Uye Fedoras & Fondue

What a fun way to spend a Wednesday evening! With friends old and new and of course plenty of fondue much of which I am still savoring over tonight! When the lovely Christine R. sent out this event invite via a UYE somehow I knew I had to go because a) love Christine and the energy she brings to any Unilocal Event and b) I love fondue, especially the fondue served at The Melting Pot in Larkspur. It’s the only Melting Pot franchise located in an actual kiln, which once served as a former brick making factory which only enhances the experience as a truly beautiful venue to experience making your own food in fondue pots.
The biggest thanks can only be given to Christine for not only organizing this event but for also being such a loyal customer to The Melting Pot, which allows her to not only know what she’s ordering, therefore cutting out any questions that us less experienced diners may have but also making connections at The Melting Pot to make sure they even offered the dining package of «Girls Night Out» of which I was graciously allowed to participate in! In fact, anyone could have participated in this event whether they were a Unilocal Elite or not. Christine and I were joined by two of her friends Janice and Anita, and the four of us sat down for some good food, libations, and talk, all around two huge burners that were filled with cheese for appetizers, broth and oil for dinner, and of course, chocolate for dessert.
And what a meal it was! With our Mangolicious drinks firmly in our hands, we were first treated to two types of cheese fondue, one with spinach and artichoke with white cheddar, and the other called «Fiesta» with orange and white cheddar with jalapenos served with all you can eat fixings including two types of bread, cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, and green apples. After diving into our cheese fondue for what seemed like an eternity, I was already full. Remember never fill up on bread people especially with three more courses coming! After our cheese course came the perfectly sized pear and Gorgonzola salad with candied nuts and arugula.
And then it was onto our main course. For the «Ladies Night Out» Special they have an option for fondue pots of either boiling broth or deep frying oil (luckily since we had two burners, we got one of each!) and it was served with all-​you can cook and eat Teriyaki Sirloin with Sesame Seeds, Salmon, Shrimp and Chicken with Pesto along with a bounty of fresh vegetables like potatoes, mushrooms, broccoli and cauliflower. Everything needs to be boiled in broth, our engaging server Oscar recommended we boil our raw meats for two minutes and our seafood for a minute and a half. From there you are free to deep fry them as that fondue pot is served alongside two batters one sesame seed batter, the other tempura batter. You dip your cooked foods into the oil for an additional thirty or so seconds. The perfect dipping sauces like teriyaki, curry, ginger plum, blue cheese and green goddess we provided as the piece de resistance.
We were stuffed, but of course it was time for dessert! Christine, being the ever loyal fan of The Melting Pot knew to get the Ying Yang and the Flaming Turtle, and our server Oscar agreed with her as he quickly responded with a those would have been his picks as well! The Ying Yang was great with the perfect mixture of white and milk chocolate. In the Flaming Turtle, we got a fire show from Oscar all with milk chocolate and nuts. Served with pound and chocolate cake, strawberries, apples, pineapples, white and chocolate marshmallows, and rice krispy treats this was the perfect after-​dinner treat.
Needless to say we were all stuffed, one reminder is to pace yourself when eating at The Melting Pot, the food is amazing but can be heavy after a while. But the crew here was amazing and they managed to top off our meal with a gorgeous chocolate covered plate with a special thanks to us Unilocalers for enjoying «Ladies Night Out and One Guy» at The Melting Pot. It’s that kind of extra love that I’ll remember for a long time to come. Special new friends, amazing fondue you can’t get anywhere else in a venue that compares to no other. This event makes me want to return every third Wednesday of the month for ladies night at the Melting Pot!