As both Rachel and I had some yesterday off, we decided to venture off to The Melting Pot. Rachel and I had never tried fondue. The extent of our knowledge was that cheese, chocolate, and dipping were involved.

The place was about an hour drive (close to where I work). Neither Rachel nor I had been to that area, so we were unsure of our directions. But, we eventually made it. The Melting Pot is situated in a mall-type area called Legacy Village. We had to circle the area a few times. We ended up stopping next to a “you are here” map to get directions.

The interior was dark and cozy; there was a definite romantic atmosphere. The server took us to our table, explained the general process, and left us to pursue the menu. The table had a sealed burner in the middle of the table with some heat controls on the side. In addition to the usual knife and fork, we each had two color-coded fondue forks. The forks were twice as long as normal forks but were a bit thinner. The color-coding designates whose fork belonged to whom. We were a bit overwhelmed. But, as it was our first time (and possibly, but hopefully not our only time), we decided to go with everything.

The first course was a cheese course. The server brought out a pot and added some beer and seasonings. Then, he added several handfuls of shredded cheese and let everything melt together. He had also brought out some tortilla chips, bread chunks, carrots, apples, and cauliflower. As we were hungry, we finished off that course quickly. We then started with the salad course.

The main course came next. The server brought out a new pot and poured some broth in it. Then he brought out several trays of raw food. I don’t think that either Rachel or I had expected to cook anything. But, we were committed at this point. We were told to skewer the food and let it simmer in the pot for at least two to four minutes. The server then left us to enjoy our meal.

My first thought was that it did not seem like a lot of food. But, as you can only cook up to two pieces of food at a time per person, it took us a long time to eat. So, we filled up fairly quickly. The course consisted of filet mignon, balsamic-marinated sirloin, garlic and herb chicken, citrus pork tenderloin, white shrimp, wild mushroom raviolis, roasted red pepper rigatoni, and more vegetables (potatoes, broccoli,mushrooms, and squash). We also had a half dozen dipping sauces from which to choose.

Rachel didn’t try everything (she’s not big on steak and doesn’t eat seafood). But, made sure I tried everything. It was wonderful. There was just enough room left for the dessert course. The dessert course consisted of chocolate with caramel and chopped pecans. We had fresh strawberries, pound cake, cheesecake, brownies, and marshmallows for dipping.

Over all, I enjoyed the experience. I look forward to going back again. I just wish it was closer (and less expensive).

The ride home, on the other hand, was not quite as enjoyable. I was running out of gas, so I got off the freeway in search of a gas station. After getting lost, we ended up in some bad part of town with a severe deficiency of fuel. The only positive about the location, was that it did in fact have a gas station.