Mothers Day, Fondue, and Heaven with Chocolate

This past Sunday, as you may know, was Mother’s Day in the US.  It was a beautiful day — sunny, warm and lovely – As perfect a day as there has been lately.

My son and I had a fantastic afternoon, walking around at the park, doing some window shopping., talking about music, art, growing up, moving to another country, what kind of person he wants to be, changing attitudes and ideas.  A conversation that evolved into a bit about everything as we walked in downtown White Plains.

The city itself has changed a lot over the past few years, and I have not really explored it all that much.  Dancing Fountains, new shops — a restaurant in an old bank, with a special dining room — inside the bank vault.  A huge movie theatre, lots of new restaurants, Trumps new building, and the new ‘Ritz’ within walking distance of just about everything.

The real destination of our day out, though, was dinner.  My son had made reservations the previous week at a new restaurant in the area called ‘The Melting Pot’.

We were seated in a comfortable 2 person table.  It was very cozy, with fiber-optic lighting above — a ‘starry night sky’.  The table was tucked away, in such a way that neighboring tables couldn’t even be seen.  I am sure this would be a very romantic place to take a sig-other.  For my son and I, the seclusion was very a good thing — he kept singing (quite off key) various songs (The Hippy Hippy Shake), as well as asking me a list of “Get to Know Your Mother” questions (What is your favorite movie, what is your favorite toe, what is your favorite song, etc.).

The menu was a special one for Mothers Day — there were 3-4 choices per course.  Our choices included:

 The Cheese Course  – We selected ‘Mediterranean Cheese’ – “Fontina and Butterkäse cheeses blended with roasted garlic, dates, shallots and a touch of white truffle oil.”

As a woman, with the need for cheese in my DNA, this selection was just amazing.  I would have liked to try a different combination, but this particular mix, I thought, would appeal a bit more to my son, than some others — he’s not overly fond of melted cheese.  Or, wasn’t, anyway.  He devoured this, and would have had more, if possible. It was the garlic that got him ;)

The Salad Course – we both chose Caesar salads.   

The Main Course came with a big selection – “Filet Mignon, Jerk-Seasoned Tenderloin, Teriyaki Marinated Sirloin, Garlic and Herb Chicken, White Shrimp, and Salmon, accompanied by summer Squash, Broccoli, Fancy Button Mushrooms, Red Bliss Potatoes & a variety of dipping sauces.  The main course was braised in Coq Au Vin broth made of fresh herbs, mushrooms, garlic, spices, and burgundy wine in a light stock.”

Oh, now this was fun, and so good.   There were several different selections of braising broths to choose from – lots of different flavors, as well as  one with canola oil, to fry the meats and vegetables in. 

There were also several different dipping sauces, which were nice, though with all the spices on the meat, and then the flavor of the Coq Au Vin, the sauces were really not necessary.

The Dessert Course – “The Flaming Turtle – Milk chocolate, caramel & chopped pecans, flambeed,  served with strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, chocolate marshmallows, graham cracker encrusted marshmallows, pound cake, and brownies”.

Okay……… I think chocolate is okay — nothing that I can’t live without.  Nothing I really go out of my way to eat, either.  So, when we ordered this dessert, I wasn’t as excited as some people might be (Anth, of course, was eagerly anticipating the chocolate, and probably could have slurped up the  melted chocolate via a straw, had I let him).  However.. when the waitress came to the table with this pot of melted chocolate, adding in the warm caramel, and the pecans.. I started to re-think my feelings about chocolate.  Nothing much else I can actually express here except……

“Holy gods almighty.. heaven on a fondue fork”.

Needless to say, with all the food served to us over about 2 hours, neither of us could really move — driving back home was endless, and about 13 seconds after I got up the stairs, and into the apartment, I was changed into loose fitting pjs.  But it was worth every bite.

One last thing.. a very big *Thank you* to my son for making this day such a special one – as he has since the day he was born.  I hope he remembers that the next time we go to the Melting Pot, I get both the chocolate marshmallows ;)