Last evening, for an early New Year's Eve dinner, I went with some of my family to The Melting Pot in Bedford. I am a fan of this restaurant and you can check out my prior review. For New Year's Eve, the restaurant had a set, five-course menu.
The first course was a choice between Shrimp Cocktail or Bruschetta. Each person got to choose whichever one they wanted. So we chose both options. The Shrimp Cocktail consisted of four large shrimp with a spicy cocktail sauce. Very good shrimp with a tangy sauce. The Bruschetta was toasted bread, topped with diced tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, basil, garlic and shredded Parmesan. There were several pieces of bread and the mix tasted very good atop it.
Next, we had a Champagne Cheese Fondue. This was Fontina and Butterkäse cheeses combined in a Champagne base, blended with shallots, garlic and chopped dates. With this fondue, we received a bowl of pieces of three types of bread, cauliflower, celery, carrots, and green apples slices. This was a very tasty fondue, which was made in front of us by our server Jen. The cheese had an intriguing flavor and all of the ingredients meshed well together. We made sure the fondue pot was empty before we were done.
The third course was a Celebration New Year Salad which contained chopped Romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and croutons sprinkled with Ementhaler cheese. The salad was topped by an Italian Balsamic Vinagrette dressing. A good-sized salad, with fresh ingredients. Another nice course.
For our main course, we had our choice of a cooking style so we chose two, the Mojo and the Coq au Vin. The Mojo is a Carribean-seasoned bouillon with fresh garlic and citrus flavors. I enjoyed it very much. The citrus flavors did not overpower anything. Instead, it was a nice melange of flavors. The Coq au Vin has herbs, mushrooms, garlic, spices and Burgundy wine. I have had it before and enjoyed it then as I did now. Both were very flavorful.
To dip in this fondue, we received a large dish with a Lobster Tail, Filet Mignon Medallion, Duck, Teryaki-Marinated Sirloin, Marinated Breast of Chicken and Potstickers. This was accompanied by potatoes and veggies. We also received several different dipping sauces. The meat, poultry and seafood were all very good, tender and flavorful. The quality of the food was as good as it had been on my prior visits.
Dessert was Bananas Foster Chocolate Fondue, which had bananas mixed with either white or milk chocolate and brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, banana liquer, and spiced rum. While mixing the fondue, our server did set the liquor afire making for a very nice presentation. We got both the white and milk chocolate. And both were quite good. The fondue was accompanied by a plate of strawberries, pineapple, cheesecake, marshmallows, pound cake and brownies. The fondue was quite decadent and delicious. By the time we finished, everyone was stuffed and could not eat one more morsel.
Our dinner included a bottle of wine for each couple and there were five choices for that wine, including two whites, two reds and a sparkling wine. We wanted some different wines and we received a $10 credit towards those wines. We ordered a Don Olegario Albariño from the Rias Baixas D.O. of Spain. This white wine is excellent, a crisp, fruity wine with flavors of apple. It went very well with the shrimp cocktail and cheese fondue. We also had a Bethel Heights Estates Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley of Oregon. This is a light, more Burgundian Pinot and went well very with our entrees.
Our server, Jen, was very good, personable and accomodating. We had no complaints at all about her service. Overall, we had an excellent experience. Three of my party had never been to The Melting Pot before and they were all impressed. Even my young nephew had a great time. Everyone very much enjoyed the food and were well satisfied when they left. They would all definitely return again.
This was a fun choice for New Year's Eve. I dislike the food that you receive at many restaurants on New Year's Eve. They have set menus but the quality of food is usually not up to normal. Plus, the food is too over priced. The Melting Pot did not suffer from these problems. So I am very glad I dined there last evening. It was a good way to end 2007.
The Melting Pot
213 Burlington Rd.
Bedford , MA
Phone: 781-791-0529
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