Ryan and I went out on a fondue date last night!
Our first date night of 2013 took us to The Melting Pot in downtown Ocala.
Downtown Ocala is still decorated for the holidays, so we had fun walking around the square before dinner and taking in the holiday sights before they’re put away until next year.
Once we meandered over to the restaurant, we were immediately greeted by the hostess and escorted to a cozy booth.
Drinks!
Tipsy Turtle + Blackberry Bourbon Bramble
Ryan and I planned our date night after I received a press release from The Melting Pot inviting me to try some of the dishes on the restaurant’s new Skinny Dipping menu. The Skinny Dipping menu features three courses – a salad, fondue entrée and dark chocolate fondue dessert – for less than 700 calories. I selected a salad and entrée off the Skinny Dipping menu last night and loved both of my choices! (I veered off the Skinny Dipping menu for the cheese and chocolate fondue courses.)
Our meal began with the cheese fondue!
Ryan and I selected the special of the day which included a big pot of brie and bacon cheese fondue, served with bread, tart apple slices and fresh vegetables for dipping.
Oh cheese fondue, you are so fabulous!
Our waitress suggested placing a piece of bread and an apple slice on our fondue forks at the same time before dipping it into the cheese and the flavor combination was fantastic!
Salads were delivered to our table shortly after we finished the cheese course.
I ordered the spinach salad topped with baby Portobello mushrooms, red onion, chopped bacon, Roma tomatoes and a warm burgundy shallot vinaigrette. Though this salad came off the Skinny Dipping menu, it didn’t taste lightened up at all! The toppings were quite generous and the dressing was delicious.
When it came time to order our entrees, I decided to go for a combination of shrimp and teriyaki-marinated sirloin.
At first I thought the portion looked rather small, but as I started eating, I filled up fast. (I think I had a head start on filling my belly with the cheese course!)
Every entrée comes with fresh vegetables to cook in your fondue pot and I couldn’t get enough of the mushrooms! They were the best, especially when dipped in the various sauces.
Ryan and I both agreed that the five dipping sauces that came with our entrees added so much to our meal. My favorite two sauces were the teriyaki and the mild, yogurt-based curry sauce.
And then it was time for dessert! The shining star of any fondue experience!
It didn’t take much convincing from our waitress for us to order the crème brûlée white chocolate fondue for dessert.
Caramel shavings were sprinkled atop creamy white chocolate and set afire before we cracked the caramel coating with our fondue forks and dipping items.
I am normally not a huge white chocolate fan, but the caramel component of this fondue took it to another level. Ryan and I used our spoons to get every last bit of chocolate out of our fondue pot. Incredible!
And now here’s the really fun part!
One of YOU will win a $100 gift card to The Melting Pot to enjoy your own fantastic fondue experience! (To find a location near you, you can visit The Melting Pot’s Locations page.)
To enter this giveaway, please tell me what course you would look forward to enjoying the most if you won the gift card. Cheese? Chocolate? Entrée?
I will randomly select a winner on Tuesday.
Good luck!!!
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Chocolate!!! Dipped in anything 🙂
It’s a tough call between cheese and chocolate — but I think I have to go cheese!! =)
Holy Yum! Chocolate and bananas – my fav combo ever!
Have to admit it, the cheese fondue is my fave! The first one, sets the night off right! 🙂 LOVE the intimacy of The Melting Pot – one date night we never saw another person, other than our server, the way the restaurant was designed.
would definitely look forward to the cheese course the most!
I have always wanted to go to The Melting Pot!! Cheese and chocolate are two of my favorite things in life, so the cheese and dessert fondues would be HEAVEN for me!!! Yum.
That salad looks wonderful! I love that restaurants are finally trying to be nice to our waistlines. And I would have to try a chocolate fondue! I would agree white chocolate isn’t exactly my cup of tea, but it’s simply worth a try! 🙂
Definitely the cheese fondue!! Next would be the entree course with all those yummy veggies. I’ve never had fondue but I’m sure I would love it.
I have seen the melting pot sign, but never knew it was a fondu place?? I’ve ALWAYS wanted to try out fondu- I’ve never had it, the entree with the shrimp sounds heavenly!
It would be a very hard decsion between the cheese and dessert!! I am obsessed with both!
Chocolate! And, I would get it all to myself since hubby hates chocolate (a travesty!).
Chocolate!
The cheese…for sure the cheese.
Cheese would be fantastic!
I would love to try any of them. I’ve never been!
The chocolate would be amazing!
My husband and I went on our very first date to The Melting Pot almost 4 years ago 🙂 I would love to go for it all, but the chocolate is definitely my favorite!!
oh my goodness, cheese all the way!
My favorite is the chocolate. My other favorite thing to get there is their lovetini. A perfect drink!!
We loooove going to the Melting Pot!! It is one of our favorite date nights because it is interactive and we take our time to eat everything. I would say the cheese course is probably my favorite, last night we got a Sam Adams cheddar fondue, it was amazing. I would love to win the gift card to have another date night there!!
DEFINITELY!!! DEFINITELY!!! The CHOCOLATE… you have my mouth watering for that yumminess! 🙂 Thanks for sharing, may have to go get some dinner there soon with or without the giftcard! 🙂
This is a tough choice but I would have to say the chocolate!
I love going to the Melting Pot for their half-priced wine nights. Wine, cheese and chocolate with girlfriends- so fun!
Cheese Please!!
Why pick just one? Cheese and chocolate!
Chocolate 🙂
I have never been to the Melting Pot, but one just opened about 30 minutes away from my house! I would definitely have to go with the chocolate!
I LOVE the melting pot! It was always one of my favorite date night restaurants to go to. I think the chocolate fondue is by far the best! The one that I went to in San Diego had one with chocolate and peanut butter mixed! It was divine! I’m currently deployed right now, but this will be a must once I get home.
I have only been there once, and have tried to stay away because it is SO good/bad! I over did it the one time… but to hear they have a ‘skinny menu’ is AWESOME!!! I would go for that, and the shrimp and steak looked YUMMY!!! but I would have to try that dark chocolate! 🙂 Thanks for the info!!!
MMMM cheese fondue for sure! Anything dipped in cheese fondue is delicious, well most anything. I love going somewhere like the melting pot where you get to take a long time to have dinner and it creates such a nice intimate admosphere. After reading this I’m definitely going to have to visit The Melting Pot asap.
Oh yum! I love fondue!!! Picking just one option is tough. I think I would have to pick the chocolate, those bananas look like they would be wonderful in that crème brûlée heaven.
Oh my gosh a really though call between the cheese and the chocolate. I love them both. I am sooooo hungry looking at this!
I have always wanted to go to the Melting Pot! I would definitely pick the white chocolate/caramel concoction you had, it looks delicious!
That all looks fantastic! I’ve actually never been to The Melting Pot, although there are many close to us and I keep wanting to try it! I think that the first thing I get would be the shrimp entree (sucker for seafood) and try each and every one of those dipping sauces!
Your entree looks DEVINE!!! I’ve never been to The Melting Pot but I would look forward to the entree portion the most!
Chocolate, followed closely by cheese. Yum!
I have to be honest and say I would absolutely enjoy every last bite of the chocolate fondou! All of the other courses are good too but I am a sweet lover! thanks for your daily emails. I so look forward to them.
I would love to try the cheese course! Always wanted to go there!
I would love to try the chocolate fondu! and anything with cheedse
Definitely chocolate!!!!! I have always wanted to go to The Melting Pot and have heard nothing but great things about the restaurant!
Definitely the dark chocolate fondue. I am not much of a white chocolate fan but it does sound interesting when adding the caramel. So perhaps the creme brulee with all the fresh fruit! Yum!
Yummmmmmmmmm! I love everything about fondue…and you 😉 Haha
Cheese fondue brings back lots of awesome memories for me – so I’d have to go with that!
Easily the dessert. I am a huge white chocolate fan and that looks fantastic!
CHEESE! After this post I definitely see a trip here in the near future.
Oh…. the chocolate looks divine!! 🙂
I am a sucker for their chocolate peanut butter fondue! Can’t wait to have it again!
The cheese! One of my fav places to eat!
The cheese course, for sure! I LOVE cheese!
The cheese. I took my then boyfriend, now husband to Melting Pot for his b-day years ago and we were SO stuffed after the 3-course fondue. Mmm.