The Melting Pot- no not America, the restaurant!

Take a stroll down Filbert near 12th St and you'll spot The Melting Pot located close to places like Maggiano's and the Reading Terminal Market. But what's so attractive about The Melting Pot is the way the food is prepared or better yet how you prepare your food. Be ready to put on your chef hat and jacket and get cooking when you sit down in front of the electric stove tops that the Pot has on its tables.

My visit was a bit different from others that have experienced the essence of the Melting Pot. I walked in for a table for one and I was sat at the bar that has a mini burner in front and a fantastic waitress on her toes and ready to take my order. The first thing I told her was that I was a veggie so no meat and no cheese, which could get tricky if you order the whole Big Night Out meal that includes the cheese fondue. However, she made things very cut and dry and helped me decide on a great veggie dinner for me to enjoy. I ordered the Spinach Portobello Salad with fresh spinach, thinly sliced baby portobello mushroom, rings of red onion, Roma tomatoes with a warm Burgundy Shallot Vinaigrette.The sweet shallot vinaigrette was so delicious that I repeatedly dipped my own fork into it just to eat it. It was a perfect compliment to the rich flavors of the green spinach and mushrooms. The salad was very colorful as well! I could have eaten another salad that's how much I enjoyed it.

When it came time for my entree my decision was quite easy and the option of THE VEGETARIAN was screaming at me. I ordered the vegetarian entree prepared the Court Bouillon way. It was a homemade, seasoned vegetable broth that the server let come to a boil before my entree came out. I was so excited to actual cook my vegetables and when the huge tray of artichoke hearts, Portobello mushrooms, Thai-peanut-marinated tofu, asparagus, spinach artichoke ravioli, edamame pods and potatoes. The two sauces it came with were a ginger plum and a thick soy sauce sort of sauce. The ginger plum is a Melting Pot unique recipe made with red and green bell peppers, ginger and just a hint of plum. Both sauces were absolutely fantastic and complimented the veggies to the max. I used so much sauce for the veggies that I had to ask for seconds. I took my time to cook the veggies and savored each bite. Each part of the entree had a different cooking time, so I kept track of it in the boiling pot in front of me.

Throughout the dinner I was fortunate enough to be sipping on a glass of Malbec. The bold red color and taste of the wine was fantastic for dinner. Although it's not my favorite type of wine, it was enjoyable with the rest of my dinner. I couldn't be happier to have eaten at the Melting Pot and the added fact that I could sip on a glass of wine made my dinner for one experience complete.

Unfortunately I didn't have enough space in my stomach to try out the chocolate fondue, but I'm planning on going back for dessert at some point!

Visit The Melting Pot in Center City to experience some of the incredible things I did and enjoy picking and choosing what you want to eat along with actually cooking it! But be ready to spend quite a bit of money- one visit to try it won't hurt though!