christmas card, 2009

In case you didn't know:

Yuletide was originally a pagan winter festival celebrated by the historical Germanic peoples which was later absorbed by Christians with Christmas. Thanks Wikipedia.

Please click here for Christmas card 2008 if you are desperately missing last year's card.

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a tribute to bryan voltaggio and volt - let's be friends

(Editor's note: I wrote the bulk of this blog post immediately after watching Top Chef Las Vegas Season 6. Thus, the posting date is correct while in actuality, it's a week late)

Emmelle and I just finished watching Michael Voltaggio claim the Top Chef Las Vegas crown (season 6). I went into the finale fully believing that his brother, Bryan, would be raising his arms in victory and endearing all doubters with his geeky, nervous laugh. There were a few reasons that had me convinced that the older Voltaggio would walk away the victor:

• I thought that Bryan (we are on a first name basis) created consistently excellent dishes throughout the season, both visually stunning and seemingly flavorful
• I could only ignore my new Man Crush for so long - the combination of his talent, poise, integrity and good looks - some are clearly more blessed than others
• He comes across as a much kinder being than the younger Voltaggio (at least it was edited that way)
• I ate lunch at his restaurant, Volt, in Frederick, Maryland a couple of months before the season finale aired tonight

Hhmm, most of those really aren't reasons to give him the big prize.

I won't argue about who should or shouldn't have won - we can't taste the food. And as viewers, we can't rely too much on the edited version of all of the judges' commentary. If we went strictly by that, we would be left with only these truths: Tom needs more salt (I wonder if he seasons his seasonings), Gail wants someone to tell her that she's pretty (especially one of the Voltaggio brothers), Padma wants everyone to acknowledge her baby bump, and Toby knows how to turn a phrase (and it sounds that much better because he has an accent).

I digress. My point is that we can't taste the food, which I hear is the most critical component of evaluating a cooking competition. Michael Voltaggio won. That's fine; I'm sure he deserved it. However, I was really looking forward to a BV victory so I could make claim that I am the first of my kin to dine at a Top Chef winner's restaurant. I'll have to settle for the first of my lineage to eat at a runner-up's establishment. Boo.

So what do I have to say about Volt? (I've decided I really don't know how to describe what I eat, so not much really...)

During part 1 of the season finale, Bryan mentions that he established Volt in Frederick, Maryland to be near agriculture. This is true; he's out in the cuts. His restaurant resides in a charming little downtown area, but beyond that is a lot of farmland and green for miles and miles. It's quite a trek from Washington, D.C., or anywhere else you might want to be. But downtown Frederick certainly has its small town charms; I could see Eddie Money scheming a future rendezvous with (fill in the blank).

Both male and female servers wear grey suits with brown Chuck Taylors, which contrast nicely with the white decor - walls, dinnerware, tablecloth... Our server told us that Chef Voltaggio was away "on business" for a couple of days. I am thoroughly convinced he was taping the finale in wine country while we lunched at his restaurant. I blame Eddie Money's indifference to the cuisine for contributing to Bryan's loss. Negative vibes.

One of Bryan's pitfalls during the Finale episodes was his lack of seasoning, which I could personally attest to. There were no flavor explosions in my mouth, which by the way, are my favorite type of explosions, especially in my mouth. But it was a good meal that further established my new Man Crush. On top of that, the three course lunch option was $20.09. $20! It's always a welcomed surprise to avoid large city prices.

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