One of my friends from work, Jessica Robinson, has talked about how good The Melting Pot is for as long as we have worked in the same department. Her descriptions made me curious to give it a try. However, it wasn’t until I saw a Groupon offer for the Melting Pot, did I finally act on the curiosity. The next hurdle was to make time to go. It is in Lyndhurst, Ohio (at least where this Groupon was good for) and that is over 1 hour from where we live. Then my husband, Bobby’s, schedule is so unpredictable that it is difficult to make solid plans. Finally, though, everything came together and I made the reservation for Thursday, August 4, 2016.
Bobby’s work day lasted longer than expected on the day of our reservation, so I was glad I had made it for 8 p.m. He was also glad that it took a bit of time to get there because he was able to unwind from work as we drove to Lyndhurst. The Melting Pot is located in a shopping plaza called Legacy Village. It is this outside mall with a courtyard and mezzanine that overlooks it. There are these really comfortable couches and chairs throughout to allow shoppers to sit and talk and take in the atmosphere. The night we went the weather was beautiful and there was a band playing in the courtyard. Had I known that, I probably would have made the reservations a little later so that Bobby and could have enjoyed the music a little bit more. (He loves live music.)
When we arrived at the Melting Pot, I asked for a table instead of a booth. Sometimes booths can be uncomfortable for us, so our first choice is always a table. There was a bit of hesitance, but then they graciously lead us to a table that was in its own little room. I suppose it is usually used for a group of four, but it was nice they gave it to us. It was sort of romantic to have the room all to ourselves.
Our server, Angel, explained what came with our Groupon. I think usually when you go, you order the four course dinner (which includes the cheese fondue, the salad, the entree and chocolate fondue). However, the Groupon was for the salad and entree only. This turned out to be a good thing for us. While we could have added both the cheese and chocolate fondues, we decided what we had was plenty. (Plus we were kind of planning to go to East Coast Custard that is nearby, since it had been recommended to us.)
The Melting Pot gives you plenty to choose from, even within the options we had. We could choose the type of salad we wanted. We both chose the House Salad. I got it with their house dressing, a sweet and tangy dressing. Bobby chose the peppercorn ranch. But we could have gotten a caesar salad, wisconsin wedge or California salad. For our entree we each had the choice of three different meats, but could choose from around 12 different options (including a few that were seafood). The only thing we had to agree on was the cooking style. Again there were choices we could make, three options were broth based and one was oil. Bobby and I decided to go with the oil or Bourguignonne.
As far as the choices for meats go, I selected Certified Angus Beef Sirloin, Pacific White Shrimp and Memphis Style Dry Rub Pork. Bobby selected the Teriyaki Marinated Sirloin, Herb Crusted Chicken and Chicken and Vegetable Potstickers. The Herb Crusted Chicken really wasn’t an option, but Bobby just batted his beautiful eyelashes to Angel and she made an exception–O.K. not really. It wasn’t an option, but Angel said he could get it instead of the All-Natural Breast of Chicken. One thing that Bobby and I tend to do when we are at a new restaurant is order different things so that we can share. In this case that was especially true, except that Bobby doesn’t like seafood, so I got all the shrimp!
So we placed our order and then this guy brings out this pot of oil and turns on our table. (There is a burner in the middle of the table.) He leaves to let the oil heat up. In a little while, the food comes out. The server (not Angel) brings out our plates of meat, a bowl of vegetables, two different types of batters (tempura and sesame) and these little bowls of different sauces, a total of 5 different kinds. Then the fun begins. The server tells us that we go from the “platter to the batter to the pot to the plate.” This is how you are to move your food around–meaning don’t put cooked food with raw food.
This is no surprise for those of you who know me, but I let Bobby do the cooking. I mean, when it comes right down to it, he is the genius in this department. The server told us how long we should leave things in the oil, but I barely remembered because one, that is a lot to remember and two, I had Bobby with me. Bobby made the executive decision to use the pot as a deep fryer. We only used the fondue forks to hold the broccoli down. He is a professional (used to work in a restaurant). One of the really cool things Bobby did was slice the red potato halves into french fries. That way it wouldn’t take as long and as you know, I love fresh cut fries!
Going to The Melting Pot was a real culinary experience. It was more than just going out to eat. This was an interactive food adventure. Everything we ate was really good, but the Certified Angus Beef and the Memphis Dry Rub Pork really stood out. I am thankful that Bobby was there because I’m sure I probably would have burnt myself with the oil or something. At the end of the evening, even though we didn’t get the chocolate fondue, we did get a few chocolate covered strawberries to go. When we ate them later, over the next couple of days, we sort of relieved our experience at The Melting Pot. One that we fully enjoyed. I might have to go back again–only this time I’ll make sure to get the Chocolate Fondue.
We didn’t have that problem, because we were deep frying, but I could totally see how that might occur. I hope you get to try it sometime! Thanks for the comment.