Melting the Night Away

Having already had a lukewarm experience with fondue dining at the Magic Pot in Edgewater, I was wary of going to another similar restaurant. But I had a gift card to the Melting Pot, so I decided to give it a shot. What I found was a much more pleasant experience all around. Allow me to contrast and compare.

My date and I arrived for our reservation a little early on Sunday night, Valentine’s Day weekend. Our table wasn’t quite ready, so we had a drink at the bar while we waited. The bartender was very friendly and told us about some of the exclusive cocktails he had developed, off-menu, for the restaurant. While his offerings sounded great, we decided to keep it simple with wine and beer.

After a while, we looked around and noticed there were several tables free. We wondered why were still waiting to be seated. Just then our host came over and explained that they were clearing off a spot for us in “lovers’ lane.” When we got to our table, we found a semi-private, enclosed table for two. Happy belated Valentine’s Day to us!

The meal at the Melting Pot started off much the same as the one we had at the Magic Pot. Our server came by and took our order (we went with a fixed price selection to get the most variety). When he returned, he began mixing and melting our cheese appetizer – this was just a little awkward, since we ran out of comments as we watched him swirl the stuff around and just sat in silence. But again, the cheese was delicious, and there was a better variety of things to dip – chunks of veggies in addition to the apples and bread. We went with a classic Wisconsin blend, just one of an impressive six choices.

Our appetizer was followed by a salad, and it was a nice break to eat something cold and with a fork – an option the other restaurant didn’t offer. Just as with the appetizer, we were allowed to deviate from our fixed menu and choose from one of the other four options on the regular menu, so each of us could try something different and share a few bites with the other.

Next came the main course, and this is where the Melting Pot really took the lead versus the Magic Pot. We had a wider variety of items, including lobster, filet mignon, rigatoni, pork, and chicken (although it was more expensive - $88 versus $80 at the other place, and no drinks included), with a surprising number of different dipping sauces. But more importantly, the execution was much more streamlined. My date and I had only two skewers each, and they were color-coded. This led to far less confusion about what ingredients were in the pot and how long they had been in there. We only had to keep track of two items each at one time instead of what had seemed like dozens at the other restaurant. The broth was also nicer, with fewer herbs floating around and getting in the way at the surface of the liquid. And hats off to the person who decided to put the overhead lamp directly over the pot so I could see what the hell I was doing in there.

The service between courses was pretty slow, since they got busy just after we got there, and the presentation of each course is rather time-consuming for the server. But I was glad for it, since I really needed the time to digest and avoid that unpleasant impending-stomach-explosion feeling. Plus I didn’t mind relaxing and enjoying my surroundings.

Finally, it was time for dessert. Again, we were allowed to substitute whichever option we wanted off the regular menu. In this case, we were selecting a chocolate blend. There was a raspberry dark chocolate, milk chocolate with peanut butter, and a cookies and cream blend, among many others. But we went with the Bailey’s Irish cream mixture. I wouldn’t have minded an extra shot of the liqueur, as the flavor was very subtle. But it was tasty nonetheless. We happily dunked our pieces of Rice Krispie Treat and cut-up strawberries.

The Melting Pot seems to have a better handle on how to make fondue dining a fun and easy experience; maybe because it’s a national chain, they’ve worked out more of the kinks than the Magic Pot. (I didn’t even almost pull the cord out of the wall!) The Hoboken location has a great atmosphere, even outside of lovers’ lane, and I definitely recommend it for a date. All that steam and low lighting just lends itself to romance.

The Melting Pot
100 Sinatra Drive
Hoboken
(201) 222-1440
http://www.meltingpot.com/

— by Nicole Little
Nicole, GoOutJersey's associate editor, is a Nutley native and recent Weehawken transplant. She loves dining out and imposing her opinions on others, which makes her a well-qualified reviewer.

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