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Y! MyWebThe Melting Pot
Fondue cooking, chocolate decadence come to the Miami Valley
Friday, September 26, 2008
WASHINGTON TWP., Montgomery County — Make no mistake, when you walk into The Melting Pot, you'll know you're not in Hooters anymore.
Melting Pot occupies the same space as the, um, specialty restaurant did, but renovation gutted the interior to the bare walls, and the result — with its granite tables, subdued lighting, glass-walled wine cellar and wine-themed artwork — is undeniably attractive.
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The Melting Pot
- WHERE: 453 Miamisburg-Centerville Road (Ohio 725) [Map]
- HOURS: 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, 4 to 11 p.m. Saturday, 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday
- COST: Entrees $19 to $27, chocolate dessert fondues $15 to $30
- DISHES TO TRY: For splurges, go for the full experience: the "Featured Big Night Out," the four-course fondue dinner for $41 to $45 per person. Or go for dessert and have the chocolate fondue for $15 (small, plenty enough for two) or regular ($30).
- MORE INFO: (937) 567-8888
- MORE: Reader ratings, complete profile
The Melting Pot's fondue dining concept is certainly distinctive. Here, the diners are the chefs. The meats, seafood and vegetables are brought to the table raw, and diners spear them with long fondue forks and drop the pieces into a bubbling mini-cauldron of cooking liquid that ranges from a seasoned "Court Bouillon" vegetable broth to a "Mojo Fondue" Caribbean-seasoned bouillon spiked with garlic and citrus. Canola oil and batters for frying are another option available.
Boil the meats and veggies for two minutes or less, remove from the broth, slide the fork's contents onto a plate, top with one of the eight or so sauces provided — ranging from a Green Goddess-style to yogurt-curry to a sweet soy to a Gorgonzola port — and an almost infinite range of tastes is available.
There are some drawbacks to the method. Some items lend themselves to boiling better than others, and inattention can lead to some less-than-enjoyable bites: The shrimps come out delicious, for example, but the slices of beef, if overcooked even a little, can turn dry and tough in a hurry.
When dessert arrives, any drawbacks are quickly forgotten. For chocolate enthusiasts — and my sense is, there are many of you — dessert here is a gooey slice of heaven.
The chocolate choices, melted in a pot on the table for dipping, include an attractive and delicious "Yin & Yang" (half dark chocolate and half white chocolate, artfully swirled) and an equally delicious "Flaming Turtle" (milk chocolate, caramel and chopped pecans, flambéed tableside with a splash of 151-proof rum). Or choose your chocolate and swirl into it a liquer such as Grand Marnier or Chambord.
The dessert dippers include sliced strawberries and bananas, marshmallows (some dusted with crushed Oreos), brownies, pound cake and cheesecake. Extravagant? You bet, and gloriously so.
You'll pay for this experience, and not just on the scale: The full-monty, four-course "Featured Big Night Out" (cheese fondue with breads and veggies for dipping, salad, the entree course, and chocolate fondue for dessert) works out to be $41-$45 per person. The "Entrees for Two" exclude dessert and can run as little as $30 per person.
But even our server declared, "everything leads to the chocolate."
Consider coming just for dessert, which costs $15 for the small (serves two) and $30 for the "regular" size (serves three or four).
The Melting Pot is not a restaurant for diners in a rush — at least, not if the four-course meal is on the menu. Restaurant officials say the average "seat time" is two hours or more. And there's a bit of a schizophrenic nature here: The cooking method is a hit with young children, several of whom dined enthusiastically during one early evening weeknight visit, but the menu and atmosphere (and extensive wine list) seem more conducive to couples, who take over the restaurant later in the evenings.
The Melting Pot is a culinary change of pace worthy of exploration. And save room for dessert.
