Bravo’s reality show Top Chef is a weekly ritual in our household, so for our second anniversary, my husband and Don decided to go to a restaurant where one of the “chef-testants” works.

We chose Volt in Frederick over Zaytiyna downtown, primarily because we like Volt’s owner, chef Bryan Voltaggio better than Michael Isabella, who works for Washington’s Jose Andres. Sorry, Mike – while a woman who works at our local cheese shop says you’re a good guy, you’ve come off as a little sexist on the show. Volt has also appeared on Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema’s list of faves.

Frederick is about 80 minutes north of Alexandria. It has a 50-block historic downtown, and the drive up had some great fall foliage. Volt is housed in the Houck Mansion, a gorgeous three-story home built by six sisters in the 1890s. Volt is on the ground floor; an internet web design firm is upstairs.

We had a drink in the bar. Despite the mansion’s Victorian facade, the interior decor is modern – lots of white and brown. The servers all wear brown Converses – a cute idea, but one that doesn’ t exactly work for the guys wearing suits. The bar offers a menu of creative and old-fashioned cocktails, but we stuck with mimosas and cava.

The restaurant has three dining rooms – the main room, a “chef’s dining room” where patrons order tasting menus and Table 21 in the kitchen, where for $121 (not including drinks), diners get 21 small courses served directly by the chef. Diners can also eat at the bar or have small plates in the lounge.

Sunday brunch is served at a fixed price, $20 for three courses (wine pairings are $18 extra). As it was brunch, we didn’t expect Bryan to be in the kitchen. I was surprised, however, to overhear one of the bartenders making fun of the fans who have been coming to get a glimpse of the cheftestant. Isn’t drawing curious customers the point of going on a national TV show? Overall, the staff was a little on the snooty side, but not so much that it detracted from the meal.

For the first course, I chose the chevre ravoli, paired with mushrooms in a brown butter sauce and topped with a sage foam. This was delicious and I mopped up the sauce with the olive rolls we were served. A great start.

My second course, however, was a little disappointing. I had ordered the Maine lobster omelet, and with a small piece of lobster tucked in the egg, the flavor failed to permeate the dish.

For his second course. Don had salmon, with farro, a grain I was unfamiliar with. Our waiter told us that it was the “grain of the Roman Legions,”  and was a central part of their rations. Served risotto-style, it was delicious and a nice firm counterpoint to the salmon. I also loved our sides: Iberico bacon, country sausage and Don’s country biscuit and gravy side.

For dessert, there was no contest: I wanted the “textures of chocolate.” What came out was an s-shaped wedge of white chocolate mousse, topped with milk chocolate ice cream and dusted with raw organic cocoa. It was delicious. Don was happy with his pear cobbler.  Because I told them it was our anniversary, they brought us out another dessert as well – a tower of lemon custard with a candle in it.

Our total bill (including the mimosas, cava and coffee we drank): $80. Steep for brunch but not bad for a special occasion. We were given two muffins for the road.

Would I go back? Hm. Frederick is a long drive from Washington and I’m sure we can find meals as good closer to home. It was fun for a special occasion, and I can even see overnighting in Frederick if I was biking on the nearby C&O towpath or touring fall foliage.