Two great things that go good together

When in New Orleans, we spent the later part of an evening walking down the street, looking into store windows as we made our way to Walgreen's for some sunburn relief in a tube.

Along the way, we saw a place called The Melting Pot, that advertised itself as a fondue. It was closed, so all we could see were a couple of tables and a bar, and we thought what a nice little neighborhood restaurant it seemed. The next morning, one of those lovely booklets of "places to go, things to see" rated it quite highly, which surprised us, because based on the short store frontage, we hadn't thought it was that big a place to warrant a mention.

But it sounded like fun, so we made a reservation.

It was magnificent! (and much larger than it appeared!)

The meal is more than just food - it's a production in and of itself. We spent three hours there! If you go for their full experience package, you get a cheese appetizer fondue, a main course fondue, and a chocolate fondue for dessert! Sooo yummy!

Unfortunately they're only in the U.S., but since Ruth's Chris has now come to Canada, perhaps The Melting Pot will too. (If you're in the Boston area, there's one set to open this fall in Back Bay) I would definitely recommend trying the place out because the one in New Orleans was fabulous!

The title of the post does say there were two good things that go together. The other was the Conundrum white table wine. Yes, something labelled "white table wine" usually isn't worth mentioning, but the Conundrum table wine is named so because it's a blend of varietals that's very skillfully mixed to produce a white wine with an absolutely yummy smell and a complex of flavours that make you wish you could just gobble it all up!

The wine complemented the fondue very well, which is hard to do because a fondue has so many different flavours going on, but because the wine's a varietal mix, it's got so many fruits and scents, it actually worked really well. It would be an excellent patio wine, all on its own too.

I took a trip to my favourite wine store when we got home and grabbed their last two bottles of the 2006. It cost a bit more than I usually pay for wine, but I think this one will be worth it. If you can afford one wine splurge and you're looking for something unique in a white, I'd definitely recommend giving it a try. You probably haven't tasted a wine like it before!