Extraordinary Dining at Seattle’s Restaurant Volterra
Restaurant Volterra ~ Seattle, Washington – Restaurant Volterra is located in the heart of Historic Ballard, one of Seattle’s up-and-coming neighborhoods, nestled among unique restaurants, bars, boutiques and across the street from Ballard’s popular Sunday Farmers’ Market.
Founded by partners Don Curtiss and Michelle Quisenberry, Restaurant Volterra features Chef Don Curtiss’ Tuscan-inspired menu, showcasing his innovative style applied to the bountiful ingredients of the Pacific Northwest.
Guests enjoy warm, rich-red walls, chocolate-brown leather and textiles, and dark woods offset by alabaster light fixtures designed by Quisenberry and hand-carved in Volterra, Italy.
Chef Don and Michelle were married in Volterra and were touched by the genuine kindness of the people and their warm hospitality. “It was this”, says Chef Don, “that inspired us to bring the warmth of Tuscany to our restaurant.”
Our waiter recommended that we start our evening with a nice bottle of Lagone Aia Vecchia. This wine is of the Sangiovese varietal and is Tuscany’s #1 red wine grape.
As we noshed on wonderful bread, and sipped our Italian red, we decided to begin our evening’s gastronomical journey with Polenta con Funghi (fontina filled polenta custard with a truffle scented wild mushroom ragu).
As lovers of polenta and mushrooms, we found this appetizer to be a wonderful way to start our evening.
As we moved on, Carol enjoyed a Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad, where I opted for a traditional Caesar Salad.
The next section of the Restaurant Volterra’s menu was titled Pasta e Risotto and they had three dishes that they were proud to share with us. First up was Risotto alla Pastora (house made lamb sausage and sweet pepper ragu over creamed carnaroli rice and peas, topped with shaved pecorino toscano). Wow!
Up next was Linguine alla Vangole (linguine pasta tossed with manila clams, garlic, white wine, parsley, red chili flakes and sweet butter). Traditional and a favorite of Mr. Roaming Boomer.
The last of our pasta dishes was Tagliolini con Guanciale e Funghi Selvatici (house made organic egg pasta tossed with house cured smoked pork jowls, locally harvested wild mushrooms, truffle butter and parmigiano reggiano). Oh for heaven’s sake! This was out of this world and tempted me to stand upon my table and scream with pure delight. Best dish of the night! Wow!
After that stunning trio of pasta and risotto, it was time for our Piatti Forti (Entrées).
Now, ordinarily, we tend to shy away from ordering chicken in a fine dining restaurant. However, our waiter was singing the praises of Chef Curtiss’ Polo alla Diavola (boneless organic half chicken marinated in fresh herbs and seared to a crispy golden brown; served with volterra mashed potatoes and seasonal market vegetables).
This dish comes with a twenty-five minute cook-time warning, and for a dish as common as chicken, it was most excellent indeed. The outside was crispy as promised with the most tender and juicy chicken I have ever encountered. What a wonderful surprise! Who knew chicken could be so good!
Ever the adventurer, I chose Cinghiale al Gorgonzola (wild boar tenderloin roasted and served with a gorgonzola and mustard sauce, rosemary roasted yukon gold potatoes and seasonal vegetables). This is Restaurant Volterra’s signature dish. The meat was melt-in-your-mouth tender and the accompanying gorgonzola and mustard sauce was near perfection. Pure gastronomical joy!
As I write this, it is 4:05 p.m. here in Scottsdale, and I must confess to a great amount of mouthwatering as I gaze upon my photographs. Oh how I wish I could tonight enjoy the Tagliolini and Wild Boar for dinner.
But alas, I must go back to Seattle to accomplish this. And unfortunately, my Learjet is out of gas. 🙂
Well, as you can imagine, our waistlines were feeling a little tight. However, as is very customary, there was no way the chef was letting us out of his restaurant without sampling a few of the items on his dessert menu.
His Tiramisu was roll-your-eyes-in-the-back-of-your-head delicious. Take a peek and dream, my friends!
And … check out his D’Ambrosio Chocolate Hazelnut Cannoli. Oh…My…Goodness!
Are you hungry after looking at all of my photographs? I sure am! 🙂
Well, as you can see, Restaurant Volterra is a very special place and absolutely worthy of your visit when you find yourself in Seattle.
Big thumbs up from The Roaming Boomers®!
Disclosure: our fabulous dining experience was provided by Chef Don & Michelle. Thank you very, very much. We enjoyed your cuisine greatly!