February, 2006

Rating : 9 out of 10

Tariff : Dinner for 2

• "The Big Night Out" includes 4 courses
• cheese fondue course
• salad course
• main entree course
• dessert/chocolate fondue course
• 1 bottle wine
• tip
• $145

Atmosphere

This location has got to be one of the most unique settings for a restaurant and seems somehow perfectly suited to the Melting Pot's unique fondue dining, being reminiscent of a European cellar restaurant. The Brick Kiln was once just that and is a series of rustic brick tunnels that curve around in a semi-circle, appointed with private romantic tables for two in one section or larger tables for bigger groups in another. Each table has its own cooking top built in.  There is also a bar area and a wine cellar set into the wall near the entrance.

Service

This is the kind of dining experience where service plays a big part. Your server does not merely take your order and deliver your food to the table. Everything is fresh and nothing is cooked in the kitchen--we were told there aren't even stoves or ovens in the kitchen, it is purely a food storage and prep area. Not quite as hands on as a Japanese steak house where the cook works at your table and puts on a show, however the Melting Pot comes very close! Our server was extremely knowledgeable regarding the menu items, various cooking styles, and special meal plans. She was also very patient in explaining them to us.Once we had decided what we wanted--this was a wedding anniversary treat, so we went for the "Big Night Out" with four separate courses--she brought each course to us and took her time preparing the cheeses, broths, etc., describing the ingredients, and teaching us the best dipping or cooking techniques as she went along. The cook top I mentioned was set right into the marble table and used induction heat, meaning it only got hot right under the pot (when there was a pot present), making clean up easy and lessening the chance of an accidental burn. I thoroughly enjoyed the attentive service, leisurely pace, and the quiet time together the two of us had, but I can also see how this style of dining would be a lot of fun for families or a group of friends, because it's interesting, fun, and allows plenty of time for conversation.

Food

Now for the food. Diners can order different combinations of courses, entree items, or ala carte entrees. Our first choice was the traditional Swiss cheese fondue with Gruyere and Emmenthaler, white wine, a touch or garlic, nutmeg, fresh lemon, and Kirshwasser (cherry liquor). As I said, these were brought to the table in individual containers on a tray and as the waitress added each one to the fondue pot she described it and blended them until they were melted to the right consistency and temperature. We had a basket with chunks of various breads plus bowls of fresh vegetables and crisp apple pieces to dip into the cheese--easily a meal in itself!

 The next course was the only non-fondue course and that was a choice of salads--we chose the California Salad, which was baby greens, tomatoes, walnuts, gorgonzola cheese, with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. It was very fresh and flavorful.

The third course was the main course and diners choose not only their entree (what is to be cooked), but also the cooking style (what to cook the food in). We chose a selection of meats attractively arranged on a platter around a lobster tail with the meat expertly removed, cut, and replaced on top of the tail shell. In addition to the lobster there was a sampling of tenderloin, shrimp, teriyaki marinated sirloin, chicken breast, and fresh salmon. For our cooking "style" we chose the Coq au Vin, a French provincial broth with fresh herbs, mushrooms, and Burgundy wine. The basic broth is brought to the table in a sealed stainless steel fondue pot. Once opened, it is placed on the cook top, and then the ingredients are added, heated, and mixed in front of the diners. Other choices of cooking medium are a seasoned vegetable broth, a broth with Caribbean flavors, and oil. In addition to the meats there was also a bowl of fresh cut vegetables that the server suggested putting into the broth at the start, so as not to wait for them to cook individually on skewers. This worked out well; as we were coming to the end of our meats we ladled out some of the cooked vegetables to eat. I shouldn't forget to mention that there were a good selection of tasty dipping sauces paired with the entree choices--things like teriyaki glaze, spicy cocktail sauce, mild curry, melted butter, barbeque, etc. and pretty plates with sections to keep them separate.

The last (perhaps the best!) course was the chocolate fondue.  Here again there are choices and, if left to my own devices, I would devour the pure dark chocolate fondue. However, my partner is not a fan of dark chocolate and so we tried the Flaming Turtle a delightfully sweet mix of milk chocolate, caramel, and chopped pecans flambéed tableside. There was a mixture of dark chocolate, caramel, and Kailua, another with milk chocolate and a touch of peanut butter, another with dark and white chocolate swirled together, and several more--very difficult choices for chocolate lovers!

Wine

The wine menu is so long (at least 10 pages) that the server had to point out where to look in the binder to find the food selections, otherwise we would have gotten lost. There is also a full bar and a menu of cocktails, specialty coffees, and after dinner drinks.

All in all, dining at the Melting Pot was a great experience and a delicious and unique meal!

The Melting Pot at The Brick Kiln
125 East Sir Francis Drake Blvd.
Larkspur, CA  94939
(415) 461-6358