Bryan Voltaggio Opens Aggio in DC, With Another Destined for Baltimore

Well, here's a stunner from chef Bryan Voltaggio, Mid-Atlantic Man of Mystery: On Friday, the former Top Chef cheftestapant kind of unexpectedly opened Aggio, an Italian restaurant-within-a-restaurant, inside his year-old Washington, DC restaurant Range. Then, over the weekend, Voltaggio revealed plans to expand Aggio to Baltimore, his first foray into that city. So, surprise, Baltimore-Washington region. That just really happened.

Voltaggio has actually been hinting at the opening of Aggio inside Range for weeks now, tweeting a teaser trailer declaring that Aggio would be opening on Valentine's Day. While the trailer was clear about Aggio's Italian bent, it was vague about pretty much everything else, prompting speculation as to whether this was going to be a pop-up, a Range revamp, or its own proper restaurant. On Friday, Urban Daddy reported that Aggio was opening that night in Range's back dining room, complete with its own menu of meatballs, pasta, and more, as well as a separate kitchen and staff.

The next day, the Baltimore Sun dropped another bomb, revealing that Voltaggio has signed on to open Aggio at Baltimore's Power Plant Live! entertainment venue in the Inner Harbor area. It will be his first restaurant in Baltimore when it opens this Spring. It's also another example of Voltaggio hitting his neighboring cities in a big way after years of running his flagship Volt (and, more recently, his diner Family Meal) out in Frederick, Maryland.

So what does else everyone know now about Aggio? Well, Johnny Miele will serve as the chef de cuisine in the DC location. It has its own website and Twitter account. Voltaggio tweeted out a picture of the menu that includes dishes such as squid ink spaghetti bolognese, black sea bass, steak florentine with sea urchin, and a six-course tasting menu for $95. It is also really and truly open. Here now, that teaser trailer:

Video: Aggio Trailer

· Aggio [Vimeo]
· A Backroom Pasta Emporium Inside Range [Urban Daddy]
· Bryan Voltaggio to open restaurant in Baltimore [Baltimore Sun]
· All Bryan Voltaggio Coverage on Eater [-E-]