family meal

this is my 5th time here and i have never had anything that disappointed me. it is all good and made fresh. the duck fat fries are a must and the homemade virgin bloody mary is a must drink too. come and try anything o am sure you will love it.

great food-service lacking. we didn't have a reservation on a weeknight so they seated us at the bar, which was fine the kids liked it. we waited about ten minutes before someone acknowledge us for drink orders. we got the sweet tea which was very different with a twist to eat. i can't put my finger on excatly what it was. after drinks it was another ten minute wait before a different person came by to take our orders. we all got the firned chicken with a side of duck fat fries. the food was normal wait time and was well worth it. the chicken was cripsy and juicy with amazing flavor. the hot sauce on the side was a great touch. the cheddar biscuits literally melted in your mouth. the kids couldn't past the duck fat fry part to give them a try but the adults loved them. the colantro sauce was defiantly my favorite. we then after eating those large portions decided to share dessert. again the service is lacking. we waited another ten minutes for someone to notice food was finished naplins laying on the table. we got the red velvet cake ice cream dish and a concoction involving butternut squash. both were equally amazing and flavorful. the food was a+. the service was a d. i have eaten at the lunchbox and volt and have found the same problem with their service in all three locations. it has kept from going back due to how much time it took.

will a great service inspire me to return to family meal?
i had high expectations from the restaurant due to reputation of the volt. therefore, when visiting famous frederic bookstore, i had to sample the family meal. i had fried chicken with waffle. i found chicken underwhelming due to its flavor; it was served with standard waffle. the place is pleasant; service was great. overall, i deem that my meal was not a good neither nutritional nor dollarwise value. if it were served with a vegetable or small salad, i would rate it 4 stars.
sorry, will not come back.

went there for breakfast. loved it! best fried pototoes and grits i ever had. highly recommended.going back for dinner next week with friends

this place was awesome. i was visiting from out of town and decided to try it out. i got the meatloaf. it was cooked perfectly and looked good with an awesome presentation. the siracha ketchup was perfectly spicy and sweet and went well with the mashed potatoes and bad ass mushroom gravy. happy plate there was nothing left of it. the waitress was afraid to take it away,she's lucky she didn't draw back a nub. i also tried the brooklyn ale that was on tap. it was tasty and i would have got another but i wanted to try one of the mixed drinks because all of them looked delish. so with some urging confirmation from the waitress i got the red sangria. it tasted like a good sangria should, and every time i took a sip it brought back memories of my college days back in the hill country of my native homeland of texas. speaking of texas they had shiner bock available here which i was surprised to see because i'm so far north. i almost got one of these too but i had to drive home. so after all if that u was still struck as hungry. the monicker of "duck fat" fries had been rumbling around in the back of my brain since i saw them on the menu. so i broke down and got some of those. there goes my three miles on the elliptical machine at the hampton inn my fat ass did earlier... they were everything i thought they would be. the sauces were all ok the two aioli's tasted alike which was weird because one had crab seasoning in it and the other had siracha and soy sauce in it. i would suggest adding more soy to the siracha soy one to set it apart or maybe add some teriyaki or brown sugar/blackstrap molasses to add a sweet element. i'm not a chef though so take that with a grain of salt if you want. all in all a great experience and an even better restaurant choice. most appropriately named place ever. i would eat here frequently with my family if i lived(or ever move) to the area. my kids like pancakes and grilled cheese, both on the menu. lol. kudos and keep up the good cooking.

very good selection and service - kid friendly
next to courtyard and spring hill suits
meal options very nice. prices reasonable for selections

pot pie fritters, deviled eggs, brussel sprouts to start - ordered a second round of fritters and eggs bc omg. fried chicken is amazing. meat loaf with mushroom gravy is also fantastic. stone ground grits were done perfectly. craft cocktails to boot. love this place.

the best place to get high end eats, from a top notch food place. this place rocks, breakfast,lunch, dinner. also a solid desserts and drinks place that you can get deeply into. the staff is filled with rock stars and the kitchen staff is untouchable with high quality eats.

eh. nothing special. food gets cold quick. also the business is conducted very poor. many that have worked at this establishment say that they would get away with not paying their employees and can careless about those who work their tails off. this company will fold.

breakfast. great place to go for a good breakfast!

i love the appetizers (duck frites), desserts (butternut squash creme brûlée) but besides the seasonal veggies salad, the entrees and salads need some work and creativity. we've often found the entrees to be salty (burger, meatloaf). staff is usually friendly and we like the kids' meals for our 8 yr old

lovely lunch. on our way from annapolis to pittsburgh, we stopped in frederick to have lunch at family meal. we were not disappointed. i had the lovely deviled eggs with a bit of bacon and chives on top. i also had the excellent maryland crab soup and passion fruit iced tea. my husband's house-made pastrami sandwich was extraordinary. the service was great. i see this will be a regular stop on our way south.

not worth the drive from d.c. drove out to family meal on saturday based on the reviews of the fried chicken and chicken pot pie. also due to my love of range in friendship heights. what we ended up with was lukewarm and greasy fried chicken that had obviously been sitting around (very disappointing) and an unsalted unflavored chicken pot pie. no good.

not consistent. please crisp the chicken. sometimes it's soaked in oil and soggy sometimes not...food is not always hot...i love this place...the servers are very welcoming but the food temp needs more attention.

nope. my husband and i were told about family meal while shopping in frederick. decided to look on urbanspoon to see what the reviews looked like. we were surprised that so many would be disappointed. we decided against dining there. a friend later raved about the place, so rather than heeding the reviews, we decided to try it. upon entry, the restaurant seemed bland, and cold. i commented that it looks to have been a car dealership. i later found out that it is. not a "family" type atmosphere at all. we were seated at a wooden booth. it was apparent from lack of surrounding, and very uncomfortable seats, the intent was to turn the tables over quickly. that said, we looked at the menu, which looked interesting. we started with deviled eggs, which incidentally, were the best thing we had. shrimp and grits are one of my favorites, so mine was an easy choice. the shrimp were obviously cooked on a skewer in order to make them appear bigger than they were, and the grits were not just barely warm, but didn't even seem to have ever been hot. i was told the brussels sprouts were really good, but when i saw collards on the menu, i had to try them after falling in love with them on a trip to savannah. i was told if collards aren't cooked properly, they can be bitter. well, these were. my dh ordered the fish with fork mashed potatoes. i was shocked at the size of the piece of fish! it was not much bigger than a credit card! needless to say, we were sorely disappointed, especially when the check came. way to expensive for the experience. we won't be returning.