2.30 Melting Pot
Posted on September 9, 2008
Filed Under American, Dessert | 1 Comment
The Melting Pot was recommended to me as a place for a special occasion, and since this past Sunday was an anniversary of sorts, we found ourselves here, on the second floor overlooking Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena.
So, to get this show on the road, here’s the setup. There’s an electric stove in the middle of the table, various fondue pots are brought out for each course, and it’s generally broken down by cheese, salad (no fondue), meat, and dessert. We went for the Fondue Feast as a part of “The Big Night Out,” a four-course combination meal. The fondue feast was $88 and comes with our choice of cheese fondue, two salads, a two-person serving of meats, and our choice of chocolate fondue.
Our waitress made our cheese fondue tableside. We chose the Spinach Artichoke fondue and here she is dropping the cheese into the broth.
You’re given bread, chips, cauliflower, celery, carrots and apples to dip. Nothing here really stood out, maybe we should’ve gone with one of the signature fondues.
We had a couple of salads, here is the Caribbean salad. There’s mangos and candied pecans along with the baby greens and tomatoes. Quite good, sweet and tangy.
Here is the California salad. Baby greens and a raspberry vinaigrette. The walnuts were fantastic and very nicely balanced with the gorgonzola cheese.
Up next is our coq au vin main course. Our cheese fondue is secured and carried away with one of these contraptions, making it both secure and spill proof. It’s certainly nice to know you won’t get burned if someone’s waiter trips.
Here’s our waitress preparing the coq au vin. Mushrooms, cilantro, potatoes and green onions were poured into the soup base. The wine was immediately added after this.
Here’s our plate of meats. From top left to bottom right: pork, ravioli, filet mignon, rum chicken, and jerked beef.
I really liked the jerked beef since it had a good kick and the most intense flavor out of all the meats. The filet mignon is very tender but lacked a strong flavor, having to rely on their sauces. The rum chicken was tender and a bit tangy, the pumpkin ravioli was very decent.
Here’s the best part of the meal, the chocolate fondue! We ordered the Ying / Yang fondue and it’s quite visually impressive. The white chocolate was smooth, sweet and creamy. I really liked the bananas with the white chocolate. The dark chocolate was stronger and had more of a cocoa flavor, as dark chocolate usually does. Very good with the strawberries.
The plate of sweets we had for desert was downright extravagant. Strawberries, banana slices, marshmallows, rice crispies, pieces of pound cake and brownies, and a slice of cheesecake. I went on a dunkin’ frenzy and resorted to drowning the cheesecake in melted chocolate. This was definitely the best part of the meal, and if you don’t feel like plopping down $88 for a meal, this dessert is definitely worth the $16 they ask for.
It’s a bit pricy, and I was only really blown away by the chocolate fondue, but I think it’s worth the money for a good fondue experience if you’ve never had it before. Service was attentive and there’s more interaction between you and the waitress than a normal meal would have. If this is your first time they would do a very good job explaining everything to you. I would come back to try different kinds of chocolate fondues. They were so good. Mmmmm…chocolate… *Smack lips*
The Melting Pot
88 W Colorado Blvd
2nd Flr
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 792-1941
Website