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| - I was so excited to see this American chain come to Canada! I went and checked it out on a Friday night a couple weeks ago. My best friend and I went and it was both of our first nights out since we had our babies this spring. So we didn't want to be disappointed. And we weren't! We ended up having a great meal and great time.
We started with a drink. My friend had the Appletini and I had the Smores martini. Both were pretty good! They were very strong but not throat-burningly strong. And no ice cubes in our martinis either (the worst). We decided to do the Big Night Out In America meal which gives you a chance to eat and try everything for two. Having never been to the Melting Pot before, we found the menu a bit baffling and literally needed our server's help in figuring out how it worked. You are allowed to change up the BNO menu to any of the fondue options on the menu and we changed our cheese fondue to the Wisconsin Cheese Trio.
Our server made everything at the table for us. She was excellent about telling us what she was putting in but I think she should have spent more time blending everything because until we gave our cheese a BIG stir, it was extremely alcohol-y. It came with bread and some apples. The bread was dry but really, the cheese masked that. It was really delicious. We sat there doing the 'cheese moan' for a bit--the "omg mmmm" sound. The server continued to be thoughtful and did little things like give us lots of fondue forks.
Next we did the salads, the Wisconsin Wedge for me and the California salad for my friend. The dressing on my salad tasted a bit like bottled ranch. I sincerely hope it's not bottled ranch because that's a major black mark, IMO. My friend's salad was excellent but it was DROWNED in dressing. Sadly, the salads needed a bit of work. They were not bad and we both ate them completely but they were very boring.
For our main course, we did the fondue feast minus the pork in the Mojo cooking style. We left our raw meats in the fondue for a lot longer than the server instructed, we were paranoid about making sure we cooked it thoroughly. I still enjoyed it and we both thought the oricchieti were amazing. The seasoning really just comes off the food in the fondue so I don't much see the point of it. The cooking liquid was tart and flavorful. Maybe a bit too much lime but overall, we had fun and we liked our food. We also got very full.
Lastly, we did the yin-yang chocolate fondue. It came with just about every sweet thing you could want--brownies, cheesecake, marshmallow, strawberries, pineapple, banana and this was BY FAR the best part of the night. Chocolate-gasm. We would have licked the pot if we could.
Overall, I enjoyed everything and would absolutely go back. However, for what you get it's NOT cheap. We paid about $70 per person with just one drink each and tip. For a place where you cook all your own food, that's a lot. It's way overpriced in my opinion. I don't mind paying for good food but I don't like feeling a bit ripped off. That being said, you do leave feeling very full. The service was great but very slow. Our server was gone a lot between courses, not checking on us and even though we were rushing through dessert and paid our bill before our dessert was done (we had to get home to our babies, LOL), it still took us about 3 hours to have this meal. Had we taken our time through dessert, we could have easily added another 30 minutes to that time. So make sure you have a TON of time to spend here.
The one thing I need to really criticize is the decor. I LOVE the privacy but the decor is awful. It's all beige and grey and sterile. Almost hospital-like. It was also FREEZING in there. We were sitting under a vent and it was uncomfortably cold.
I like this place. I'd like to go back with my husband soon. It's a novelty and a fun experience with good food. Nothing crazy gourmet but definitely a great place and an interesting chain restaurant. It'd be excellent for a date. This is not a kid friendly place. Those crazy hot liquids could spell disaster for a rambunctious child or even a kid (or adult) who accidently knocks something over.
EDITED (March 24/13): This place is CLOSED. A friend of mine and I tried to go here last night and there's a sign that says "Closed for Inventory" but it's pitch black and mail is piling up in their front area. Apparently it's been dark for over a week. Just checked their website and it's listed as Closed there as well. Goodbye, Melting Pot :-( Bummer. Hubby hated it but it was great for girl's nights. Will have to go to the Buffalo location if I ever want it again, I guess.
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