Melting Pot

Free Cheese Fondue Offer Returns for National Cheese Fondue Day

April 11, 2016 By Dayton Most Metro

In celebration of National Cheese Fondue Day, premier fondue restaurant franchise The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc., is offering free cheese fondue vouchers* to the first 25,000 people who sign up for its Club Fondue today only, April 11, 2016, as part of its seventh annual National Cheese Fondue Day celebration. Guests can sign up at nationalcheesefondueday.com for their chance to get in on this cheesy offer, which is redeemable April 18 – June 30, 2016.

“As the leading fondue restaurant in the country, The Melting Pot takes the National Cheese Fondue Day holiday very seriously,” said Melting Pot President Mike Lester. “It’s the perfect opportunity to share the cheese fondue love with those who’ve never experienced it by once again giving away free cheese fondue vouchers.”

The Melting Pot’s cheese fondue course is valued at around $8 – 9 per person (prices vary by location) and the communal fondue dining experience allows for up to four individual portions of cheese fondue to be shared in one fondue pot. Each cheese fondue is served with artisan bread and seasonal vegetables for dipping. Cheese fondue varieties include cheddar, classic Alpine, spinach artichoke and more.

To further celebrate the holiday, The Melting Pot is hosting a #HowDoUFondue Twitter party on April 11 from 2 pm to 3 pm EST. This special one-hour party will be hosted by Chef Jason Miller, where followers have the chance to ask questions about the “Fondues” and “Fondon’ts” when it comes to dining at The Melting Pot and learn about various dipping styles. Twitter followers who engage with Chef Jason will have the chance to win one of two $50 gift cards to The Melting Pot. Fans can tune into the conversation by following the hashtag #HowDoUFondue and RSVP by visiting http://tweetvite.com/event/HowDoUFondue.

In 2015, The Melting Pot was ranked No. 1 among 40 casual-dining restaurant chains in Nation’s Restaurant News’ 2015 Consumer Picks report. The Melting Pot ranked first in four out of 10 overall attribute categories, achieving top scores in cleanliness, service, atmosphere and craveability.

The Melting Pot operates more than 125 restaurants across 35 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, and has 10 locations in development internationally. The concept is known for offering an assortment of flavorful fondue cooking styles and a variety of unique entrées served with signature dipping sauces. The menu features a variety of à la carte selections, highlighting customizable options that invite guests to enjoy one, two, three or more courses as they select any combination of individually-priced cheese fondues, salads, entrées and chocolate fondues.

Food Adventures Invades the “Taste of Centerville”

June 22, 2012 By The Food Adventures Crew Leave a Comment

The 2nd annual “Taste of Centerville” happened on June 15 in the Heart of Downtown Centerville from 6-9 pm. The event benefited Food4Summer, which is a charity started by partnerships between Centerville churches. Food4Summer furnishes nutritious meals to low income children in the Centerville area when school is out for the summer.

The Taste of Centerville started at the registration booth where we paid $20 each to sample items from various Centerville eateries. Many local businesses opened their doors and offered discounts to participants of the event. Centerville is the home of The Big Ragu, so we had to check out this event. It was a classic Food Adventure, and the photos tell the story on this one.

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes from Sweet Dot’s Cupcakes in Cross Pointe Center.

It was a hot evening, but it did not stop us from hitting every food booth along the “Taste of Centerville.” We walked the four corners of the event, emotionally eating our way through warm and cheerful Centerville. There were a slew of vendors, but The Food Adventures Crew is here to sort them out for you.

Meadowlark Restaurant ‘s Hot Dogs with Slaw & a Spicy Relish .. Amazing taste!

Below is a list of each restaurant and our favorite food selections from each booth:

Meadowlark – Chef Wiley wowed the crowds with her spin on a Classic Slaw Dog. A filling, refreshing taste at one of our favorite places on earth.

Sweet Dot’s Bakery Cafe – The friendly manager of this establishment gave us small Key Lime Cupcakes with Icing. These tiny bites were terrific, with the homemade taste of love in every morsel.

Murray’s Cheese – This New York company sells its cheeses in Kroger. We enjoyed the Aged Cheese Plate with 3 pieces of savory and delicate cheeses. Great stuff !

Graeter’s served up samples of their light and refreshing Peach Ice Cream.

Savona – Offered a gourmet Grilled, Stuffed Free Range Chicken Skewer appetizer. The chicken on the skewers were rolled in a way that it was like Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu on a stick.

LaRosa’s Pizza – We were pleasantly surprised with their fantastic Boneless Wings. They had 3 great sauces that tickled our tastebuds.

Graeter’s Ice Cream – Refreshing Peach Ice Cream cooled us off on this evening. Always busy, this Cincinnati company has a good following in Centerville.

Horton’s Hoagies – New family owned restaurant with fresh hoagies and subs. We loved their Sub Samples, and are eager to visit this place !

The Melting Pot – They offered Chocolate Fondue with Strawberries and Rice Crispie Sticks. Irresistible treats at this booth!

DiBella’s Old Fashioned Subs – Huge samples of Turkey and Ham Subs on various types of buns were stacked at this booth. Big mouths needed for these big sandwiches.

Louisiana Grill’s Bourbon Chicken over Rice

Louisiana Grill – The friendly staff served out sample tastes of Bourbon Chicken Over Rice. It was a rich and flavorful combination.

Johnny’s Slice of NY Pizza – Of course we loved another chance to taste a small slice of New York. Owner Michele and her daughter served up delicious sample squares.

Unhinged – Not a food store, but they hand fed us tasty treats and told us home baked goodies are in the lobby from time to time. Definitely a place to visit again!

City Barbecue – The Pulled Pork and Pulled Chicken station was phenomenal. They had each of their BBQ sauces out, so you could drizzle your own topping to the slow cooked goodness.

Panera Bread – We enjoyed the Pastry and Cookie Display, and sampled some tasty homemade items.

Mama Disalvo’s – One of our favorite stops had a Salmon Rigatoni in a Creamy Tomato Sauce. It was amazing how our samples were cooked to perfection.

Pulled Pork Sliders from Archer’s Tavern.. everything they serve is good!

Unique Celebrations Tea Room – Hospitality was second to none, and they had some Homemade Light Desserts that were simply dreamy.

Archer’s Tavern – Pulled Pork Sliders Topped with Slaw gave festival goers a great taste of a great eatery. Even owners Dan Apolito and Mike Fullenkamp were on hand.

Sam’s Club – This station passed out bottled water, so we wouldn’t pass out from dehydration!

Sweeney’s Seafood – We tasted the wonderful Grilled BBQ Shrimp on the patio and met the new chef. We could have eaten the entire display.

Smoothie King – The samples of Strawberry Smoothies were so good, that The Big Ragu dribbled some down his shirt.

Buffalo Wings and Rings – They walked around handing out samples of Garlic Parmesean Boneless Wings and Hot Buffalo Boneless Wings too.

The Hot Sex Roll from Kabuki. We ate a lot of these hoping to reap some kind of benefit.

Kabuki – Earlier in the month, we received a personal invite to the festival from Kabuki’s management, for which we are grateful. This station was one of our favorite stops of the night. The Hot Sex Sushi Roll and Playboy Sushi Roll were so good that it caused us to do erotic dance moves on the spot.

The Water Store – Ionized Water with a unique, fresh taste. We loved the friendly staff and the great tasting ionized water that you can have in your home by purchasing their attachment.

Caribou Coffee – No coffee, but instead they gave out Sparkling Teas and Juices. A most refreshing station on this night, so we went back for seconds.

The Big Ragu devoured this Jimmy John’s Turkey sub in record time

Jimmy John’s – Freshly wrapped Turkey and Ham Subs were given out by the friendly greeters. The freshly shredded lettuce gives their sandwiches a nice crunch and flavor.

Whew! What a FOOD ADVENTURE !! It was nice to see a community get together for a great cause and enjoy some wonderful food. THE BIG RAGU is looking forward to next year’s “Taste of Centerville.”

Were you at the June 15th event? If so, please leave your thoughts and comments below!

Did you know Food Adventures has a Facebook page? Click here to “like” the page

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Jane’s Best Bets (4/27 – 5/1)

April 26, 2011 By Jane Krebs Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Alli Shillito

I hope you were able to find many Easter eggs, and that they had some good things inside! I just found a bunch of empty ones (true story, just ask the Easter Bunny). Regardless of what was in or not in your Easter eggs, I’d like to provide you with an “inside” look at what is going on in Dayton this week!

On Wednesday, watch the Dragons as they play the West Michigan Whitecaps. If you enjoy opera, make your way to the UD Opera Workshop Performance. Get those dirty little secrets out of the closet at Wiley’s with the Dirty Little Secret Speakeasy. Don’t worry, it’s a variety show featuring many different types of performers, so you really don’t have to reveal anything about yourself! Hungry AND thirsty? Participate in the Belgian & Euro Craft Beer Dinner at Spinoza’s. At the Loft Theatre, catch Permanent Collection. And finally, make sure you stop at Baskin Robbins for their 31 Cent Scoop Night! For those of you who don’t like to do math, that means date night will only cost you 62 cents…or, ice cream for a family four will only cost $1.24!

On Thursday, have a Girls Night Out at The Melting Pot. If you’re a boy, then don’t go there…well, on second thought, you may want to go since there will be a pretty good ratio for you! Since the weather is getting warmer, you may want to attend Five Rivers MetroParks’ Intro to Smart Cycling. Head to Oregon Express for a wonderful combination of beer and theology (and their amazing pizza too!) for Dayton Theology on Tap. If you don’t feel like cooking dinner, head to the Dayton Canoe Club for their Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser. At the Dayton Art Institute, you can listen to the sounds of the DPO Concertmaster & Friends. Permanent Collection, although not permanent, will still be playing at The Loft Theatre. And over at Fifth Third Field, see some Dragons and “Tin Men,” as the Dragons play the Fort Wayne Tincaps.

On Friday, get up bright and early and head to The Pub for a Royal Wedding Brunch. If you love horse racing and beer, you won’t want to miss The Kentucky Ale Trail: Horses & Hops, which will start at Jungle Jim’s. I just found out that another specialty grocery store, Trader Joe’s, discontinued one of my favorite items (salmon and spinach crepes), so I would be very much interested in going to the Kids Crepe Making Demo which will be going on at the PNC 2^nd Street Market. Bid on some wonderful, one-of-a-kind pieces of art at the DVAC Annual Art Auction. If you’re out in the Oregon District, head to Oregon Express for Half-Price Happy Hour Pizzas and Old Skool Acoustic Duo…featuring cover tunes by some great artists including Journey! Or make a stop at the Trolley Stop to listen to The Eric Jerardi Band. Some other musical options include Encore Theatre Company’s BIG fat CONCERT SERIES, vol. II – ‘I Feel So Much Spring’ and the University of Dayton Jazz Ensembles. Wear your green and take the kids to watch the Dragons vs. Fort Wayne Tincaps…which is also McDonald’s Friends & Family Night. At the Dayton Liederkranz Turner German Club, you will be able to celebrate Spring Bierfest. And finally, some Friday theater options include Centerville’s Hello, Dolly!, Permanent Collection at The Loft Theatre, The Wizard of Oz at Baum Opera House, and Zoot Theatre Company’s Phantom Tollbooth at the Schuster Center.

On the last day in April (Saturday), learn Smart Cycling Basics at Five Rivers MetroParks’ St. Clair Building or participate in the 5k Run for the Health of It at Archers Tavern. Avid readers will want to attend the Dayton Book Expo 2011 at Sinclair. Head to South Park to see some beautiful homes for their Historic South Park Spring Home Tour. Some art options include Sound Bites: Short Talks about Art at the Dayton Art Institute and the Free Artist Workshop at the Dayton Visual Arts Center. Any Germans out there? If so, make plans to attend the Spring Concert, followed by the Westphaelische Beef Rouladen Dinner (I’m part German but I have no clue how to say that) at the Dayton Liederkranz Turner German Club. If you haven’t yet, consider getting tickets to one of the many shows going on: Phantom Tollbooth at the Schuster Center, The Wizard of Oz at Baum Opera House, Hello, Dolly! at Centerville Performing Arts Center, Gem City Ballet Victoria Theatre Gala (at Victoria Theatre), ETC’s BIG fat CONCERT SERIES, vol. II – ‘I Feel So Much Spring’ at Color of Energy Gallery, Permanent Collection at The Loft Theatre, or The Apple Tree at Stivers School for the Arts. And if the weather is nice, you’ll be able to catch the Dragons as they play the Fort Wayne Tincaps at Fifth Third Field.

On Sunday, get off the couch and participate in the Kettering Medical Center Walk for Women’s Wellness at Carillon Historical Park. At the Dayton Masonic Center, attend the Graeter’s Symphony Sundaes Series: The Symphonic Sibelius…complete with ice cream from Graeter’s. Now how great is that?!?! At the University of Dayton, attend the Art of Foreseen Beauty – DCDC2’s Spring Concert. If you can, I encourage you to attend in order to witness some of the most remarkable dancing out there! If opera is your thing, catch some up-and-comers at the Opera Guild of Dayton Tri-State College Vocal Competition in Kettering. And if you haven’t yet had an opportunity to do so, luckily the show Permanent Collection seems to be a permanent fixture (this week only) at The Loft Theatre. Or spend part of the day with Dorothy and Toto (I do love the song “Africa”) at the Baum Opera House for The Wizard of Oz.

And now it’s time for the Dumb Joke of the Week. Drum roll please…

Three skunks went to church. The priest made them sit in their own pew.

These are just a few best bets from the DMM Calendar. There are plenty more events listed there, so if you haven’t, I encourage you to check it out today! Also, if you have an event to share or promote, please submit it– it’s great marketing and better yet, it’s FREE! And finally, if you have a dumb joke to share, I’m all ears!

Have a great week Dayton!