The Roanoker May/June 2023 - 137

dining
W
hen a chef tells
you that a dish's
origin involves
a secret recipe, a
DJ and a competition,
you sit up
and take notes. Most of Andy Schlosser's
stories begin like that. No wonder then that
one of Roanoke's pioneering fine dining chefs
is tapping the full range of his experiences to
write his next chapter. With The Vault, which
opened last October inside the lobby of The
Liberty Trust Hotel
downtown, Schlosser
fuses his eclectic tastes,
top-notch cooking,
and passion for music
to create a modern take
on fine dining inside a
historic landmark.
Schlos ser made
his mark with Metro,
a multi-hyphenate
joint that was a white
tablecloth restaurant,
night club and sushi
bar. When it opened
in 2002, Schlosser's
intention was to bring
the big city to Roanoke
by creating a modern
menu inspired by his
travels and underscored
by well executed, technical
cooking. Part of
his ambition was also to
showcase his talents as
a career DJ, so he built
out the sound system,
installed DJ booths,
and hosted collaborators.
He had a great run, but after 15 years,
Schlosser had no intention of returning to
restaurants-he'd been there, done that. But
the Liberty Trust Hotel offered the potential
to try something different.
" I didn't want this place to be about me.
Metro definitely became about me and my art
as a chef, " Schlosser says. " I really wanted this
to be about the place itself and for me to almost
have a back seat to it. I want to showcase this
beautiful place and what it represents. "
The hotel is named after the Liberty Trust
Company, which moved into the building in
1926, after first operating as the First National
Bank. Fairfax-based Savara Hospitality
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purchased the building in 2018, working with
local historical preservationists from Hill Studio
to uphold its status on the National Register
of Historic Places and as a Virginia Historic
Landmark. The integrity of the lobby layout was
maintained along with key features such as the
marble floors and the marble bases that were
once old bank teller stations but which now
partition seating nooks in the loungey side of
the lobby. Richmond-based design firm Glavé
& Holmes selected a color palate of yellow, pink
and green to echo the various shades of marble
To feed that obsession, Schlosser researches
and tests a dish exhaustively before it lands
on the menu. There's the dashi, a Japanese
stock he perfected at Metro, which boasts
a tea-like clarity and accompanies a springready
dish of chilled buckwheat soba noodles
with accompaniments such as shaved daikon,
julienned kizami nori (seaweed), umeboshi
(pickled, salted plum), wasabi and Japanese
pickles (which I could eat a whole plate of).
It's designed to be an interactive dish; as diners
add seasonings to the broth to develop its
flavors, and as the noodles
soak in the broth,
the flavors get more
intense. Another example
of Schlosser's devotion
is the khachapuri,
which became a signature
dish at Metro. He
was inspired to recreate
it after a DJ friend challenged
him to recreate
the version he'd tasted
at a friend's Eastern
European restaurant
in D.C. The Georgian
dish features an oblong
bread boat filled with
warm sulguni cheese,
a runny yolk, butter
and spices that's mixed
to create a melty dip.
Schlosser rose to the
challenge and recreated
it by making his
own cheese, blending
feta and ricotta curds to
strike the right tartness,
and developing a recipe
for lepinja, the fluffy
and play off the banking elements. Plush velvet
high wingback chairs and love seats in cool
pinks contrast with the gleaming bronze and
warm copper tones of the stately vault door,
while the bar's emerald-tiled backsplash calls
to mind gold bricks.
By virtue of the restaurant being in the lobby
of a hotel, the initial soft branding for the food
concept was " for the love of travel. " It's one
that Schlosser embodies personally and in his
cooking. " My way of discovering the world has
been by recreating cuisine as best and authentically
as I can, to experience it without going to
those places. It's a talent and passion of mine
and something I'm obsessed with. "
flatbread. Tableside, a server mixes the cheese,
a local farm egg yolk, European cultured butter
and a proprietary spice blend anchored by
everything bagel seasoning. Diners are invited
to " rip-and-dip, " as maître d' Dexter Hall puts
it. It eats like a gourmet fondue and makes for
a fun, interactive meal opener, particularly if
you're dining with a group. It's best enjoyed on
the spot, but our server promised it'd reheat
like pizza in an air fryer or oven.
" I kind of feel like a pied piper in a way. I
really do enjoy pushing things on people and
getting the success of seeing the smile and
excitement of someone trying it, " Schlosser says.
" I wanted to travel through food and that's what
May/June 2023 137
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