Gooey Goodness

Last week, a couple of my friends and I went to The Melting Pot in Old Town Pasadena.

We had never been there before, so it was a brand new experience for all of us. We joked that we hadn't had a new experience together in a very long time. (We've been friends since elementary/junior high school).

We were seated by the window, so we had a nice second-story view of Colorado Blvd. Our server explained to us that there are no stoves in the kitchen, as all of their cooking is done at the individual tables. We decided on "The Big Night Out," which included 4 courses for a fixed price. We noted that the dinners were designed for 2 people, but the server advised that the 3rd could be added for an adjusted price.

Each course required a selection: cheese combination for appetizers, type of salad, a base for the main dish, and chocolate type for dessert. I wasn't too much in the mood for cheese because I had eaten a lot at the office's Cinco de Mayo lunch, but I said that I needed to have a lot of say in the chocolate choice. My friends indulged me, as they were raring to go for that cheese. :)

Our cheese choice was the Wisconsin Trio Cheese Fondue. I'm not a bleu cheese fan, but since it had "a hint of sherry" in it, I obliged. The server made sure to place the bleu cheese in the middle of the pot, so that I could just take cheese from the sides of the pot. She placed the cheeses, one by one, into the pot, letting each cheese type melt before adding the next one. We had broccoli, cauliflower, apples and cubes of different bread types to dip into the fondue. I was perfectly fine with eating our items without cheese, but I did try the cheese a few times and did enjoy it until some of the bleu cheese got blended into mine, and I didn't want anymore. My friends, however, enjoyed every moment of the cheese, and even saved the rest of it when the server was ready to start cooking again.

Our next course was the salad. I had the Tropical Salad, which is currently the featured salad on the menu. The mango added a nice, fruity touch to the tangy salad, which had a nice, light citrus dressing. The coconut-encrusted cashews were delish, as they didn't have too much of a coconut taste. Having had so much heavy food earlier in the day, I was delighted to have such a yummy salad, and enjoyed every bite.

The server then began to cook for the main dish. We had chosen the Coq au Vin, which, yes, included more wine, which was the last ingredient to be added to the pot. (Had I not been driving, I also would have ordered the Strawberry Basil Lemonade, but it had liquor, and the little sip I had from my friend's glass confirmed my thoughts that I'd probably order about 3 of them just for myself). The server requested that we only place cooked food on our plates (which had little sections in them), and to keep the raw food on the serving dish. She also advised us of the easy way to remember how long to keep the food inside the pot to cook it. "If it walks on land, it takes 3-4 minutes. If it doesn't walk on land, it takes 2 minutes." We had chosen the Fondue Fusion Selection, which included sirloin, lobster, pork, chicken, shrimp, ravioli, and vegetables. We didn't think that we'd be able to finish everything, but yup, we sure did! All of the food was quite good, and had been seasoned/marinated very well prior to bringing it to our table.

Then came the whole point of the meal, according to Sarah Michelle Gellar in "Simply Irrestible": DESSERT. We chose the "Flaming Turtle," which included the fun highlight of flambe. The dipping items included strawberries, cubes of pound cake, a slice of cheesecake, marshmallows, oreo-cookie covered marshmallows, cubes of rice krispy treats. The server advised us to place a slice of cheesecake and the pieces of pound cake on our plates and just spoon the chocolate over it, as they would not stay on our fondue forks. Mmmmmm..........on the fork, off the fork, who cares? It was ALL GOOD.

As you can see, we thoroughly enjoyed the food. Our server was very friendly and knowledgeable. We also enjoyed the atmosphere, and I particularly loved the fanciness of the bathroom, what with the special towels with the company logo on them, and the beautiful fixtures. We had a great night, and plan on going to Girls' Night Out one of these days (last Tuesday of every month). We're even planning on getting one of my friends' husbands to drive us there, so that I can have my fill of that lemonade. :)