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Two new restaurants from Bryan Voltaggio
Two new restaurants from Bryan Voltaggio
The Washington Post By Tom Sietsema
Bryan Voltaggio has more than a new cookbook on his plate. “Volt Ink,” written with his brother and former “Top Chef” rival Michael Voltaggio, is due in October, and on top of that, Bryan is whipping up two new restaurants.
The first is scheduled for an early 2012 launch in Frederick, near the chef’s original dining destination, Volt . Tentatively called North Market Kitchen for its address at 331 N. Market St., the 10,000-square foot space will be a combination 200-plus seat dining room, specialty store and exhibition kitchen with multiple stations serving pasta and charcuterie made in-house, a raw bar, cheese counter, patisserie and rotisserie.
Voltaggio says he’s modeling the business on Eataly, the sprawling Italian-themed food emporium in New York. “Primarily a restaurant,” North Market Kitchen will “also be an amenity for transient diners and downtown residents,” says the chef, who plans to stock the shelves of the “rustic-industrial” venue with some of the ingredients he uses at Volt. The ambitious project calls for lots of staff. Voltaggio says he’ll be hiring “40 to 50 cooks to make this happen.”
Chevy Chase Pavilion is the other beneficiary of the chef’s ideas. That’s where the one-time top toque at Charlie Palmer Steak in Washington is proposing a bistro with steak house elements for a spring 2012 debut. Yet to be named, the 220-seat restaurant on the second level of the upscale mall will feature an open kitchen, chefs interacting with guests and “whole animal useage.” (Think shoulders and legs over loins and other fancy cuts.) It also puts Voltaggio closer to the food scene. “A bit of me misses D.C,” says the Frederick native. Yet “my home base will always be Volt.”
His first order of business is a baby. Voltaggio is expecting a second child, a daughter to be named Piper, July 15.
