The once a year must dine: The Melting Pot

Really happy with the results of this dining experience.  I’ve been wanting and waiting for over two years to go to The Melting Pot restaurant for a nice, quiet, romantic, and fun dinner with the husband.  We finally got our chance this Valentine’s week.  We went after Valentine’s Day, because, in my opinion, the $135.00 price per couple just to go the 3 busiest days of the Vday weekend was ridiculous.  We went the day after Valentine’s Day and it was $94.00 a couple, which was more agreeable for the long, wonderful dinner.

They really do provide the necessary atmosphere for a romantic evening out.  We were lucky to get a curtained booth for two. When you call for reservations, just ask for it.  Close the curtain and total privacy…and I mean TOTAL no, just kidding.  There was no hanky panky when we had lobster tail and chocolate coming!  We ordered a bottle of prosecco and our attentive server went through everything.  For the cheese we got the traditional which was a swiss and gruyere blend.  I didn’t love it…they added a cherry liquor to it which I could totally taste and it just wasn’t my thing.  After looking back over the menu I realized we should have ordered the cheddar fondue with garlic, seasonings, and two kinds of cheddar!  How in the world did I miss that anyways, lol??  Still, the cheese comes with bread, green apple slices, cauliflower, celery and carrots.  It was good, we ate it, but I was wishing we would have ordered the cheddar.

the melting and mixing of the cheese

I didn’t take a picture of the salads, because I really wasn’t expecting anything much.  I almost felt that maybe the salads would be an afterthought because of all of the attention on the fondue.  Man, I was sooo wrong! Our Caesar salads were amazing and came with these delectable little honey/parmesan encrusted pine nuts and also the traditional croutons.  This salad was just delicious, not an afterthought at all.

For entrees you can order Bourguignonne style (cooked in oil) , Court Bouillon (vegetable  broth) , coq a vin (wine and herbs), or Caribbean Style Mojo (citrus and garlic bouillon).  We chose Bourguignonne style because everything’s good cooked in oil right??  I’m pretty sure we picked the right choice. We ordered the ”Big Night Out” with the two lobster tails, NY strip, shrimp, bratwurst, ravioli, chicken, as well as a bowl of red skin potatoes, yellow squash, mushroom caps, and broccoli. When you choose to cook in oil you also get a tempura batter and sesame batter.  Tip I learned from my server.. take a mushroom cap, fill with the green goddess sauce and cover with sesame batter and fry…OMG, I ate all the mushrooms in that bowl the exact same way.  I was so happy that my husband hated mushrooms that day.  After evaluation, next year we will get the entree selection with more red meat and less lobster.  The lobster was good, but not as flavorful as the NY strip, and in our choice we only got four small square pieces of steak and we so wanted more!!

Big Night out with 2 tails

whoo, look at all these sauces and two batters for the oil

green goddess mushrooms getting cooked!

For dessert you can choose from a few different chocolate mixtures, but we chose the most popular which is their turtle fondue with milk chocolate, caramel, and chopped pecans.  Holy melted chocolate Batman!!!  It was so good and I have no shame in my fondue game in saying, I took my finger to the hot fondue bowl once or twice near the end. 

all of the goodies about to get dipped

Now, granted folks, this is not a place you would go once a month for a dinner with the family.  This is probably a once or twice a year romantic, time taking dinner that will run you around $150.  To really enjoy it, it will take at least two hours.  The fun is in connecting with your loved one, feeding each other, and spending time.  With the oil cooking style you can really experiment with batters and sauces and it is really fun.  The whole restaurant works as a team at your table and they’ll make sure you have every single thing you need to have a wonderful experience.  You will never find an official menu online, they dont’ have one.  The website is helpful though in viewing the different cheese and entree cooking styles as well as desserts.  The Melting Pot gets the FOOD-TRAMP-STAMP OF APPROVAL!

The Melting Pot

8260 N. Hayden Rd

Scottsdale, AZ 85258

480.607.1799