The Melting Pot: Best place you've never been

So I recently went out for my 1 year anniversary dinner to a place called "The Melting Pot." I had never been, but my girlfriend assured me that I would love it. Basically its a fondue-based restaurant, consisting of cheese fondue, chocolate fondue, and then a main course which you cook yourself at your table. After my experience here, I have nothing but an amazing review to give. If you've never gone, you are seriously missing out, and here is why:

We arrived at the restaurant at around 6:30 for our 6:45 reservation, just enough time to grab a beer at the bar before dinner. Though it seemed like a relatively small place, it is set up perfectly. You are led to your table through some sort of maze in the back, and when you sit down, it's almost like you have an entire room to yourself. You cannot see anyone else or their table, pretty sweet if you ask me. When we found our table, we were greeted with this

I had asked for a rose to be placed on the table, but was actually surprised by how nice it looked in the vase with whatever else they put in with it. The booth was a small, U shaped booth so you didn't have to awkwardly stare at your date the entire night. You could have separation, or you could sit right next to your date comfortably. If you look on the right of the photo, it shows how much of the other tables you can see down the hallway, almost nothing at all. Only downside of the maze set up was trying to leave.. we were wandering around until someone was able to direct us to the exit.

What we decided to do was their signature four course custom meal. This lets you choose a cheese fondue to start, followed by a personal salad. Then the main course is shared and consists of some sort of meat or seafood, and the desert is your choice of a chocolate fondue. Here is what we went with, and all of it was amazing.

Cheese fondue: Boston lager cheddar cheese fondue
Salad: Wisconsin wedge salad / California salad
Main dish: Angus sirloin, bbq pork, shrimp, chicken, and teriyaki sirloin
Desert: Chocolate s'mores fondue

Starting with the cheese, the waitress actually makes this fondue in front of you. She dumped a bunch of boston lager in the bowl, followed by cheddar cheese and some sort of garlic, bacon, and onion mixture which she heated until the cheese was smooth. They gave us 3 different kinds of bread, chopped granny smith apples, and a few different vegetables to dip with the cheese fondue. I could have made a meal out of just the cheese and bread combination, as it was completely delicious. As for the apple and cheese, it was surprisingly good. I would have never thought to dip cut up apples in this cheese mixture. Before we could even make a dent in this fondue, the waitress had already come back with our salads.

I ordered the Wisconsin wedge salad, which was served with tomatoes, bacon, Gorgonzola cheese, and topped with a parmesan peppercorn dressing. Already feeling like I ate too much of the cheese fondue, the salad was a nice light course to get us ready for the main course. However, it was surprisingly a good size, not one of those "personal" portions that could serve a 4 year old.

After we finished our salads, they brought out the main course. I wasn't aware before, but you get to cook the meal yourself. You can see the 5 different meats, and each of them can be dropped into the hot broth for 2 minutes until they are cooked. Don't worry, you don't have to have a stop-watch out for every piece, as you can't really over-cook these. You also get to choose which kind of broth you want to cook in, we went with some kind of Caribbean broth that they called "Mojo." It kind of took me back to Jamaica.

 They also gave us some potatoes, broccoli, and mushrooms to cook in the broth. You could just throw these in the pot all at once, and scoop them out after about 4-5 minutes of cooking and they were ready to eat. Now probably one of the best part of this course was the sauces, the 6 containers in the back. Each sauce was paired with either a piece of meat or a vegetable, and they really kicked the meal up a notch.

So after playing around with the food and vegetables for a little bit, I finally managed to get some pieces cooked and on my plate with the sauces. Curry sauce, sweet and sour sauce, teriyaki sauce, a blue cheese dip, horseradish-cocktail sauce, and what they called their "green goddess" sauce. I don't know what was in the green goddess sauce, but it took the vegetables to another level. The curry sauce didn't do much for me, but the horseradish-cocktail sauce with the shrimp was amazing. Spicy kick to an old-time favorite. And of course the sweet and sour sauce was banging with the pork and chicken. I felt like a little kid the way I was trying out these sauces. I was trying all of the different combinations, ooh-ing and ahh-ing when I got a combination that tasted good. My girlfriend was pretty embarrassed, but how could I care when the food was tasting this good!?

Fire!

No, we didn't screw up our dinner and set the place on fire. This was the waitress making our s'mores chocolate fondue. She dumped a little Bacardi 151 on top and lit it on fire for a bit of a show.

 Instead of just getting a plain, boring chocolate fondue, we decided to go with their "S'mores chocolate fondue," which was amazing. With the base of chocolate, they added a bunch of marshmallow and then swirled in some graham cracker bits and proceeded to melt it all down to gooey awesomeness. I expected to have a few things to dip with this fondue, strawberries, bananas, etc. Nothing crazy.. but I was completely wrong.

Here is the platter for the s'mores chocolate fondue. It had strawberries, bananas, marshmallows (two covered in oreo bits, and two covered in graham cracker bits), rice crispy treats, pound cake, brownies, and a slice of cheese cake. Woah, I think I just got diabetes from naming all of those. The strawberries and bananas were awesome as expected. The cheesecake and pound cake bites were phenomenal. My personal favorite was the rice crispy treats. Although I'm pretty sure each one of those I ate will give me a few cavities, it was so sweet and so good. By the time we were done with the chocolate fondue, it was 8:30 and we couldn't even move. We had been at this restaurant eating for TWO AND A HALF HOURS. Now that may seem like a long time, but we never really had to wait, and it was entertaining the entire time.

Of course I had to drink.. so I did what they call their "beer flight." With every course, I got a different 6 ounce beer to go with it. With the cheese, I had a Boston Lager. I was given a Sierra Nevada pale ale with my salad which went really well. With the main course, I was given a Stone IPA, which I had always wanted to try.. and it was awesome. Very well paired with the meat. With the chocolate fondue, they sent out a Rogue chocolate stout, which was also very tasty. How could you not like chocolate dipped food washed down with a chocolate stout? Easy match. After I had finished all my beer, I still wanted something else. Feeling fancy enough at this place, I ordered a Snickers martini. It had Stoli vanilla vodka, Kahlua, Baileys, Disaronno, and Godiva chocolate liquor. It tasted like someone melted a snickers bar, then proceeded to spike it and give it a kick. It was a tasty, boozy way to end the meal.

 

Snickers martini

Now just when we thought we were all done with out meal, a lady came by with a camera and said she was going to take our picture. I know that sports arenas do this, then charge you an obscene amount for a cheap, awful photo. However, this was a complementary service, she made sure the picture was nice, and was back within 5 minutes to give us a framed picture. I was incredibly surprised.

This wasn't the end of our surprises though. Prior to going, we had signed up for their fan club online, which entitled us to a free box of chocolate covered strawberries. They gave us 3 HUGE chocolate covered strawberries: white chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate. They were to die for. My only complaint was that I couldn't have 1,000 of them.






Overall, this was probably one of my favorite places I have ever been to eat. The food is great, the drinks are great, and the atmosphere is actually quite fun. Keeping me entertained in a restaurant for two and a half hours is a task in itself, let alone making me want to come back.  We also got to take the flower and vase with us. My girlfriend thought she was being sneaky by just grabbing the rose before we left, but then the waiter told us to just take the vase too. A win-win. Although the place is a little pricey and I would be living under a bridge if I ate here regularly (also would weigh 300 pounds), but this is a perfect place for a special occasion. The service was amazing, which is hard to find these days. If you haven't been here yet, I more than highly recommend it.

Biggest NFL week one surprises

With the opening week of the NFL coming to a close last night, it's safe to say that we saw some real surprises already. I mean, David Akers kicking a 63 yard field goal that bounced off the cross bar and over? You don't see those kinds of breaks until at least week 7! There were some pleasant and not so pleasant surprises this week:

 Michael Vick looked like he was the one in a dog fight this week with the Browns. He single-handedly made the Browns in this week look like a team of All-Stars. He threw 29-56 for 317 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. 4 interceptions? And I thought the Eagles were supposed to be the dream team this year? Andy Reed might have just pulled a Rex Ryan with that kind of pre-season prediction. If the Eagles had played almost any team besides the Browns in week one, odds are these 4 interceptions cost them the game, easily. Instead, they escaped with a 17-16 win to start 1-0.

RGIII had one of the most impressive starts this week, and perhaps one of the best first starts by a rookie quarterback ever. He ran well, he threw well, and he dominated the Saints. 19/26 throwing for 320 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions. He also had 10 rushes for 42 yards. I can't remember the last time the Redskins scored so evenly and often; 10 points every quarter. Not only did RGIII look impressive, he looked incredibly comfortable. I expect nothing but big things from him and the skins this year.

With almost no visible offense this pre-season, the Jet's offense came into week one and blew everyone away. Tebow even added to it by recovering an on-side kick! They finally discovered his real position. However, Mark was able to go 19-26 for 266 yards and 3 touchdowns. He really hit his marks, making some miraculous throws into good coverage. Overall, a big surprise in my opinion after what the world saw in the pre-season.

Wes Welker disappointed fantasy owners everywhere. Only being targeted 5 times, he had 3 catches for a miniscule 14 yards. Now Welker is entirely to blame, the Patriots ran a lot of 3 tight end formations, and it's hard to pass up throwing to an open Gronkowski or Hernandez. I'm sure he will bounce back and get some more targets, as the opponents will shift the focus of coverage to the best tight end duo in the league.

Year after year, you can expect the Ravens to bring some hard-hitting and well-executed defense. But when was the last time they were known for their explosive offense? They put up a week one high of 44 points against the Bengals, who should have had a much better defensive effort. 308 yards through the air and 122 on the ground provided a very balanced attack. They also tacked on a defensive touchdown in the form of an Ed Reed interception return touchdown, just so people didn't forget their defense.

Another example of a great quarterback with a horrendous start. Though he did throw for 355 yards and a touchdown, his day was clouded by the 3 interceptions he threw very early in the game. He finished with a quarterback rating of 69.4. To put that in perspective, RGIII finished with a quarterback rating of 139.9 (more than double Stafford's). Against the lowly Rams's defense, I expected much more out of Stafford than what he gave.

While watching the Jaguars vs. Vikings game, I was ready to put them in this discussion after they recorded a surprise opening-week victory. However, the Jaguars are still the Jaguars, and found a way to let it slip right out of their hands late in the 4th quarter. With the luck of the Jaguars on the Viking's side, Blaire Walsh (rookie kicker) drained a 55 yard field goal to tie the game and send it to overtime. Against any other team, that kick goes wide right. But, that's the Jaguars for you in a nutshell.



Week one was an eventful day on the couch for me. With some great match-ups set for week two, I'm looking forward to even more surprises and another awesome week of football.

It's that time

Patriots time. Enough said.

Why I worry about how intelligent some people are

"Tell me a man's name that starts with the letter K."

 (Kyle, Kevin, Karl, Keith, Kenny, Kurt, or Kareem would all be valid answers here.)

"..Kentucky Fried Chicken."

EXCUSE ME? A man named Kentucky Fried Chicken?! I've heard a lot of crazy names in my time, but never have I heard of someone being named after a fast food joint. Since this was the first ridiculous answer to start this video, I knew this one would be an absolute gem. I'll pull out a few of my favorites and break down the level of stupidity involved with each answer, with a 1 being slightly stupid, and a 10 being a big what the hell were you thinking?

Q: Name a place on your body that a doctor might look in with a little flashlight.

A: "Butt", and a second answer of "butt" as well.

Okay, I guess butt can be an acceptable answer.. if you're getting regular colonoscopies or cavity searches. What kind of doctor are these two women visiting that they get their ass searched more than say their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth? Maybe it's that doctor on Scrubs that makes you drop your pants for every diagnosis. Either way, this is a pretty idiotic answer. Idiot level: 3

Q: Name a term that means "wife"

A: Bitch

This guy has some serious balls. I mean, sure rappers interchange the word bitch for a lot of things in their songs, but in regular conversation, this is clearly not acceptable. I believe he's sleeping on the couch tonight. Idiot level: 7

Q: Name a part of a telephone

A: The bottom part

Oh man.. she nailed it! How could you forget about the bottom part of the telephone! I hear that's what Apple is currently working on with the iPhone 5, the new and improved "bottom part."

Idiot level: 9

Q: Name an animal with 3 letters in it's name

A: Frog

-________________- Because he took so long and thought about this one, I really have no comment. Idiot level: 11

Q: Name something normally worn only by children

A: Clothes

Wow, I wasn't aware that only children wore clothes. What have I been wearing then? Idiot level: 8

Q: Name something you squeeze

A: Peanut butter

Hey, I can't really knock her on this one. Some people have some freaky fetishes, so maybe she gets large jars of peanut butter, sticks her hands in, and just squeezes the life out of it. But then again, who really wants to squeeze peanut butter? Give me a PB&J instead. Idiot level: 4

Q: Name something you might buy that could turn out to be phony

A: A horse

Don't you just hate when this happens? You go to the barn, think you've bought a perfectly good horse, and BOOM! It turns out its a fake... nothing but a donkey or a mule. I mean really, what constitutes a "phony" horse? Idiot level: 9

Q: Name a yellow fruit

A: An orange

Bravo, you have just given the most obviously wrong answer. If she had said apple, she could have argued that maybe she saw a yellow apple before, or even pear.. maybe she saw a yellow pear once. But trying to argue that an orange is yellow.. that just is impossible. Idiot level: off the charts

Q: Name an animal whose eggs you would probably never eat for breakfast

A: Hamster

Well considering that hamsters are mammals and don't lay eggs, he's technically right: you would probably never eat hamster eggs for breakfast. However, since they don't lay eggs, this makes him a moron. Idiot level: 8

Q: Name something you wouldn't want police to find in the trunk of your car

A: Pickles

Dead body? no problem. Weapons? Nah, those are cool. Drugs? Go ahead and take em. But pickles? I WOULD NEVER BE CAUGHT DEAD WITH THOSE IN MY TRUNK! I hear pickles are the first thing police are looking for now during traffic stops. So what is this guy doing with these pickles that he really doesn't want the police to know about? Idiot level: 10

These were just a few of my personal favorite idiotic answers. All of them completely reassure me that I am, in fact, normal and slightly intelligent. Then again, I feel like a cat would feel more intelligent after watching these answers.

Look at Apple hijacking students to work on the iPhone 5

Are we reverting back to the stereotypical Nike sweatshop factories? Perhaps Apple is leading the charge on this one. News has leaked out that thousands of Chinese students have had their semesters suspended so they can work at a Foxconn plant producing the iPhone 5.

After the plant couldn't find enough workers to produce the new phone, the took to Huai'an in the Jiangsu Province of China. Students here were removed from their schooling, driven to the factory, and paid minimal wages to produce the product. Working 6 days a week at up to 12 hours per day, they are making a whopping $244 per month. That breaks down to making just about $0.85 an hour. A student posting under the anonymous name of MengniuIQ84 stated that authorities had ordered the students to work, but without the consent of the factory or parents.

This is absurd, and I thought waiters making $2.45 an hour was crazy. I would love to hear what Steve Jobs would have said about this news.


Source: www.Shanghaidaily.com

Is Rob Ryan really Raiden from Mortal Kombat?

I don't know what made me think of this, but once I looked up both pictures, I'm almost positive that Rob Ryan used to be Mortal Kombat's Raiden. The picture of Raiden is from 1995, and now we see Rob Ryan 17 years later. With the 17 years comes the added weight, the facial hair, and the wrinkles. While the gray hair cannot really get much more gray, it's there nonetheless. Even the facial expressions are strikingly similar here. The more I look, the more I believe it.

My verdict: I'm completely sold on this. Rob Ryan definitely was Raiden. Case closed. If the Cowboys get some bad breaks from this point on, I expect some lightning to spark from his eyes. Who knows, maybe that's just what the refs need to get the calls right.. a little fear from Raiden.

Rajon Rondo: NBA All-Star and.. fashion intern?

Coming off a disappointed series against the Miami Heat in the most recent playoffs, many expected the "new" Big 3 of Rondo, Garnett, and Pierce to be working like crazy this off-season to exact revenge the following year. With the Celtics adding and dropping multiple players, I personally expected to see these 3 mentoring the newcomers in their winning ways. What I DIDN'T expect was to see Rajon Rondo taking a fashion internship in New York City with GQ Magazine. If you could have placed a bet on this at the end of the season, the odds would probably have been something like 1,000,000 : 1.

I do realize that there are two main parts to an NBA game: looking good on the court, and looking even better for the post-game interview. Some pros can kill the post-game look, where as some just make me laugh. Maybe Rondo is trying to gain some inside information on the upcoming fashions so he can out-do Dwayne Wade and Lebron James's ridiculous looking glasses. Here's hoping that Rondo kills it on the floor, and changes the post-game look forever.