Fondue

We all know my love for cheese, right?  Well, you know what's even better than cheese?  Melted cheese!  Mmm.  Warm, melty cheese that you dip bread and apples in.  Yep, we're talking fondue people!  From the first time I ever had fondue (I was probably in high school) I was in love with it!  And it's not surprising that the first place I tried it was at the Melting Pot.  I mean, there aren't a plethora of fondue joints out there.  So usually when people say "fondue" it's followed by Melting Pot...at least in the Cincinnati area.  The Melting Pot is one of my favorite places to go for a melty, delicious treat.  My hlp and I would occasionally go during college whenever we felt the need to celebrate.  We'd get cheese and chocolate fondue and be in total bliss.  Occasionally we'd splurge and get the meat as well, but we were college students so that didn't happen very often.  If you know the story of me and Antoine, you know that he took me to the Melting Pot for our first date, not even knowing how much I loved it!  So, yeah, I kind of dig the place!

So, when I was up in Cleveland this weekend visiting my hlp and expressed a craving for fondue, she immediately suggested the Melting Pot, since neither of us had been in some time!  So off we went to the nearest Melting Pot, which was only about 15 minutes away from her apartment!  As far as Melting Pots go, they're all pretty much the same, being a chain and all.  Unfortunately, our waiter was a total stick in the mud, which is sad because generally the waiters/waitresses at Melting Pot are extremely personable and energetic.  He was not. 

 The salads at Melting Pot are quite tasty, I've never had a bad one.  I usually go for the California salad with mixed greens, candied pecans, gorgonzola, tomatoes (which I skipped...bleh!), and their fantastic raspberry black walnut vinaigrette!  Seriously, I want a bottle of that stuff (fyi, they do sell their dressings).

 Then onto the cheese fondue.  Whether I'm with Antoine or Amanda we always get the cheddar cheese fondue (with lager and garlic).  I've had the swiss, and it was okay, but the cheddar is where it's at!  Although, next time, I really want to try the Wisconsin trio (fontina, butterkase, and bleu).

 For dessert we went for the Original (our usual), which is milk chocolate with a spoonful of crunchy peanut butter!  YUM!

 The variety of dippers for the dessert is fantastic: strawberries, bananas, brownies, pound cake, cheesecake, rice krispie treats, and marshmallows covered in cookie crumbles.  The marshmallow above is my personal favorite!

 And the strawberries are a close second.

 Unfortunately, I didn't get a shot of the dippers tray before we attacked it!  But trust me, it's a beautiful sight!

How about you, have you ever been to Melting Pot or another fondue place?  What's your favorite part?