the whole plate.

Happy Movies and Chinese Food Day!  Or, for you Goyim out there, a very Merry Christmas.

Before I prepare for my traditionally Jewish day, I thought it was time for a recap of the first evening in “Dining Week 2009.”  [I'm not photographing all the meals; just the most excessive ones. :)]

Earlier this week, my family met up halfway between the city and my hometown to celebrate my grandma’s birthday.  She turned 87, but doesn’t look a day over 37, right?

the family resemblance in this picture is kind of intense.

Our dining location was The Melting Pot, a nationwide fondue chain that is conveniently located just a short walk from the train station in Darien, Connecticut.

The menu has changed a bit since the last time I was there, but the concept remains: begin with a cheese course, move on to fish, meats, and vegetables, and finish with a big pot of chocolate.  [A salad also comes with the meal, but I always take mine to-go; there are tons of vegetables throughout the meal, even by my standards].  

Because the food is cooked right at the table, the meal is a long affair.  Food is shared from family-style platters, and inbetween bites, you chat, cook, dip, and generally have a really good time.  The second my dad dipped his first vegetable into the first pot, he immediately said, “This is great.  This is so much fun.”  That pretty much sums it up.

We started off the fun with a complicated discussion about wine [we almost ended up with two bottles but ultimately chose this one].  Cheese followed, our selection being the Wisconsin trio, a blend of fontina, butterkäse, and bleu cheeses, mixed with white wine, sherry, and scallions:

I am a very strong supporter of organic dairy, but there are a couple rare times when I choose to make exceptions, and this is one of them.  Flexibility, as I am constantly reminded, is key to my continued content with my lifestyle.

For dipping, we were provided with Granny smith apples, dark and light breads, carrots, celery, and cauliflower.  We always end up asking for triple vegetables, because cauliflower and cheese are a meant-to-be pair.  The honey touch of the wheat bread is a close second on the delicious factor scale.

Next up, the main course, which begins with a choice of cooking broths.  Fondue in action:

Our two cooking styles were Coq a Vin, a simple blend of herbs, mushrooms, and burgundy wine, and Mojo, a citrus and Caribbean spice-infused bouillon. While the broths heated up, our server covered our table in condiments and raw food.  Check out all the vegetables:

I love it.  We ordered the vegetarian platter, a seafood trio, and two different mixed plates of meats and fish, which added up to four entrees split between five people.

Alongside the entrees comes a variety of dipping sauces, from curry to plum to basic cocktail.  With two different broths, six sauces, and sixteen different items to cook, every bite can be different.  My favorites were the perfect Thai peanut tofu, the artichoke hearts and broccoli that soaked up all the flavor from the broths, and shocker – the duck, perfect with the curry sauce.  I pretty much dominated the vegetarian platter, but I had tastes from other plates along the way as well.

Plates clean, we moved onto the sweet stuff:

The first time I went to this restaurant, I was still in high school and therefore barely ate anything – all I wanted was dessert.  We were dining with two families, both college friends of my sister’s, and when the time for chocolate arrived, the other families decided they were too full.  I have to ask: how can you possibly go out for fondue and not get dessert?  

And this is why I’m thankful for my family.  

Our two pots included dark chocolate splashed with chambord, and because my grandma prefers milk [and she was the birthday girl], milk chocolate with Bailey’s.  I tried the milk, but really, I think dark chocolate is so much, much better.  Especially with chambord.

For dipping, we received the standard platter: fresh strawberries, bananas, graham cracker coated marshmallows, oreo coated marshmallows, pound cake bites, brownie bites, rice krispie treats, and a sliver of cheesecake.  I don’t like cheesecake or rice krispies, but I had everything else.  I mean, really, you haven’t lived until you’ve eaten a gooey brownie with more chocolate on top.  Just saying.

I can’t think of a better way to have begun my week of dining.  ’Tis the season, after all!  

What’s the best restaurant experience you’ve had this holiday season?

Related posts:

1. fasting and family food.
2. lessons from a family gathering.
3. food and family ties.