Hey V-fans!

Remember when we told you about Bryan's new brew Backyard Ale???

Well, apparently Esquire 's amped about it! They've named Backyard Ale as one of this year's best spring beers! Check out Esquire's mouth-watering slideshow HERE.

In other flashback news, remember that cookbook project Michael tweeted about recently???

Well, even though the brothers haven't settled on a title yet...it's already available on Amazon.com for pre-order!!! Check out some of their tweets regarding possible titles:

Think you can do better? Leave your suggestions for the title of their cookbook in the comment section below. Enjoy!

Hey V-fans,

On Monday, April 4, Bryan and his Chevy Volt made an appearance at Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation in Washington, DC.

Mixologists and chefs gathered at the National Building Museum for the event, which raises money and awareness to help end childhood hunger in America. All proceeds from the event directly benefit Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign.

Guests at the event received complimentary Chevy Volt aprons and a few lucky winners received aprons autographed by Bryan.

Here's Bryan's volt in its usual parking spot, right outside of his other VOLT ...

This wasn't Bryan's first Share Our Strength event, in fact, he and Michael teamed up to host A Tasteful Pursuit in partnership with the charity last year. Here's a look back at that beautiful event, courtsey of Club Hill Media:

That's it for this week's Voltaggio update! Leave your comments and questions below and have a delicious weekend. Enjoy!

Hey V-Fans,

Guess what? Bryan is a 2011 RAMMY Award finalist for Chef of the Year! The RAMMY Awards recognize and award excellence and achievement in the DC Metropolitan restaurant industry. The theme this year is “Carnevale da Cuisine,” and celebrates the international and multi-cultural carnevale of cuisine in the DC area.

Way to go, Bryan!

Bryan has also been tweeting about his new collaboration with Flying Dog called Backyard Ale.

Flying Dog Brewmaster Matt Brophy teamed up with Bryan to create a smoked amber ale that’s the perfect complement to all things grilled, charred, broiled, roasted, and (obviously) smoked!

Looks like a very tasty adult beverage! We will be sure to stay on top of its release to the world at large…yum!

In other news, it seems Michael is in the midst of new project himself, at least according to this recent tweet:

This book sounds like it will be flying off the shelves! We can’t wait!

That’s it for this week’s Voltaggio update. Here’s some great advice via Michael’s twitter to hold you over until next week:

You're welcome.

Please leave any and all questions or thoughts in the comment section below. Enjoy!

Hey V-fans,

Check out some of the great photos the Voltaggio brothers snapped during their recent trip to Sonoma for the Pigs & Pinot event:

Looks like a good year!


Suckling pig...yum!


What's the matter, Bryan...too much pork n' wine?

And once the brothers left Sonoma, they went straight to work on some new BBQ recipes for @Williams-Sonoma! Check it out:

Also, word has it that Michael's new place, ink., has a fresh paint-job and is now set to open in May...

That's it for this week's Voltaggio update! Check back next Friday to find out what's happening in Voltaggio-land. Enjoy!

Hey V-Fans,

As promised, here's the fishy discovery we made regarding Michael's new restaurant, ink.

How fun! We love how inventive and playful Michael is when it comes to putting together his delicious and creative menus—we can't wait for ink. to open! How do you feel about his take on every kid's favorite fishy finger-food?

And now, at a user's request, we have for your viewing pleasure—an informative yet entertaining video of Michael making bread in a microwave!

That's it for this week's Voltaggio update. Check back next week for more delicious details about what the V-bros are up to. Enjoy!

Hey V-Fans,

Did any of you catch Michael's recent appearance on Top Chef All-Stars? Check him out going head-to-head with Mike Isabella in this clip from the Bahamas Quickfire Challenge:

Even though he wasn't deemed the winner; we thought his citrus-cured duck breast with duck leg in bacon vinaigrette, burnt leek, and coffee pesto, looked absolutely delicious! What did you think? Did Mike's cashew-dusted spiced duck breast with duck leg and mushroom jus, deserve the win? Or did Michael lose some critical cook-time due to butcher duty?

We also loved tagging along with Michael during his recent trip to see Bryan in Frederick, via this fascinating, late-night twitter pictorial:

So that's what chefs cook for other chefs! Also, is it just us, or does a chicken salad sandwich and chips, followed by Ritz crackers with Nutella for dessert, seem fancier when made by the Voltaggio brothers? At any rate, these twit pics definitely made us hungry. Nice work, guys.

That's it for this week's Voltaggio update! Check back next week for something we think you'll find a little fishy about Michael's new restaurant Ink. Until then, enjoy!

Hey V-Fans!

If you live in the D.C. area, get ready for Cochon 555! This is a one-of-a-kind traveling culinary competition and tasting event, comprised of five chefs, five pigs, five wine makers, to promote sustainable farming of heritage breed pigs.

The D.C. event takes place on March 13, when Bryan and four other chefs will each prepare a 175-pound heritage breed hog from head to toe for this friendly competition for charity. Guests will sample the chef's creations along with wines from five small producers, and help choose one local champ! Tickets are $125 per person. Click HERE for more information.

Like we mentioned last week, Bryan and Michael recently finished the last leg of the #fireandsmoketour sponsored by @Williams-Sonoma. And according to Twitter, there may be more to come regarding this BBQ-road-trip-extravaganza:

Check out this great photo of Michael fooling around in a smoke pit (we especially like the caption!):

Last week, Bryan co-hosted the Barilla Interactive Lunch with Claire Robinson at the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival. The afternoon began with hundreds of guests munching on ham and cheese appetizer sandwiches, and once the wine started flowing, Bryan took to the stage and taught guests how to make his main course of balsamic-marinated hanger stake with polenta.

Photo Credit: WorldRedEye.com

That's it for this week's Voltaggio update! Check back next Friday, and please leave your comments, questions, and general musings below. Enjoy!

Hey V-fans,

Do you smell that? It's the Fire and Smoke Tour! The Voltaggio brothers have teamed up again for what appears to be a road-trip fueled completely by BBQ! If you follow Michael and Bryan on Twitter, then you may have already seen a few of their #fireandsmoketour updates and photos they've been busy posting, along with WilliamsSonoma.

The pork-loving brothers kicked-off the first leg of their tour in Austin, Texas and then made their way to Kansas...

Michael and Bryan with the Pit Master of 43 years at Rendezvous in Memphis.

Next, came a fun-filled stop in Memphis—where the bros found unique BBQ dishes like the one pictured below:

BBQ Spaghetti at The Cozy Corner in Memphis.

Wondering what the next stop on the #fireandsmoketour will be? Be sure to keep tabs on @mvoltaggio, @bryanvoltaggio, and @WilliamsSonoma on Twitter for the tour deets!

Lastly, there's a great feature on Michael in this month's Los Angeles Magazine! Here's a peak at the photo (below) accompanying the fantastic article all about Michael's soon-to-open restaurant, Ink.

Photo Credit: Emily Shur

That's it for this week's pork-centric Voltaggio update! Check back next week for more on what your favorite culinary bros are up to. Enjoy!

Hey V-Fans,

We hope you had a fantastic Valentine's Day! Was anyone treated to either a delicious home-cooked meal, or a fancy night out at a romantic restaurant?

According to his twitter, Bryan spent part of his Valentine's Day at VOLT, and then had a romantic evening with a team of sweaty men chasing a soccer ball around inside:

Poor Mrs. Voltaggio…oh wait, what's this?

Freshly baked cupcakes? Even Stevens! ; )

According to a recent LAWeekly Squid Ink blog post, Michael's soon-to-open restaurant might already be doomed to join the ranks of the "Least- Google-Friendly L.A. Restaurants." Why, you ask? It seems that restaurants with simple and clever names like 'Ink.' can easily turn your Smartphone Google search into a not-so-smart endeavor. Read more HERE.

Squid Ink says, "We can't wait to see how this all goes with Ink when it opens. We're already practicing clandestinely typing while driving: Voltajio Voltaglio Voltaggio…"

For Michael's sake, we sure hope Google gets on board quickly with his restaurant's unique name. Although we're sure his menu will be such a hit that word of mouth will be all he needs!

Lastly, check out Bryan alongside other D.C. top-chefs in these stills from the Lost Boys 2011 Spring Look Book video:

Looking good, Bryan!

That's it for this edition of your weekly Voltaggio bro update! Want to hear about something in particular next week? Let us know in the comment section below. Enjoy!