Good Eats: The Melting Pot

What a great place for a Valentine’s Day dinner. It’s cheesy in a good way.

First, we got seated in “Lover’s Lane” which was this little alcove that was extremely private. They had a prix fixe 5-course menu for the holiday that included cheese fondue, salad, sorbet, an array of entrees and a white chocolate fondue.

The burner was right on our table so our server made the cheese fondue in front of our eyes. We chose the Fiesta version which included some salsa and jalapenos. They provided an assortment of bread, chips, fruits and vegetables to dip. The skewers took a little getting used to and we kept losing our food in the pot.

We ordered a couple Love Martinis because, what the hell, it’s Valentine’s Day. They tasted great and included a couple strawberries which we promptly dipped in the cheese as well.

The entree course was an experience. I thought we would each select one from the listed options but instead our server brought out a platter with a little bit of everything. We had to cook it ourselves! At this point, our cheese fondue had been replaced with a new pot that we selected in the coq au vin cooking style. Our server instructed us “2 if by land, 1.5 if by sea” meaning our filet mignon, sirloin steak, pork and chicken all needed to be cooked at least 2 minutes and our lobster tail and shrimp would be fine after a minute and a half. I give her credit for explaining the salmonella factor (skewer to pot to plate, never skewer to plate) without going overboard to the point of fear mongering. It took us a few tries before we figured out how to time these things so we’d be eating while the next round was cooking and not eating first, then putting in the next couple pieces, and then just waiting for 2 minutes. We also had vegetable sides (potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower) and at least half a dozen different dipping sauces. It was pleasantly overwhelming.

But the piece de resistance had to be the dessert. They brought out a white chocolate fondue and provided us with pound cake, brownies, cheesecake, chocolate powdered marshmallows and a whole bowl of strawberries. As good as all the other courses were this will be the main reason we go back.