Monday, February 28, 2011

Date Night, Part I: The Melting Pot

On Saturday, Hubby took me out for a date night that was so chock full of awesome, I have to split it up into two posts.  We decided, at last moment, to see if we could get reservations at a restaurant I have been wanting to try for a long time, and believe it or not, we got in.  So, off to the Melting Pot in Station Square we went.
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The first thing we noticed about the restaurant was that it was almost like a maze, which was actually pretty cool, because it led to a lot of privacy for diners.  For example, in our little part of the restaurant, there were only 4 booths and 1 table, so it was very intimate, and calm.  Also, I loved the decor, a lot of soft lights.
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When our fantastic waitress came, she asked if we were first timers, and since we were, she was very helpful explaining the menu to us.  You see, this is not your run of the mill eartery, oh no.  This is a fondue restaurant. But fondue is much more than cheese and chocolate.

We settled for what was called The Big Night Out, which included 1 cheese fondue, 2 salads, 1 entree, and 1 chocolate fondue, for two to share.  First we started with the Fiesta Cheese fondue, which of course was spicy.  We got bread, tortilla chips, veggies, and apples to dip into it.  The apples and veggies were my favorites.  I knew right away, this dinner was going to be spectacular.
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After that came the salad.  I had a nice spinach mushroom salad with burgundy shallot dressing.  Oh my heavens, it was so tasty!  Then..... the entree.

For our entree, we chose something called The French Quarter.  It included steak, chicken, shrimp, and andouille sausage, all with cajun seasoning.  What happens is they bring out some vegetable stock and pour it into the fondue pot.  When it boils, then it is time to add your veggies, and then begin cooking your proteins.

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So, essentially, they bring out raw food, and you cook it at your table.  It was so delicious!  And deceptively filling.  You are forced to eat slow, so you do get fuller than you think you will.  There are also all kinds of sauces brought out for you to dab onto your cooked meat and veggies.

After this, you choose your chocolate fondue.  We went for the classic milk chocolate with peanut butter.
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We were given all kinds of tasty things to dip into it.
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I also had a delicious raspberry cappuccino.
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We were at dinner for over 2 hours.  It was time well spent.  Hubby and I got to enjoy a delicious romantic meal.  The staff were so helpful and sincere.  It was overall an incredible experience.  It is definitely the kind of place you go to only once a year or so, because it is a bit pricy, but completely worth it.  We had a fabulous time.