The Melting Pot - a TravelHost review
Wow, I'm really sorry I haven't posted anything new here in awhile. We at TravelHost of Greater Louisville have been absolutely and completely swamped these past few weeks and I've had the flu - yes, really - and that has kept me out of pocket as well. But before I got sick I had the great pleasure of meeting three of Louisville's most beautiful women for dinner at The Melting Pot - Sande Rawlings, my bride; Ali Shaw, my buddy; and Ali's buddy Jennifer Montgomery. In such company how can any cuisine not be excellent?
It was my first time at the Melting Pot. I'd heard it referred to as a fondue place - totally 70s, you know? Oh wow. I half expected to hear the Doobie Brothers piped in and to hear the term "wanna hit?" drifting by in blue, cannabis flavored smoke. But nope - not at all!
The restaurant is in a strip mall on Hurstbourne Parkway, near Taylorsville Road. When you walk inside, you're met with an unexpected elegance. It's a classy place and very cozy. They have an awe-inspiring wine rack that I had to pass on because of medication issues (darn it!). The ladies had mixed drinks they enjoyed immensely while I guzzled my iced tea. Coolest physical thing? There's a grill on the table, as in a built in grill! Very kewl.
Sande and I let Jennifer and Ali do the ordering for us and they did very well. We started with a cheddar cheese fondue that came with a nice selection of "dipables" including fresh apples, breads and assorted veggies. We followed with a nicely prepared Caesar salad. As an entree I selected the Teriyaki-Marinated Sirloin and Sande had the combo, marinated steak and white shrimp (very yummy!). Honestly, I don't remember what Jennifer and Ali ate because I was too engrossed in what I was preparing to eat while recounting the cooking procedure as outlined by Jennifer.
By procedure, I mean the process you follow in cooking your food! You spear multiple pieces of your entree and dip your spear into the cooking broth. And when you think it is ready to chomp down on you pull your spear out of the cooker and have at it. I didn't mess up even once! Every bite was perfect - crediting the chef, of course :) Anyway, the meals were accompanied by a nice selection of fresh vegetables. And we enjoyed everything immensely. Oh, by the way, there were several options for cooking broth. Among them: Coq au Vin, flavors of fresh herbs, mushrooms, garlic, spices and burgandy wine; Bourguignonne, a European style fondue in canola oil; and Mojo Style, Caribbean-seasoned bouillon with fresh garlic and citrus. We had the Mojo and enjoyed it, but next time I want to try the Coq.
But the star - and I do mean STAR - of the show was dessert. Chocolate fondue. Whoa. We had a giant pot of warm, melted chocolate in front of us that had my female companions wandering dangerously close to a state of nirvana. We had several dipables including fresh strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, marshmallows, pound cake and brownies. Friends, this dessert might just be the most romantic thing you can experience with your clothes on.
The folks at The Melting Pot have come up with a really unique way of turning "eating out" into a memorable experience. The food was great and the atmosphere was great, too. The whole experience was quite remarkable - there was a lot of communication between the four of us and I think it had to do with each of us preparing our own food, discussing the process, discussing everything under the sun! The Melting Pot was really great fun and an extraordinary dining and social experience. Definitely one of our recommended restaurants and one to which I will soon return! Here's their menu for your review - the_melting_pot_menu.pdf
-Gary Rawlings
