Melting Pot, Addison, Tx

Hello Foodies

This marks a very special occasion, the first post for my brand new blog, but also this visit to Melting Pot was for my mother’s birthday. I couldn’t imagine a better kick off review than this. So sit back and get ready for all the details.

Customer Service

As this blog continues I will learn about the best way to post and describe the situations, but for now we are going to break it down with customer service first. It is usually your first impression after all.

So to begin, I've been to this location previously and the service throughout seems to be consistent.

Right when you walk into the doors, you meet the hostess first. Unfortunately both times I've been, the hostess has been rather unfriendly, and overall inattentive with no eye contact or greeting. I wouldn't go as far to say she was rude, in my open a hostess should be warm and inviting.

While the initial greeting, or rather lack of may sway you somewhere else to dine, continue through because after that it's easy sailing. The tone dramatically changes when you make it to your table. The wait staff is incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and makes it a point to greet you immediately and ask if you have any questions. This is where Melting Pot really gets it right, the wait staff not only takes your order but is able hold a conversation. This is key because if you've never been to The Melting Pot, it can be very confusing and may leave you frustrated, but the wait staff is there to help every step of the way. This is why I would say, despite the poor customer service at the front desk, The Melting Pot gets a 4/5 Foodie Fork rating.

Food

This of coarse is the most important section of this review. No matter how good the customer service is, if the food isn’t excellent, then why go. That being said, I can confidently say the food is worth every penny you spend. When going to a restaurant like The Melting Pot, you always hear people say, your paying for the atmosphere, for the experience. However, this is not the case here. While the experience definitely shines, the food is also very well curated. From the starter with the melted cheese, breads and fruits to the well seasoned meats paired perfectly with the broths, everything is well thought out.

Starter

When getting the 4 coarse experience, you start out with a cheese. Now depending on how many people are with you, you might have one pot or two on your table. If you have 2, you can choose 2 different kinds of cheese. My personal favorite and the cheese we got this time was the Wisconsin Cheddar. This cheese is ooey gooey and mixed with spices for an extra punch, but nothing over powering, the cheese remains the focus. Remember the experience we talked about earlier, It starts here. All Fondue coarses are prepared in front of you, it isn’t pre-made and brought out to your table. The cheese is paired with breads, Granny Smith apples, and vegetables.

Salad

Your next coarse is a buffer coarse, it’s a salad. Usually you have 4 to choose from and from my experience one of them is usually seasonal. The salad is what you’d expect, it’s fresh and well... a salad, nothing to write home about but does give you time to process the heaviness of the cheese before going into the entree.

ENTREE

This is literally the meat of the meal, all puns intended. Of coarse, that being said there are vegan options as well as pasta. I personally feel you get the most out of your money here by getting the meats, so I usually go for an all beef option. The broth is brought out hot and your meats are brought out on trays. The waiter/waitress will explain to you which meat is which and how long to leave it in the broth to cook. Of coarse, when you order your meal you'll notice there are 4 different cooking styles, 3 with broth and 1 without. You’ll choose this beforehand, the broth not only adds an extra depth to your food, but also cooks the meat for you. The wait staff will also explain that you don’t want to cross contaminate plates, so cooked meat goes on one and uncooked meat remains on the plate it was brought out on. Built into the cooked plate are 4 small dipping bowls. This is for you to place any sauces you want in there for your meats, there are 6 in total that are brought out with your entree. Feel free to experiment with different sauces and different meats, almost any choice you make will pair well. You will also get vegetables with your meats, and those you can just throw into the broth and let cook the whole time, the potatoes absorb a lot of flavor from everything so be careful if order the Cajun style because it will be a spicy potato. Overall again the experience is well crafted and the meats are excellently paired with their spices and sauces. The experience and customer service paired with the delicious food is what gets this section a 5/5 foodie forks.

DESSERT

This is the end, this is what it all leads to, 2 and a half hours later. YES, I said 2.5 hours later, if I didn't warn you before this is a LONG dinner. Upon finishing your entree your waiter will bring out a menu of all the chocolate combinations, there are quite a few options but I mean it’s chocolate, you can’t go wrong. There is yin yang (which is a beautiful presentation), there are individual chocolates (white, milk, dark) and there are other speciality flavors such as the s’mores. This is what we went for and it’s by far the most entertaining of the chocolates. The chocolate comes out with a top layer of marshmallow, it melts down creating a chocolate lake in the pot, and then the waitress lights some liquid in a gravy boat and FIRE. This fire is then poured into the s’mores to illustrate the campfire and it’s stirred in, it makes you feel like a kid again, no matter what your age. The chocolate is sweet and paired decadently with brownies, blondies, rice krispy treats, bananas, and more. While indulgent this is the best way to end the meal.

Conclusion

Overall The Melting Pot is a great place to go for a special occasion. This more than likely won't be an everyday choice, it’s a 3 hour meal and fairly high on cost. With that said the atmosphere is very calm with dim lighting and friendly wait staff. Once you get past the host/hostess things immidiately go in a better direction and into an experience that anyone can enjoy. The coarses and pairings are well thought out and perfectly matched. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable and it never feels like your being talked down too, but like they are excited to teach you about what the Melting Pot offers. And when you leave, you will leave content and not having buyers remorse over your meal.

Thank you

Your Local Foodie

#steak #meat