Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Fondue Love & Dinner at The Melting Pot


The pots are placed on a heating element that is built into the center of the table.  
Above, the Bourguignonne fondue, with Tempura & Sesame Batters on the either side.

Before I moved to the Seattle area, someone told me about The Melting Pot.  I have always loved fondue.  My family and I would often have an oil-based fondue made at home, on special occasions, since the time I was a young child.  It was a fun bonding experience for me -- hearing the sizzling of the oil, as it cooks the food just however you want it; the aggravation of losing something off the fondue fork, and trying to fish it out using a spoon, without getting burned; talking with friends and family as you wait for the two items currently cooking to be done.

I did not have cheese or chocolate fondue until I was in 7th grade.  It was assigned as a project for Home Economics.  Those two fondues work much faster.  Just heat the sauce up, and dip!  Very easy, very tasty.

A few years ago, some friends invited my sister and I to a fondue party at her house.  They had a cheese fondue, a broth-based fondue, and a chocolate fondue.  It was a fun party.  They also mentioned The Melting Pot, and sort-of tried to recreate the experience in their home, which I felt was done very well.

Over the weekend I finally had the opportunity to go to The Melting Pot with my parents.  I was not disappointed!  We decided on the Four-Course Meal, which is having a special this month.  The trickiest thing about ordering, is having all members agree on what kind of cheese for the first course, what cooking style for the third (the second course is easy, you pick your own salad), and what kind of chocolate for the last.

We started off with the Traditional Swiss Fondue, which our server made right in front of us.  He was very well informed, letting us know about each ingredient he added to the pot.  He left us, warning us that the pot gets very hot, so be careful.  After he left, we dug in.  The Swiss fondue was rich, thick, and delicious!  My mom thought it was too bitter.  She blamed it on the alcohol added, but I don't think that is what caused the bitterness.  I liked how it tasted, and so did my dad.  It disappeared rather quickly.

Our next course was an individual salad of our choosing.  I did not realize until after we were all served, that we all ordered the same exact salad!  We all ordered The Melting Pot House Salad.  It had a tangy honey-mustard dressing that complimented the rest of the ingredients nicely.  We all agreed that it was a very good salad.

Our main course involved an oil based fondue, called Bourguignonne.  My dad and I had The Classic dippers for our course, which had a variety of different meats, while my mom ordered the Steak Lovers.  Our dippers came with a variety of sauces to try, and some batters to dip food in and fry.  That was an interesting thing I never thought of for fondue!  Dipping food into a batter, and frying it!  Sure, I have dipped food into batter and fried it before, just not that way.  I did not batter-dip very many of my items, because I enjoy the food plain fried as is.  However, I did have a few mushrooms that way, and one of the shrimp.  From this course, I liked the Angus Beef and the Memphis-Style BBQ Pork Medallion best, but everything was so good!  I think it might have been the Ginger Plum sauce that complimented Pork Medallion nicely.  My dad and mom both liked the Teriyaki-Marinated Sirloin best.  Of some of the other dippers given to us, I was really surprised how much I liked fried broccoli.  It gave it a totally different texture, which was very different, but very nice.  I tried some fried bread as well.  Very tasty indeed.


My dinner  (isn't the presentation pretty?) -- The Classic:  Starting at the middle then clockwise from top left:   Angus sirloin, Memphis-style BBQ pork medallion, Pacific white shrimp, herb-crusted all-natural breast of chicken, and teriyaki-mainated sirloin.



We were enjoying each course so much, I forgot to take more photos!

For dessert, we decided on the Pure Dark Chocolate fondue.  Like the cheese fondue, it was also very rich, but very smooth.  Most things could be dipped into the fondue, but the cheesecake needed to have the chocolate spooned onto it.  The spoon, even though it was rather long, extending beyond the pot, got rather hot, it may have been nice if it did not have a metal handle on it, or possibly some kind of small pot holder to use, but that is my only small complaint.

I really liked everything they had to dip in chocolate.  The most interesting things they had were some marshmallows, one coated with what may have been Oreo cookie crumbs, the other possibly coated in a graham cracker-cinnamon mixture.  We could not eat all of the last course.  We were way too full at the end.

The service was excellent.  It must be noted that during each course we were asked if we wanted any more dippers, and if so, they would bring more of anything we would like.  So, we were not lacking in food by any means.  I had a relative who had visited The Melting Pot before, and complained that they don't give you very much.  Perhaps it is different if you only order one course, but we felt like we were given plenty.  Dinner at The Melting Pot can be pricey, so it not a place that most are likely to frequent very often, but I enjoyed my dinner immensely, and will look back on it as one of my favorite meals.

For more information on The Melting Pot, go to:  www.meltingpot.com



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Goodreads

My bookshelf: Books I have read

To Kill a Mockingbird
The Catcher in the Rye
The Great Gatsby
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Animal Farm
Little Women
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Da Vinci Code
The Kite Runner
Eena the Return of a Queen
Room
Sarah's Key
A Northern Light
Simple Abundance:  A Daybook of Comfort and Joy
Matched
Short Stories
The Help
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
Book of a Thousand Days


Jackie's favorite books »
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