The Melting Pot Annapolis hosted a Beer Pairing dinner with their fondue. Let me start by saying if you haven't been to a Melting Pot then you are missing out! It's not only delicious food it's an incredibly fun experience. We've visited The Melting Pot for date night just the two of us but we've also brought large groups of people and had a blast that way too! It's the kind of place that is fun for everyone. (By the way - Guys if you need to impress a gal definitely take her to The Melting Pot! Also if you're ever in trouble some flowers and a night at The Melting Pot will get you out of almost any trouble you've gotten yourself into!)
Needless to say I was super excited when I found out that the Annapolis Melting Pot (http://www.meltingpot.com/annapolis-md/welcome) was doing a beer pairing dinner with Heavy Seas Brewery (http://www.hsbeer.com) a Maryland craft brewery which has some AWESOME beers! Not only was it a pairing but the Brewery Founder Hugh came along for some fantastic entertainment. Plus how can you not love a group that gives you an eye patch with your dinner?!
After a great intro from Hugh we dove into our first course which was of course.... CHEESE!!
1st Course
Red Pepper Stilton Fondue
Paired with: A Small Keg of Pale Ale called Powder Monkey made in collaboration between Heavy Seas & 2 Melting Pot team members (Rich & Greg)
Of course with it being cheese you just know it was good. Honestly I think the cheese course is my favorite - in fact the last time Ken and I went to The Melting Pot we had 3 courses of cheese and nothing else.... but I digress... let me get back on topic! The pairing was a good one and the beer was fantastic!
2nd Course
Strawberry Almond Salad
Paired With: Small Craft Warning Uber Pils
I know you might be thinking that a salad course isn't worth it when it comes to all the options of deliciousness but truly the salads here are fantastic. I am not much of a salad person but this is the one place that I actually eat nearly all my salad. There was great balance between the flavors of the salad with the raspberry vinaigrette and the Pils. I definitely love he Uber Pils and Ken & I get a kick out of it's name! As Hugh said - why the heck would you want a Small Craft Advisory when a Warning is really what's needed!
3rd Course
Loose Cannon IPA-marinated Pork Tenderloin
French Quarter Chicken
Jalapeño-marinated shrimp
Teriyaki-marinated Sirloin
Paired with Loose Cannon IPA
Meat! Very tasty meat! The sirloin is always delicious but the marinated pork was probably my favorite. Naturally Ken also loved the Jalapeño-marinated shrimp. Neither of us were in love with the chicken but we ate it all so obviously we didn't dislike it too much! The Loose Cannon IPA is definitely the Heavy Seas flagship beer if you will and even though I am not a big IPA drinker I enjoy the Loose Cannon. Ken is a HUGE IPA drinker (the hoppier the better!) and the Loose Cannon has become one of his absolute favorite beers. To add to the delight of this course we got an entire pint of the Loose Cannon in a glass that we got to keep! Bonus!
4th Course
Mint Dark Chocolate Fondue
Paired with Peg Leg Stout
Bring on the chocolate! This was an absolutely perfect ending all around. Though I was at first fearful that the mint flavor would be overpowering it certainly was not. It was balanced enough to add to the flavors not overwhelm them. The Peg Leg Stout also delicious! Great chocolate roasted tones but not really any "coffee" taste so right up my alley!
Needless to say it was a delicious and fun night. I personally think The Melting Pot should do one of these a month! We had such a good time I was already on the Heavy Seas website looking for other opportunities for their beer dinners. Lo and behold I found one - April 22nd at Stan & Joe's which is within walking distance. TOTAL BONUS!
On the topic of The Melting Pot in general - if you go to the Annapolis location I highly recommend requesting Rich. He is an absolutely wonderful server. He's attentive, knowledgable, incredibly personable and he really knows his beer. (I had met him a previous time I was at The Melting Pot and was thrilled to see him again at the beer dinner.)
We left VERY happy campers :)
Cheers to beer, cheese & chocolate!!!
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