A Birthday Success!

Ah, yes. Last night was -perfect-. We got all dolled up and looked great. Cliff really enjoyed it and had no idea (I purposefully walked past the restaurant just in case he had any clue and he didn't. We went to The Melting Pot downtown for a great four-course fondue meal. Did you know that Second Avenue was once considered one of the seediest areas of downtown Nashville and it was The Melting Pot and the Old Spaghetti Factory's arrival on that street that really helped turned it around and into what it is today. Crazy.

Anyways, dinner was incredible. We had the Big Night Out which is the four course meal where the first is a cheese fondue, the second a salad, the third your meat and vegetable entree, and the fourth (and most delicious) the chocolate dessert. You have your choice from a variety of options for each course and each one we picked was perfect. We both started off with a glass of Riesling. I, being a part German girl, chose my favorite: Schmitt Söhne Spätlese (I totally just taught myself how to type an umlaut on my Mac) and Cliff tried a glass of Jekel.

For our cheese fondue, we had the Feng Shui selection which had Fontina and Butterkäse cheeses (there it is again!), rice wine, sake, shallots, garlic, scallions, and a hint of crushed red pepper. We dipped chunks of sourdough, rye, and pumpernickel breads, green apples, and choppped carrots, celery, and cauliflower. With the cheese, I was particularly fond of the cauliflower, pumpernickel, and green apples. Woo! Our salads were pretty standard, but really good - Cliff got the obligatory chef's salad which had a honey mustard like house dressing, cheese, eggs, ham - the whole bit. I had the California salad which was mixed greens, gorgonzola, walnuts, and a rasperry black walnut vinegarette dressing. Yowzers! Cliff isn't a huge fan of gorgonzola (he thinks it tastes like the inside of a crayon box) so we didn't split like we originally set out to, but I loved every bite of it.

Our entree was a simple Fondue Feast (I had a coupon from the Clipper, so we had to choose that one) which has teriyaki sirloin, filet mignon, ahi tuna, white shrimp, sweet curry chicken breast, chicken and vegetable potstickers, and a variety of vegetables including potatoes, squash, brocolli, and mushrooms. We splurged and chose to cook it in a broth with extra flavoring instead of the plain. It was the Coq au Vin and had burgundy, garlic, mushrooms, and a blend of herbs and spices. Cooking your own meat and vegetables in a pot doesn't seem to appealing at first, but it was so much fun! We experimented with different meats and all of the sauces they give you to try (teriyaki, ginger honey, "green goddess", gorgonzola port, curry mustard, hot cocktail). My personal favorite (as well as Cliff's!) was the shrimp with curry and teriyaki sirloin with teriyaki. I also stuffed a mushroom cap with "green goddess" (a blend of cream cheese, sour cream, milk, chives, onions, and parsley) and dropped it in the pot for a little fun - it was great!

So anyways, we finally settled on the Flaming Turtle for our chocolate fondue (milk chocolate, caramel, and pecans flambeed tableside) and that was... oh man... the best dessert I have ever had. We dipped pieces of strawberries, bananas, pound cake, cheesecake, brownies, pineapple, and graham or oreo covered marshmallows. I even got so ravenous I just kept scooping the pecans out of the mix to eat. We finished off by dipping each of our after dinner mints in the mix as well.

Whew.

Now that I'm thoroughly hungry, again, I would have to say my first true Melting Pot experience was incredible and I didn't wince a bit when the check came and I treated my future hubby to (according to him) "one of the best restaurant meals I think I've ever had."

I would, without hesitation, recommend The Melting Pot to any and everyone. Seriously. Especially for a special occasion!