, and then take a bit and taste something totally different, and then, as you chew, the flavors change (sometimes once, sometimes multiple times, depending on the dish), is just so amazing to me.  

Neither of us was hungry for the breakfast the next morning, but since we'd told the proprietor we'd be dining, we felt obligated to go downstairs and eat.  After the worst shower ever, we packed up our stuff and headed down.  Breakfast = just okay.  There were claims of the French toast being "world famous", but I don't see it.  Also L and I were totally not fans of the incessant name dropping regarding Bryan Voltaggio and Michael Voltaggio.  It was out of control. 

Go to Volt.  Eat your heart out.  Totally worth the trip.