the melting pot

Anyone have any suggestions as to what to get here? I am going there tonight on a date and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations

We always get the meal for two that has a sampling of several different meats and seafood. The cheese starter is great. We like the beer cheese version. The California salad is the best and of course we end with a Ying and Yang dessert.

A little expensive for what you get, but would be a great place for a date. Provided you have lots to talk about, because the meal will take you a couple of hours. Have fun.

I have been there twice. The first time for a complete meal. I think it was over $800 for a party of 8. And yes the meal does take forever to complete. So get comfortable and know this ahead of time. The second time I went was just my wife and me. We just got the classic cheese fondue and a chocolate one. It was around $30 and much more enjoyable.

If you are going for the complete meal, make sure to get one of the flavored cooking methods. It is worth the extra money as otherwise you are just eating plain deep fried pieces of meat. As for what to get, it is just different combinations of meat and vegetables. They don't do anything to them so just order what you like. They will likely try to push lobster on you for an extra $50 or more. I did not think that was worth it.

I may sound negative but it is fun and a nice place for a date. In my mind though, it is the most fun when you just get an appetizer and dessert.

if you get just an cheese fondue and a dessert is it enough to fill two people up?

It would be for me. There are alot of vegetables and breads that go with the cheese. Same with the dessert, except fruit replaces the vegs.

do you normally do the small or large pot for dessert?

We just did the small but this was a late night thing after a concert and if memory serves we may have eaten something earler in the evening and then went there at about 10:00.

everyone keeps saying if you do the full course thing it's long. How long are we talking exactly?

Cha-ching. $$$

Add ETOH beverages... CHA-CHING... $$$$-$$$$$

Been there; done that.

quote:

Originally posted by fattybomatty

everyone keeps saying if you do the full course thing it's long. How long are we talking exactly?

3-4 hours @ least. LOL.

I was interested seeing there was one in my area. I checked out the website and very didappointed. All the foo-foo buttons and I couldnt find a complete menu!
britt

At least 3 hours is about right. Remember, you have to cook each piece of meat you get and even if you do 2 at a time, it takes awhile.

You going to the one in Hoboken?

Here is my all-time FAVORITE commercial music. A fondue place in Edgewater. I have not been there in ages, but I remember enjoying myself. It is BYOB. You have to listen to this fondue music. It will indeed put you in the mood for fondue.

http://www.themagicpotfonduebistro.com/index.html

So, what did you think?

I only ate at the Melting Pot once. The food was very good but the smell of the burning oil really turned me off and I have not been back.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

I ate at the one in somerville, nj. We ended up trying one of the big meals because we were both pretty hungry. You guys were right though and we could have stuck with the cheese and dessert. I liked what we had. We didn't do the burning oil for our dinner though. We went with a burgundy sauce. The only thing we didn't like was the chicken. Everything else was pretty good

quote:

Originally posted by fattybomatty

I ate at the one in somerville, nj. We ended up trying one of the big meals because we were both pretty hungry. You guys were right though and we could have stuck with the cheese and dessert. I liked what we had. We didn't do the burning oil for our dinner though. We went with a burgundy sauce. The only thing we didn't like was the chicken. Everything else was pretty good

And what was the time? Did you break 3 hours?

quote:

Originally posted by hatteras04

quote:

Originally posted by fattybomatty

I ate at the one in somerville, nj. We ended up trying one of the big meals because we were both pretty hungry. You guys were right though and we could have stuck with the cheese and dessert. I liked what we had. We didn't do the burning oil for our dinner though. We went with a burgundy sauce. The only thing we didn't like was the chicken. Everything else was pretty good

And what was the time? Did you break 3 hours?

Actually, I am more curious how the date went.

It was 2 and a half hours about and the date went really well. We had a lot of fun. Definitely, a good date type place

A new one just opened up in our area (first one in our state) and took my daughter and friends for her sweet sixteen birthday party. We did the 4-course set, but only ordered dinner for 3 people (there was 5 of us), which turned out to be just the right amount of food.

I have to admit, I was very impressed. The decor was done very nice, understated and elegant. The staff was great, every one made a point to stop at our table to wish my daughter happy birthday, service was great all around. The entire staff signed a birthday card which was waiting at our table when we arrived, a very cute touch.

The kids did not like the Caribbean hot pot which was too sour for their taste, and I just read that they are discontinuing it and replacing it with another one. Other than that, it was a great 2-1/2 hr dinner.

yeah we switched out the caribbean pot for the cheddar beer pot and the caribbean salad for the house salad. I like that you can mix and match the big meals if you want

I really enjoy going to the Melting Pot. It is rather on the expensive side so we save it for special treats and date nights.
My husband and I always get The Big Night Out, which is for two people and comes with a salad, cheese fondue, main course fondue, and dessert fondue. It does take around 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours to do, but it is fun and really romantic. My sister and her fiance will only get a cheese fondue and a dessert fondue and they always feel that is plenty of food. Once you start getting into groups of more than 4 people though it starts to be less fun, you spend a lot of time fighting for pot space and eyeing the last piece of lobster.

I think that fondue is an experience that everyone should try at least once. If you don't want to take that long at dinner or if price is a problem you can always make very tasty fondues at home. We like to do that too, when we're having date night in.

Zombie thread.
 
We went to The Melting Pot in Towson MD. yesterday and had a very good time.  We had received a promo for a free cheese fondue for 2 so while we've been talking about going for years, this was the push we needed to finally go.
 
We started off with the cheddar fondue which was listed as a 'Melting Pot specialty'.  The waiter started by pouring a big slug of beer into the pot, then garlic, pepper and mustard powder. If we go back, I'd go easy or skip the mustard powder.  He then mixed in the cheddar, a little at a time so it didn't lump up.  He finished it off with a few dashes of Worcestershire.  There were  bread cubes, broccoli / cauliflower / carrots, and Granny Smith apple cubes to dip in the cheese.  The waiter would have brought as much bread, vegetables and apples as we wanted.  The cheese was very enjoyable.
 
We next had house salads (one was included and we bought one extra).  Simple salads with good flavor and seemingly home-made dressings of honey mustard and peppercorn ranch.
 
We next split the 'pick 4' entree. Single item entrees were $15 - $30 but since we were sharing an entree we went for the pick 4 ($32.50).  We got chicken potstickers (2), Andouille sausage (6 discs), Shrimp (5 - likely 1 extra by mistake) and teriyaki beef (4).  We chose the coq au vin broth which was excellent.  The waiter started by pouring a small carafe of Burgundy wine into the standard vegetable broth, then added garlic, pepper and a few other spices.  When he returned with the entree, he also had a bowl of big white mushrooms, broccoli and potato quarters.  All the entree items were excellent, though the potstickers seemed out of place; we had just wanted to try them.  The coq au vin broth gave everything a great flavor, and we had no desire to boil our food in oil, so this was a very good choice.  The waiter would have brought as many mushrooms/broccoli/potatoes we wanted, but the single serving was more than enough.  He also brought a sampler of dipping sauces, including a spicy cocktail sauce, curry sauce, ginger garlic sauce, green goddess, blue cheese and a sweet & sour sauce.
 
We finished up with the 'Pure Chocolate' fondue in milk chocolate. The dippers were Rice Krispies treats (6), banana slices (4), strawberry slices (8), marshmallows (2 Oreo coated and 2 of another I don't know what the coating was), brownie bites and pound cake bites (2 and 2) and mini slice of cheesecake. This was a very good dessert and surprisingly, not overly sweet.
 
The whole meal took a little over two hours and the final bill with tax was a little under $57, though we had $15 removed for the cheese fondue promo.
 
We would definitely go back, and can recommend The Melting Pot without hesitation.

We ate there once at their Arlington, VA location and found it to be stunningly, staggeringly over-priced.  I don't mind a bill for two being > $100, not including alcohol, if I can see value in the quality and preparation.  But, their food cost must be in the 10% range; we just felt plain "ripped off".

 
I agree with MetroplexJim.   It was a less than medicore meal.  And, possibly  the most overpriced for what you get place we've ever eaten.   
 
 
Glenn
 
 
 
 

My wife and kids ate there a few weeks ago and she got sick and didnt like it. Not food poisoning or anything like that, but her stomach didnt feel good. She thought it was due to all the mixing and matching. She also said it was crazy expensive and long, but I would have liked to try it at least once.

I'm sorry to read about these negative experiences.  While we did get a freebie on the cheese fondue, splitting an entree saved a little money and while not cheap, it wasn't anywhere near the most expensive place we've ever been.
 
We won't be going back with any frequency, but probably every year or two.  We had a great time and more than enough food, and (thankfully) no one got sick.  Everyone else's mileage obviously varied greatly.

eruby

, it wasn't anywhere near the most expensive place we've ever been.
.

 
It's not that it was the most expensive place we've been.  Far from it.  It's that it was the most expensive for what we received (quality, quanity, etc.).  The food was less than mediocre. 
 
 
Glenn
 
 

I'm glad we must have gotten lucky as our food was quite good and in no way mediocre.
 
I'm sorry your meal was lousy.

Although it has been several years, I like The Melting Pot.  It really is an excellent place to take a date.
 
I once had a first date at The Melting Pot with a beautiful psychologist and she told me that I was the most well-adjusted man she had met since she moved to Pittsburgh.  Which doesn't say too much about the men she had met so far.