The Melting Pot restaurant ** UPDATE POST 42 **

[kdibattista]

Has anyone been? I'm going to a girl's night out tonight to The Melting Pot and was just curious what to expect. I know it's fondue but that's about it. I'm normally a very picky eater so this should be interesting

Please enlighten me

 

[Luv'sTink]

I personally didn't care for it. The taste was fine I just didn't care for the preparation and although I know the idea is to have fondue and cook it yourself it seemed kinda spendy to have to do all the work myself!

I was pregnant at the time we went and was worried about raw meat touching other things and not getting cooked well enough. I felt like it took a long time to cook the veggies too, we ended up dumping most of the veggies in just to get them going.

Most people I know who have went enjoyed it.

 

[Skatermom23]

Its generally a four course meal. Sometimes for the ladies night our specials they do away with the meat portion. Otherwise the first is your salad, second is your cheese fondue with different breads and fruit to dip. Next, is your main course of chicken, beef, or whatever the table ordered, cooked in whatever is chosen for your pot. Lastly, is the chocolate fondue served with cheesecake, brownies, and fruit. It is fun to do!

 

[helenabear]

I'm a really picky eater and I like it quite a bit. I don't care for the cheese part in all honesty (the one my family likes best uses beer... yuk) and I find it way too filling IMO. The main portion was a lot of fun for me. We usually get boring pots to cook in but I love the teriyaki beef. It makes for a nice long meal with lots of talking. I liked the relaxed feel. Dessert is to die for... not to be missed

Since you are going with a group, you will all have to agree on the type of "medium" to either melt or cook with. Though if you have 8 in our area, you get 2 pots so you can have a little of each. To me that is the only downfall.

This picky person gives it 2 thumbs up, but I also love fondue and having the control to cook things how I like it. I do agree that just dumping veggies is a wise idea and be sure to get in the habit of cooking something while you are eating. Makes the wait nearly nothing by the time you finish the first.

 

[Crankyshank]

I love the melting pot! It's pretty expensive to do the full multi course meal and it takes a long time, so we normally go for the cheese course or dessert.

If you do the multi course meal this is how it goes:

For the cheese course, you pick what kind of cheese fondue you want. We like the feng shui and the cheddar fondues. They bring out breads, veggies, and apples to dip.

Then you select your salad. I usually go for the California Salad. It's a basic salad with lots of greens.

Then you select your entree and cooking style. We go with Coq au vin, which is mushrooms and garlic cooked in a burgundy wine and veggie broth. The entrees vary - you've got veggies, chicken, pork, steak, shrimp, pot stickers, lobster, etc....

For dessert, you select a chocolate fondue. White chocolate amaretto is my favorite. You dip fruits, brownies, cheesecake, marshmellows, etc.... in it.

 

[java]

hmm picky eater.....spaghettios?

I wanted to try the melting pot when we were in VA but I got outvoted.
We don't have them here. Have fun.

 

[BoyLovesBuzz]

We have one about 4 miles from our house, but its been about 10 years since I have been there. ( I guess that tells you my opinion ). The 2 things I can recall, was that it was very expensive, and we came away smelling like we had just worked a shift cooking french fries at McDonalds.

 

[aladdinsgirl]

I love The Melting Pot, it is my favorite restaurant. DH and I eat there all the time! There are set menus where you get all the different courses (cheese, salad, entree, dessert) and you can also order ala carte. To see the menu, go to www.meltingpot.com

Within the set menus you can pick your cheese (out of 4 or 5), your salad, (out of 3), your meat selection (there's a seafood one, one that has lobster and filet, etc) and your cooking style (out of 4)--the broth that you cook your meat and veggies in; and finally the dessert, you pick your chocolate (about 10 choices) and then you get a plate of dippers--brownies, cheesecake, fruit, etc.

DH and I always get The Big Night Out, it's about $80 for the 2 of us and we get all the courses and the meat selection with the filet, chicken, shrimp, pork tenderloin, steak (different than filet), and ravoli.

The only thing about eating at The Melting Pot with a group is you are all going to have to agree on the same cheese, cooking broth, and chocolate as most tables only have 1 pot on them. There are tables with 2 pots, but those are the table for large groups, like 10.

It is a FUN place to eat and the food is so good--especially the dessert! I hope you have a great time. Oh, and make a reservation, that is a MUST!

 

[kdibattista]

hmm picky eater.....spaghettios?

I said picky... not classy

 

[Sugardimples]

We almost went to The Melting Pot in Philadelphia last weekend, but the windows were so dirty we changed our minds.

 

[design_mom]

I agree with the others. I'm considered a picky eater (although I think it's just that I know what I like) and I can definitely find something to eat there... but it's awfully expensive. I'm a cheap-skate, too, which hinders my enjoyment.

The cheese and dessert courses are my favorite. The salad was good too. I'm not so much of a meat eater. The only "problem" is that you have to agree on which fondues you're going to get. If you all agree it's great, but if you don't agree then not everyone can get what they want (my family likes to cook their meat in oil. I prefer the broth. We got the dessert fondue once with creme-de-menth in it because my BIL just *had* to have it. I definitely prefer the chocolate/caramel one instead!)

Since you're going with a group, maybe you'll get lucky and get a table with multiple pots. Then you might get a chance to try a little bit of everything.

 

[yeartolate]

We love it, but usually only go the cheese fondue and dessert course. With that, we leave stuffed and happy. I can't imagine the full on four course.


The kids love the fiesta cheese, I like all of them

We have yet to do the full on 4 course meal .

 

[ilovejack02]

I do enjoy it, but expensive and well HELL i just get bored cooking my own food after a while. What our latest thing we do with the girls is just go for dessert and wine... YUMMO!!!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I've heard the "local" one, (if an hour away is considered local,) is very good, and want to try it. Unfortunatly DF and I almost never have time to go out for dinner, let alone spend an hour getting there, and another hour getting back. But it's on our ever-growing list of restaurants to try.

 

[Beth76]

Love love LOVE the Melting Pot. It is by far my favorite restaurant and we go there for all our special occasions. It's pricey and it's a lot of food, so make sure you go hungry. It can get complicated when going with a girls group though. Hopefully everyone in your group will be on the same page about what to order and how much. I've been with two different girls groups and one did fine. The other we had one girl who wouldn't eat several things and made it difficult to split the bill at the end.

What I would suggest for the girls group is to get the Big Night Out, but split it between 3-4 girls (it's normally a 2 person meal) and then tack on 1-2 extra salads if wanted. The meat will come out raw and you'll have to cook it (Coq au vin is my personal favorite style), but they give you separate plates and instructions on how to cook it. I've never had a problem with cross contamination. Relax and enjoy the evening--you'll be there a while.

 

[kdibattista]

Thanks everyone!!! Apparently, this is a special Girl's Night out promotion. It's $30 and I think my cousin said cheese and dessert... she didn't mention about any other "courses".

I will report back my experience

 

[design_mom]

Mmmmmm. The two best parts! Enjoy!

 

[scarlett873]

The Melting Pot is our favorite celebration dinner restaurant! We try to go every year for our anniversary. It's expensive...it usually costs us $100 after drinks, cheese fondue, entree fondue, and dessert.

I love the cheese and dessert fondues! The entree, I can take it or leave it...it does make for a really long night if you're doing the whole shebang though!

Have fun!!!

 

[Todd&Copper]

The 2 things I can recall, was that it was very expensive, and we came away smelling like we had just worked a shift cooking french fries at McDonalds.

I was going to write the exact same thing! I don't even really remember the food, so I guess it was just passable and not fantastic. We went for a club's Christmas Party, so we had a nice time talking and the wine list was pretty good, but DH & I haven't bothered to go back.

Oh, and that smell took a long time to get out of my wool coat!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I just looked at the menu on the website and they have the Rosa Regale sparkling wine I love!