Ladies' Night Cleveland

The Melting Pot

     Wildly successful and rightfully so, Spa Night at the Melting Pot generates much anticipation by the feminine half of Cleveland. A waiting list a mile long for prime-time reservations is a testament to its popularity. Occurring on the last Monday of every month (excluding December), this is the ultimate ladies’ night out. What better way to relax after a long, arduous month than with a fine drink, multi-course fondue meal, and spa treatment with your girlfriends? You haven’t really dined until you’ve had fondue, and you haven’t dined well until you’ve had fondue at the Melting Pot.

     For those of you who haven’t yet had the pleasure, here’s the procedure: you’ll meet up with your girlfriends and chat for a few on the Terrace Level of Legacy Village, then promptly approach the gregarious hostess at the podium. You will saunter down a dimly lit hallway, noticing the tasteful modern décor along your way. Relaxation is already starting to set in by the time you reach your table, but slight anticipation remains. The first decision of the night quickly arises, and you will each put in your drink order, selecting from a wide list of martinis, margaritas, bellinis, and glasses of wine. The salad order is next- the least complicated of your decisions tonight. And now comes the challenge: your group will have to unanimously decide on only one of three to four cheese fondues, each sounding more appetizing than the last. Argue well for your favorite candidate- in the end, a singular order will be placed with your attentive waiter. (May the best woman win!) The server will momentarily dash off, returning with a menagerie of cheese fondue ingredients. Portions of shredded cheese will be added again and again, and you’ll secretly cheer for each additional heaping, thinking that each must surely be the last. He’ll eventually toss the remaining components into the tabletop fondue pot- a little bit of this, a touch of that… And with that, voila! A parting “Bon Appetite” from your waiter, and you’ll begin plunging veggies, fruits, and breads into the delightful first course. In short time, your salads will arrive, and everyone will grudgingly replace fondue skewers with salad forks. By the time you start resorting to scraping cheese off the sides of the pot, you’ll be whisked away to the temporarily assigned “Spa Room”, where La Barberia sets up shop. Here, a new set of friendly faces will greet you, and you’ll have yet another decision to make- selecting a spa service. After the surprisingly lengthy treatment, you will wander back to your table to make the final pronouncement of the night- chocolate fondue. No need to put on your game face for another round of arguments- this time you can choose two different selections. The Chocolate S’mores may catch your eye, then you’ll notice how delectable the Flaming Turtle appears, only to then realize the Disaronno Meltdown is quite inventive... This time you’ll hope someone makes the decision for you, as every option is seemingly delightful. An elegant assortment of dipable desserts will accompany your preferred chocolate fondue. As if the selection wasn’t impressive enough, chocolate flambé is the final touch- a very fulfilling end to an extraordinary ladies’ night out.

     As you might have guessed from the above “procedure”, we were very much pleased by Spa Night at the Melting Pot. Without fail, every person we interacted with was professional and cheerful, whether it was employees from the Melting Pot or from La Barberia. Such exceptional service is a rarity- our waiter was attentive and entertaining, not to mention quite helpful with his recommendations. We enjoyed our bellinis and merlot, and were especially pleased with our selection of the Wisconsin Trio cheese fondue (butterkase, fontina, and blue cheese). The fondue was smooth and rich with a hint of butter, then finished with a slight taste of mild blue cheese. The salads were good but not uncommon- we recommend the California salad (mixed baby greens with Gorgonzola cheese, tomatoes, walnuts topped with a raspberry black walnut vinaigrette). Three of us opted for the paraffin hand wax, while one chose the chair back massage. All of us were very satisfied with our service- it was an added bonus to be treated by La Barberia. We finished the night with two chocolate fondues- the Flaming Turtle and a raspberry/chocolate fondue recommended by our server. We left with content spirits and stomachs, each with a gift bag in hand. (Don’t worry- we won’t spoil the surprise.) Our parting advice to you: book now for the next, last Monday at the

Melting Pot!

10/29/07