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Blogs / Resident Tourist / January-February 2011 / Frederick, No Fuddy-Duddy

Feb 23, 201110:31 AMResident Tourist

Frederick, No Fuddy-Duddy

Gail kept saying, “We’ve got to go to Frederick,” and every single time, I pictured a sleepy place with a block or two of dusty shop fronts, some worn out rocking chairs, and a stray one-eared cat. Unable to shake an image of mothballs and old-time charm, I wondered why Gail, who was usually so stylish, kept tossing the idea of Frederick as a great afternoon destination.

Frederick sat on our list of places to visit for months—an excursion we didn’t take for awhile. Other places enticed us and Frederick (yawn) waited for another day…

Finally, I yielded to Gail and we set aside a morning to make the drive. Only 33 miles northwest of Silver Spring, Frederick is an easy drive up I-270 with a piece of Route 15 for the last leg. At least, at 10 in the morning, it seemed easy. Plus, Gail was driving. All I had to do was sing along to the songs on the radio. We were there in less than an hour.

As we entered the historic downtown section of the city, I realized that Frederick was not asleep at all—block after block of the funky, the quirky, the vintage, the zany. I couldn’t wait to get out of the car and check it all out.

We had two must-do items on our list. We could not leave Frederick without shopping for antiques at Great Stuff by Paul and eating lunch at Volt.

A friend of Gail’s recommended Paul’s and we dutifully found the building and popped in to have a quick look. Here’s the thing: a quick look is impossible. You’ll want hours to peruse Paul’s great stuff, collected in impressive quantities by the man himself. Paul travels all over the world looking for interesting pieces to ship back to his shop. Doors from India line the back wall in turquoise rows, and are so appealing that you begin to realize that you can’t live without one.

Also in his shop: brown and green glazed bowls from Indonesia, wooden sugar molds from Mexico, refinished trunks, Asian vases, wicker chairs, stained glass, large wooden scoops, and barrelfuls of narrow, well-used baguette trays. Borrow your friend’s truck and go.

We had the pleasure of meeting Paul, who said an acquisition of rows of art deco theatre seats in Rajasthan came from someone casting them aside while emptying a building. Those seats, hand-fitted with new leather cushions, are destined for the coolest new restaurant or maybe a spot in your kitchen.

It was painful to leave but we had a reservation for a 12:30 lunch at the sleek restaurant owned by Bryan Voltaggio, perhaps best known for his competitive stint on Top Chef. Housed in an architecturally stunning, 8,000 square-foot mansion, Volt is booked for dinner months in advance, enjoying well-deserved fame due to its talented chef and warm, professional staff.

The interior is contemporary in contrast to the Victorian façade. The food is exquisite and, indeed, I felt that I was one of the guest diners on Top Chef as we were presented with the courses of our meal.

We realized that we’d need another trip to do justice to the 75-block historic district, as well as the surrounding places to explore for more adventurous outdoor pursuits.

Do not wait for months (years!) like I did, letting the name Frederick conjure up some grizzly old uncle nodding off to sleep. Go to this hip, snazzy town to shop, eat and stroll.

Frederick