Family Night Fondue

So I am IN LOVE with the melting pot and have been dying to go back. The melting pot is a Fondue restaurant. We been talking about going and taking the kids cause we really thought it would be something fun for them to experience because it is such a fun experience. I also find that finding something fun will help encourage them to try new foods..especially for Parker..he is so picky!

Since Gabe worked a double shift on Monday he got Thursday off so we decided to do family dinner night.

 We went to the Melting Pot in Torrance. I love this one. It is in a cool round Mid Century style building. This melting pot is always dimly lit and the bar is fantastic.

 Our Pot! Since it is DINELA going on right now ( DineLA is like restaurant week in Los Angeles..lots of restaurants having GREAT deals)  Usually for the 4 course special that we got it is about 90.00 a couple. DineLA was only 34.00 per person just for Gabe and I..the kids ate for free. We just ordered and extra portion of the cheese and chocolate fondue since we knew that is what they would eat the most off.

 The starter of the meal was of course the cheese fondue. There is a big selection of different types of cheese fondues..we got the spinach artichoke cheese fondue. They brought a basket of breads and chips, a bowl of fresh veggies and sliced green apples for dipping in the cheese fondue.

 Ava liked dipping the chips best

 Parker dipping a piece of apple

 Ava then was really enjoying dipping the apples in the cheese

 After cheese fondue we got our salads. I love the cocktails they serve at Melting Pot but since it was a work night and we had the kids with us Gabe and I just brought in our own bottle of wine from one of the wine clubs we belong too.

 Waiting for the main course

 There is a few different types of broths they let you choose from to cook your meats and veggies. We got the Coq Au Vin style. They prepared the broth in front of us with sliced mushroom, scallions and garlic and some red wine. They brought out our meats ( which are raw since you cook them at your table) Here we have Shrimp, terriyaki beef, Peppered steak, Tuna and seasoned Chicken.

 You also get this array of dipping sauce such as terriyaki, ginger and plum sauce, a creamy curry, cocktail sauce, a blue cheese type dip and another white cheesy dip.

 And a bowl of Mushrooms,potato's and broccoli

 Parker loved the terriyaki beef and the chicken..he would not try the other items :/ . We were cooking up the foods for Ava's plate..

 She did not want us to cook it for her she wanted to do it by herself  so she started to pout

 Ok Ava here you go ..you can cook your own...which she LOVED doing.

 Parker is so picky..he only wanted the terriyaki beef..I had to force him to eat a potato and broccoli

 Ava was getting the shrimp tails and putting them on her fingers and then saying she was a crab LOL

 After the main course came the DESSERT!! Chocolate fondue..there is several to choose from.
These are the items they give you to dip in the chocolate fondue..cheesecake, rice Krispie treats, bananas, strawberries, brownie bites, red velvet cake and coconut and chocolate dusted marshmallows.

 They even brought Parker his own little plate. We choose the Original chocolate fondue which was chocolate and chunky peanut butter

 I knew the chocolate would be the fave of the kids...and MESSY!

 Parker scarfing down

 ofcourse I liked the strawberries and bananas best..however the red velvet actually may have been my fave!

 WHAT A MESS!!!!

 Once all the dipping items were devoured Parker just starting eating the chocolate with a spoon

Once we were done it was time to make a B LINE to the restroom to clean up Ava's chocolate face and hands and dress. It was such a fantastic dinner...I can't WAIT to go back..maybe next girls night will have to be here!

Melting My Heart!

Friday Nights have become Date night for Gabe and I. It is the only night (besides having weekends off) that Gabe does not work and we have a sitter at our house.

Lately Gabe and I have been doing a lot of outback steakhouse cause it is so cheap and it's close to home and quite frankly we love the food!

Last night I wanted to be a bit more adventurous and thought to myself..It has been awhile since we been to the Melting Pot and I LOVE LOVE LOVE The Melting Pot.

If you do not know what the Melting Pot is it is a All Fondue restaurant . I usually go to the one in Irvine but this time we went to the one in Torrance and I love it even more. The building is all circular and gives the place a very cool Modern look..I so want my 35th birthday party to be here! Gabe and I got there a little early and so we decided to go to the bar and wait for our friends who were joining us for the evening. Sean, Julia and Toni. My first drink I ordered was a Love Martini and I certainly did Love it! It had peach schnapps,Malibu rum, strawberry and was just so sweet and delish! I had to have another at dinner! Cheers~ Gabe ordered a Campari and Soda. The bar was really dim with sky lights with little crystal starburts that hang from them. There were so many tempting cocktails to choose from at the bar. I ordered this drink called the Grapes of Wrath. It was Elderberry and White wine cocktail mix that included white wine, Vodka, St. Germaine Liquor (elderberry liquor very sweet) splash of Apple juice and fresh lemon and rosemary for garnish and top with Sauvigaon blanc...I AM IN HEAVEN! Gabe had a blueberry stoli on the rocks and minutes after we got our drinks the rest of the gang showed up They had a restaurant week special going on that ended that evening for 4 courses for only 34.00 per person..We ALL got the special. For starters you had your cheese fondue and you could choose from the two ..Spinach Artichoke cheese dip or a Cheddar Beer and Jalapeno

Gabe and Toni did the cheddar and Julia, Sean and I the Arti. They do a whole presentation of making the fondue at your table. Once you order the waitress gets your heat plates that are built into the tables turned on and warmed up. She brings out the two pots and one has beer in it and the other has veggie broth and they simmer and she just starts stirring in the ingredients.

Diced Jali and Cheddar mixed into the beer and seasoning..the arti one was fun to watch too. She then gave us bowls of raw fresh veggies, Cubed bread and chips, Sliced apples and off we went sharing each others fondue starters.

LOL This was her pouring in the cheese for the arti..sean face cracks me up in like every photo.

Both were very good. With experiments with the foods and cheeses my fave was the Cauliflower and the arti dip and the broccoli and the apples in the cheddar.

SOOOOOOOOO Cheesy. We totally gorged ourselves.

Each of us had our own color Pokers too.

Course 2 was a salad. I had the melting pot house salad and it was Yummy!

The main course the 2nd set of fondue pots came out and one was a veggie broth with tons of seasonings and the other was a garlic and spice brother called Mojo style. We all got the plates with the meats. What you do is cook your meats in the broths and then there is a TON I mean TON of sauces and dips to pair your fares with. Also were bowls of mushrooms,potatoes and veggies which we just dumped into the simmering pots to cook and used the big Search and Rescue spoons that were given to us to pull them out of the broth.

I paired my salmon with a cream cheese spread, My beefs ( filet mignon and ny strip) with sesame seeds with terriyaki, My shrimp with sweet and sour and so much more.

The smell of the simmering pots and the cooking food was like..you know those cartoons when the aroma floats to the air to some unsuspecting stranger and it turns into a hand and lures the suspect into some sort of food trap..Yeah that was us. Say hi to the camera guys!!

I brought a wine from our wine collection for us all to share at dinner. This was my last photo of the evening saying Cheers to a Fine dining experience...Oh and for dessert Banana's Foster * and carmeled slice banana's in it) and Smores that came with chocolate dusted and graham cracker marshmallows, pound cake chunks, berries, cheese cake, and rice krispy treats for your dipping pleasure.

It was a super fantastic dinner that lasted us nearly 3.5 hours. Gabe and I want to go back and take the kids over there. I think they would LOVE it too.

We were so fat dumb and happy by the end of the evening I was ready to be immediately wheelbarrowed straight to my bed so we went home instead of going out o the club like we had planned.