AVERAGE JOE FOOD CRITICS

June 11

Date and Time Visited:         Arrival time was 7:45 p.m., Saturday June 11, 2011

Restaurant Name:     The Melting Pot

Location:                    754 Peachtree St NE

                                    Atlanta, GA 30308
                                  
                                    404-389-0099

                                    meltingpot.com

Reservations:             Recommended

Dining Style:              Elegant and Romantic

Cuisine:                      American, European, International

Entrees Order:          Entrees:

                                   Jill had the Land and Sea: Filet mignon, chicken breast  and white shrimp ($22). Jack ordered the French Quarter: Filet mignon, chicken breast, white shrimp, and Andouille sausage with Cajun seasoning ($21). All meat arrives cut in cubes, except the shrimp. Our waitress recommended the Coq au Vin cooking style: A hot pot of broth with burgundy wine, herbs, spices, and mushrooms to cook our food in.

Rating criteria: We rate using the Likert Scale, from 1-5, where one (1) is considered a poor rating and five (5) is considered an excellent rating and three (3) indicates an average score.

           

Food:                          Taste                           1                     

 Presentation               5                     

                                     Texture                       5          Average Score:  3       

                                     Portion Size                2         

                                    Authenticity                2         

Service:                       Wait time                    5         

Quality of Service       0          Average Score:  3               

                                    Wait staff knowledge  5        

           

Restaurant Cleanliness:

                                     Appearance                 5

                                    Atmosphere                 5

Cleanliness                  5          Average Score: 5 (Excellent) 

Noise level                  5         

Restrooms                   5                     

Smoking?                   No

Patio Dining:              Yes     

           

Parking:                     Yes: Two hour validated parking at the Bank of American building across the street

Overall Experience (reflects the collaboration of both critics): Though we offered high marks for excellence in many categories, our overall experience was negative. First, neither of us liked our food selection. The meat was of excellent quality, but it was unfortunate that the portion seizes were so meager. Think of it this way. We could have brought a pound of white shrimp for $8, on average 3 chicken breast for $ 9, and 1 filet magnon for $12. Remember restaurants purchase their food at a huge discount. Between the two of us, if we were to push all our meat together on one plate, the portion size would be equal to a thin chicken breast. I guess if you really want to get full in this restaurant, you can do so at the tune of $75 per couple. This includes a 4 course meal; no drinks of any kind included.

Now, as for our entrées, it was a huge disappointment, especially for me (Jack)! Since it was our first time ordering fondue, we asked our waitress to suggest the cooking style. She suggested the Coq au Vin cooking style: A hot pot of broth with burgundy wine, herbs, spices, and mushrooms. Bad suggestion! This cooking style really bothered me, and I mean it really bothered me! I hated placing raw meat after raw meat into a kettle of seasoned water and I wish I had asked for additional skewers because I would have preferred cooking all my meat at once. Once I got home, I felt ill and had to make an unscheduled trip to the bathroom.

As for me (Jill), Jacks problem was the selection of cooking styles, whereas my real problem was the waitress. This waitress, though knowledgeable, acted like she was doing us a favor by serving us. Jack and I’ve never met a more snooty waitress in our lives!!!! She talked fast and didn’t give a damn whether we understood the menu or not (that’s why we whined up ordering that sorry broth stuff to cook our food in!!!!) She didn’t smile (not even a crack). We felt like we had a robot serving us, not a living breathing person. When she asked which cooking style we preferred, we informed her that this was our first time in a fondue restaurant and asked her to suggest a cooking style. At that point, she turned back into a robot and started flying through the list again. We got tired of listening to her and asked her to make a suggestion and that’s when she suggested the season-less wine broth stuff.  First off, since it was clear that we’ve never been there before, the first thing she should have said was that we offer two main cooking styles, flavored broths and hot oil. I think if she had stated that from the beginning, customers would be clear about what they are ordering. This waitress never mentioned the oil because she was too deep in her script with her nose stuck above the clouds! As a waitress she really sucked because it is her duty to make sure her customers understand what they are ordering and not assume that they’ve read everything on the menu. We tipped her $2 to send a clear message, when we normally tip between $15% to 18% our bill. The $2 was well deserved.

Would we go back?  Never! But if we did, we would order the oil for our cooking style and request another waitress! This restaurant is not suited for the average Joe.

Suggested Improvements:   

1)         Increase portion sizes. This place is where you go for an appetizer before going to a real restaurant.

2)         Replace your robotic waitress with a real breathing human being who cares about their customer.