If Dinner Parties Were A Competition - We Won. Again.

Dinner Party at Hotel Antolli

Undisclosed Location in Suburban Maryland, MoCo

Sorry for the self-aggrandizement and tooting of thine own horn you're going to be subject to here, but this one is too good not to tell you about.

I'm the co-founder of a charitable organization called Shooting with Chefs. We have an annual fundraiser for Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic and it's, for lack of a better word, unique.

Some of the area's best chefs help my organization create a day-long extravaganza of food, firearms, fun, fire, cigars, bourbon, and fundraising.

This year's event was the most successful to date. We raised over $54,000 in this one-day event that went directly to Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic.

We raise these funds through corporate sponsorships and donated auction items. The auction items range from hotel nights and chef's tasting dinners at exclusive restaurants to one-of-a-kind experiences created by world-renowned chefs at the winners' houses.  Last year I was lucky enough to be invited to a dinner where both Bryan Voltaggio and Mike Isabella provided dinner at a friends house. Here's a link to the post about that dinner: How to Win a Dinner Party.

A few smart friends of mine and I decided to pool our resources and bid on a private dinner at one of our houses prepared and served by Bryan Voltaggio, Graeme Ritchie and Dane Nakamura of Voltaggio Family of Restaurants this year and it was a rousing success. Read all about it.

Above is the first course we enjoyed: Turbot with cucumber, lemon, chanterelle mushrooms. 

For the dipping: Whipped lardo with crispy leeks and a chicken liver mousse if memory is serving me correctly. 

Here's another shot of the Turbot.

Corn soup with cotija, okra and guajillo. Smooth, cold, and buttery. 

Nothing like some perfectly seasoned and grilled octopus with fregola, almond, olive and Meyer lemon.

This dish bordered on flavor overload: Tonnarelli Nero, cooked in squid ink, with Maryland Blue Crab, jalapeno and sea urchin. 

Sometimes something is cooked so perfectly it's almost like a new food. Anson Mills Grits with coconut, calamari, shrimp, and the most exquisitely cooked scallop I've ever had.

For those of you who are not afraid of food with a face, here is one of the ultimates: Pig Face. There were two halves for the ten of us. I will not share the metode' with you as it was entrusted to me in confidence and I solemnly swore to only use the recipe for my own benefit moving forward.

Think of the best pork belly you've ever had. A thin layer of crispy skin with about two inches of fat-layered meat. Now think of that with more flavor and a crispiness that has none of the inedible portions that  you sometimes get with roasted pig. This was the bomb. It was served moo shu-style with lettuce wraps and various toppings/condiments. I know I'll never love this way again. (Yes, that's Whitney singing in the background.)

I had range officer duty the next day in Poolesville and Paul Antolli, host for the evening, was nice enough to bring me four slices of white bread and some of this for lunch. It was spectacular then as well.

This was adding insult to injury at this point, but when Graeme comes and drops a dessert in front of you you are compelled to eat it. Every last bit. Black Forest: Chocolate, dry cherry, sweet cream, and cocoa nib. Sounds simple. Looked spectacular and tasted better.

What's even better than some kick-ass cigars after a meal like that? Spending time shooting the breeze and smoking kick-ass cigars around the fire with some of your restaurant heroes who just made you and your friends one of the best meals of your life. We had a great time and the money went to a great cause. Brian is very generous to donate his time, money and effort to several charities including No Kid Hungry, Chefs for Equality, and others.  Bravo chef, and thank you.

And the parting shot! Left to right the lovely Mrs. Cheryl Bolen (AKA Mrs. Smelson), Dane Nakamura, Graeme Ritchie, yours truly, and Bryan Voltaggio.
If you're interested in something like this and want a crack at winning a dinner prepared in your home by Bryan, Mike Isabella, or some as-yet-to-be-named chefs (got a couple of special donors TBA at game time) at Shooting with Chefs IV to be held in June of '16 reach out to me at ChefShoot@Outlook.com or dsmelson@gmail.com

Thanks for reading.

Range in Chevy Chase...Home cooking made extraordinary.

Range

5335 Wisconsin Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20015

Valet on Military Road just past the hotel entrance.

Yes, I was busy over the holidays, and to tell you the truth I haven't really had any great meals in places that had good enough lighting for me to take pictures. Sorry to disappoint. I made up for it last night though. Six friends/family members and I went to Range, Bryan Voltaggio's new restaurant in Chevy Chase.

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Here's a shot of one of the barmen creating a pair of fabulous cocktails. Note the huge cubes.  They are not only fun to look at, but functional as well.

Back to the story line though...Bryan was previously with Charlie Palmer and won some accolades there, but really came into his own with the restaurant Volt in Frederick.  I reviewed the restaurant a few years back when I had dinner at Table 21, which at the time was a four-seater with 21 courses.  You can read about that here - Table 21 at Volt Restaurant

 Range is NOT a trip down molecular gastronomy lane.  It is a place where you can take your family, or have a business meal, or just stop in for some chocolates and a coffee. It is accessible. It is, and this is going to be a shocker, a tremendous value.  More on that later.

 Here is a pic of the menu. 

 This is another of their tasty cocktails.

 And another.  All of the cocktails are priced less than you would expect for such well thought-out and executed drinks. If you were to hit a bar downtown that had this kind of talent behind it (Owen Thomson) you'd be hitting $15.00-$20.00 per drink easily.

Some of my intrepid eaters: Shawn, Cheryl and Amelia.

Kathy Morgan, MS. She chose our wines for the evening. She rocked them out, each one was something unique with memorable characteristics. Nothing middle of the road here, and nothing more than $60.00/bottle if I remember correctly.  It takes a master to give you an experience like that without breaking the bank in the process.

 Perfectly cooked 1/2 Raw Bar Tower. Fresh, briny, served with several accompanying sauces which I didn't try. Everything was so fresh and succulent that I didn't want to sully the flavors.  I did, however, keep their fresh horseradish to nibble on after the tower was removed.

Kampachi with pine nuts, lemon and coriander.

 Goat Cheese Ravioli with a braised meat ragu.

 This one was not on the menu, but it was some beautiful fish.

 The pork cheeks with moustarda.

 The Kampachi with hazelnuts. Perfectly crisp on top, flaky/tender inside.

 Wonders abound on the charcuterie plate. I was particularly fond of the pork rillettes and the duck galantine.

 This was the kale Caesar.

 That is one fancy spork. I think it was meant for the marrow bones.

 This is the lobster with garlic and chilies. The bread that came with it was soaked in the jus. This was one of my favorite dishes.

 Not everyone is a fan of bone marrow, but I sure am. One had the raisin topping and one didn't. I liked them both, but the pristine version with the just-crisped top was worth the trip by itself.  Mmmmm.

 This is the rib eye with mushrooms. Very nice.

 The Border Springs lamb. Very nicely done. Tender.

 Of the two steaks this was my favorite.  The Roseda Hanging Tender. I managed to bring some home and my son had it for lunch. He closed his eyes and chewed....going MMmmmm.

 This is Kampachi with forbidden grains and coconut. Once again, perfectly crisped with a tender inside.

 This is the whole stuffed rabbit. Very earthy. Takes you right to the woods.

 This came to the table last.  It's the  merguez stuffed lamb breast. Very well-spiced sausage cooked to perfection. I was able to bring some of this home as well and it was a great addition to lunch today.

 This was the favorite wine of the night...or at least for half of us.  The rest were enthralled by the Muscato that came with desert. I didn't get a picture of that bottle...8(

 There were various sorbets and tastings of things for dessert.

More desserts!

In these pix you don't see the various side dishes including sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, mushrooms, brussel sprouts, and other things. There wasn't a poor recipe or execution among them. 

What you also don't see is the level of service we received. It was very gracious and fun. Never overbearing or pretentious. I asked our server, Nema, to order for us and keep the food coming until we cried Uncle. She did that in spectacular form, incorporating the dishes that we specifically asked for.

There were a few hiccups with timing, but that is to be expected as this is a very new place and everyone is still getting their sea-legs.

Just a mention of the Home Cooking in the title? These recipes and preparations are classic with a little updating in some cases. Whole-animal usage is the order of the day here, and hopefully it will catch on in more venues. It is what it's supposed to be, and it's awesome.

Regarding my earlier comment about value? We spent about $130 per person including tip. I've had meals that cost twice that and delivered less than half the satisfaction. This is the new Must Try DC Restaurant.

Congratulations team Range.

Lunchbox - Doing it right

lunchbox
50 Carroll CreekWay
Frederick, MD
301.360.0580
http://www.voltlunchbox.com/

What's wrong with a talented chef whose usual check averages would make any restaurant owner jealous opening up a reasonably-priced sandwich shop?  Nothing that I could see.
Bryan Voltaggio opened Lunchbox in Frederick last year and brought a neat concept into a great little spot along Carroll Creek in Frederick.  You can see my post about the tasting menu at Volt, his first restuarant, here: Table 21 at Volt


They put the sandwiches together, then use panini presses to warm them up. 

There is a decent selection of sodas and Route 11 Chips to choose from.  Bryan's house-made brownies are killer if you get them fresh.

My wife and I both got the Grilled Cheese.  My son got the Nutella with Banana.  He's an addict. I know one reviewer stated that the fillings were minimal here, but I felt they were right on.  You don't always need a pound of filling for something to be tasty. It's a bargain at this price point.

The mushroom soup was a stand-out.  It's nice to have something on the menu at a quick service place like this other than chicken noodle, but then again, this is Bryan Voltaggio.  What did you expect?

The breads are thick and tasty.  Bring some home if you like them.

The spot is a little off the beaten path unless you're familiar with the area.  If you're driving down the street look for The Faux School, you'll see that first.  Then walk along the canal and you'll see Lunchbox on the right.

Pretty view from the bridge.

All in all, nicely done.  It gets a little smokey in the restaurant when it's busy, but you can always take your sandwich and go sit by the creek.  Make sure you try the brownie!

Pleasures of the Table Supports Share Our Strength at Taste of the Nation DC

Had a wonderful night at Taste of the Nations Share our Strength.  The National Building Museum is a tremendous venue, literally and figuratively.

The first character I ran into was Dean of Dino Rustic Italian Restaurant.  He serves up some of the finest Italian in DC.  Authentic.  If you'd like to see a review of his restaurant check it out here: http://pleasuresofthetable.blogspot.com/2011/10/dino-in-dcnow-thats-amore.html

These guys are having a good time at the Graffiato/Bandolero booth.  George Pagonis is on the left and Ryan Jones on the right.  George is the Sous Chef at Bandolero and Ryan is the AGM.  Mike Isabella has a good crew working for him.

Bryan Voltaggio was dealing with the papa razzi.

Max Kuller showing his mad skills with the sherry.  Actually, he was just practicing with water this year. 

As I was saying about the venue....beautiful.

This is Mikey Maksimowicz of Rogue 24.  He got a haircut!  Lookin' good Mikey.

This was the dish of the night.  Admittedly I wasn't up to trying everything in the place.  There are a lot of participants to visit.  This particular item was deviled eggs with smoked trout and something crunchy on top.  I can't tell you what it was, but I can tell you that one of the un-sung great chefs of DC made it. 
. Haidar Karoum of Proof and Estadio is true talent who never fails to impress.  Keep Rockin'!

Thanks for reading.  Next up will be a post about the day I spent at Busboys and Poets in a seminar for people who want to open restaurants in DC.  It was presented by ThinkLocalFirstDC.com.