Dinner at the Melting Pot

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Such concerns dissolve at dessert, when chocolate is melting in the pot, waiting to supply an outer shellacking to cubed brownies, pound cake, cheesecake, marshmallows, and sliced fruit. Our choice among the nine possible chocolate dishes, the “flaming turtle,” was a mix of milk chocolate, caramel, and pecans, flambéed with Bacardi 151 rum before coming to rest on the burner. It was very good, but then it’s hard to go wrong with warm chocolate on fresh strawberries. My only disappointment was that the place had run out of decaf that night.

On both visits, some things arrived very promptly, and others took too long to get to us. I’d cut the staff some slack on this one—beyond the restaurant’s having been open just a few weeks, timing is tricky with a meal designed to be drawn out and unhurried. Aside from pacing issues, the service was delightful, and it graciously complemented the natural conviviality of fondue dining. It’s a good show in an enjoyably social setting.