The melting pot...I don't get it.

One of the many things I love about living in Austin is Austin Restaurant Week. It's hosted twice a year and consists of 2 three-day intervals during which you make reservations at any one of the many participating restaurants and are able to eat from a select menu at a price that is highly discounted from their usual rate. It's a great way to try out new restaurants that you might otherwise pass over due to their cost. Anu and I are always on the lookout for great new date spots, but without restaurant week it's unlikely we would be willing to risk the high cost of the food just for the sake of trying it out. After all, there's always the chance that it'll be terrible.

Last year we discovered Cru, and it has quickly become one of our favorite places for a little indulgence. It's a really nice wine bar that has great appetizers and desserts. The main courses...eh, not so much, but what better to pair with nice wine than cheese platters and chocolate fondue?

This past Sunday marked the start of this year's restaurant week, and Anu and I decided to finally give the Melting Pot a try. We know lots of people who swear by it and would never go anywhere else to celebrate their birthday or other special event, so we figured it was about time we went to see what it was all about. We knew it was a fondue place, and I think that's what has always kept us from going there in the past. Fondue is fun and can be tasty, but the Melting Pot is HELLA expensive for just fondue. This time around we thought we would see if it was really worth all the hype. I was also excited to finally have time for a date night since Anu's been working such insane hours lately, so I took the opportunity to give the new heels and dress a go:

Have I mentioned that I love my new pink heels? Because I love them. I adore them. They are so cute.

Also, I have to show off my handsome companion for the evening:

ANYWAY!

We made reservations and drove up to their location in the warehouse district. The ambiance was really neat, and the service was good. Our server was really friendly and showed us how to take full advantage of the restaurant week menu and how to...you know...cook stuff. 

We had the Alpine Swiss cheese fondue to begin with followed by the Mini Feast and Vegetarian main courses and topped off with the Dark Chocolate S'mores dessert. Everything was nice and the dessert was fantastic, but honestly? I still don't really see what the big deal is. The food was good, but not amazing. Fondue is fun, but not the time of your life and it's semi annoying when you're just plain hungry. Additionally, the prices are nuts. If it hadn't been for restaurant week pricing there is no way I would have left there in a good mood. Sorry Melting Pot fans, I just don't get the appeal. Aside from the dessert!

Which, if I have not emphasized this enough, was amazing. Mmmmm....(I apologize for the blurriness. I chose to indulge in some wine.)

We weren't able to do any other outings during the first part of restaurant week, but we're going to try and hit up at least one more place this coming week. Fogo de Chao, perhaps? We will see!

Other than that, life is good but not overly exciting. Anu is back to crazy hours after a 3 day respite. We are looking in to local gym prices and I could not be happier. My body is really bumming me out right now, I want toned Dana back and I'm not going to rest until I find her!

I hope life is beautiful for all of you. Go see Alice in Wonderland this weekend, you know it's going to be fabulous!

Love and Kisses,
Dana