Melting Pot

publication date: Jun 9, 2008

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author/source: Tim Altork And John Breech / STAFF

First Impressions
John: Upon entering the restaurant I noticed two tings: Tim and I were the only male-male twosome in the restaurant (not that there’s anything wrong with that), and there were silver kettles in the middle of every table, which excites me. Seriously, the last time I got excited walking into a restaurant was the time I went to Benihanna and saw that my table was going to double as a live cooking show.

As soon as we were seated, our server, Tonya, was on our drink order like scrumptious, hot, mouth-watering melted chocolate on a luscious strawberry (I’m foreshadowing the dessert). Since neither Tim nor I had ever been to the Melting Pot, Tonya was compelled to explain the whole menu to us. After she left, I had to explain it again to Tim, “Yes Altork, we are dipping the food in the kettle-like contraption and cooking it ourselves.” Once we were on the same page, we had to decide if we wanted to do an entrée for two (trust me, this night only gets more romantic) or the Big Night Out, which is also for two, but it’s only available for a limited time. Oh and if you’re eating by yourself, there are individual portions of most things on the menu. The Melting Pot does not discriminate against lonesome guests.

Tim: This is definitely a date place. As soon as we walked in Breech felt it necessary to talk loudly about the girlfriend he doesn’t have just so there would be no mistake about which side of the plate that he swings from. I think he hit on Tonya, too. In fact, I’m not sure, but I think he just hit on her again a few paragraphs back just to be safe.

I’m married with three kids, so I have no one to impress anymore.

Appetizers
John: Since we went with the Big Night Out, a salad and cheese fondue came with our meal. The cheese fondue is available in six varieties: cheddar cheese, fiesta cheese, Wisconsin trio cheese, spinach artichoke, traditional Swiss and the special, Caribbean. Tim and I went with the Caribbean cheese.

The cheese fondue is prepared at your table by your server, and I must note that the server really facilitates your whole experience at this restaurant, more so then at most restaurants. So I imagine that a bad server at the Melting Pot could make for an appalling experience. Luckily, I only had to imagine that problem.

The cheese came with apples, vegetables and bread for dipping. Next to cheesecake topped with tomato sauce, I can’t really think of a worse combination than apples and cheese. Shockingly though, it ended up being decent. However, I didn’t like it as much as Tim, who might be serving it at his next Super Bowl party.

The veggies and bread made for a much tastier option. The tropical salad that came with the meal was topped with tomatoes, mangos, hearts of palm and coconut crusted cashews, while being lightly tossed in a creamy citrus dressing. First, anything that is coconut crusted, be it cashews or potatoes, I am guaranteed to like. The only thing that held this salad down was the mangos. For some reason I have an innate hatred for mangos. I’ll have to talk to my life coach about that one.

Tim: Breech is carrying this sucker, so I’m just going to let it ride. Although, I will say here that my notes on the bread and cheese combo read, “Good, but not damn good,” and I liked the salad, mangos and all, even though it was the only thing we weren’t allowed to dip in cheese, oil or chocolate.

Entrees
John: Our dinner plate was brimming with raw eats, and once Tonya had our fondue hot and ready for dipping, it was time to eat. If I had three pages of space, I could name everything I ate AND aptly describe it, but sadly that’s not the case here. So I’ll mention that I was a big fan of the peppered shrimp, jerk-seasoned sirloin and marinated pork tenderloin. Really the only thing I wasn’t a big fan of was the vanilla rum chicken. Vanilla rum goes well with Coke and coffee, not chicken. Oh, and the butternut squash ravioli was surprisingly tasty.

The Melting Pot in itself is really a brilliant marketing ploy. They give you the freshest ingredients and basically let you cook it yourself. If your food’s terrible, 98 percent of the time it’s going to be your own fault.

I think we all know how this story ends, and if you don’t, let’s just say I get sidetracked easily and Tim’s tenderloin was still in the kettle when he got back.

Finally, I like the fact that you can’t stuff all your food down your throat. Well you can, but it will be raw and you’ll probably contract salmonella, e. coli, or some other killer food born illness. Each item takes between one to two minutes to cook, so you’re waiting a minimum of one to two minutes in between bites. Brilliant.

Tim: Plus the food doesn’t get cold. Every bite is hot, especially when it sits there cooking for five minutes while you’re in the bathroom.

On a side note, I find it fascinating that a place like the Melting Pot can still exist in this day and age because they take the two greatest health hazards that restaurants fight on a daily basis – raw meat and lava hot oil – and put them right on the table in front of you. The insurance must be ungodly. Which is probably why our Big Night Out cost $96.

Desserts
John: Kind of like the desserts themselves, this description is going to be short and sweet. The Melting Pot offers over eight choices for desserts. They give you a platter of food that includes cheesecake, strawberries, bananas, marshmallows and graham crackers. You take said food and dip it in chocolate. It’s that easy. Seriously, is it even fair to compare this dessert to any other restaurant’s dessert? I love dipping things in chocolate, kids love dipping things in chocolate, girls love dipping things in chocolate, PTA members and pizza delivery drivers probably love dipping things in chocolate too. This is the easiest “A” I will ever hand out.

Tim: The only thing bad I can say about the dessert was that I mistakenly ate a marshmallow thinking it was a piece of cheesecake. But of course, it was dipped in chocolate, so how bad could it be?

Overall
John: For those of you that have never tried fondue, stop whatever you’re doing right now and go to the Melting Pot. Unless of course it’s before 5 p.m., because then the Melting Pot will be closed and you won’t be able to get in.

The only negative was that the menu was a bit pricy, but it’s well worth it. If you’re a guy in the doghouse, the Melting Pot is probably a good way to get out of it. If you’re a high school sophomore looking for a place to take your first date, save up for about three months, then hit up the Melting Pot. If you’re writing a restaurant review with another man… 

Tim: …either hit on the waitress repeatedly or make sure you’re married with lots of progeny if you don’t want to be misconstrued. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)