Just 45 minutes away, near the Castleton Mall on the north side of Indianapolis, lies The Melting Pot. The unique food and romantic atmosphere makes it a buzz restaurant for lovers from all over Indiana.
"It's the escape idea," Bennet Ackerman, the owner of The Melting Pot said. "You're not being pushed out of your seat so they can fit more in. When you come here, it's going to take you a couple of hours to get through the meal. It's relaxing."
The soft lights and decor's deep colors help set the whimsy. Different magazines voted the restaurant Most Romantic and the Best First Date Place.
The table setup also brings romance to the meal. High dividers make booths private while L-shaped booths sit couples close together. A bowl-shaped fondue pot rests over a burner in the middle of the table. Couples share the food in the pot by dipping their loaded fondu sticks into the dishes.
"One of neatest things about it is the privacy," said Emily Beck, a senior Ball State student who visited The Melting Pot. "You're not dining with your neighbors so there's not a lot of distractions."
The menu is like no other found in Indianapolis... or in most of Indiana. Dinner is a four-course meal and starts with the customers' choices of cheese fondues. The four cheese fondues, traditional swiss, cheddar, black pepper and swiss, and fiesta cheese, are served with bread, apples and vegetables for dipping.
The second course is salad. The Melting Pot makes its own dressings and offers twists on the traditional leafy greens.
Third comes the meat tray. Waiters bring raw shrimp, salmon, chicken and sirloin to be cooked in either a bouillon-based broth or oil. The meat portion of the meal takes the longest since each piece cooks in the broth or oil for one-and-a-half to two minutes.
Finally, customers choose from nine different chocolate fondues for dessert. Ackerman said the flaming turtle chocolate fondue is the most popular. Milk chocolate, carmel and chopped pecans are flambeed at the table. But if someone can't decide between the many options, The Melting Pot also allows customers to create their own concoction by choosing the type of chocolate and a favorite liqueur.
The chocolate fondue is served with strawberries, cheesecake, pineapple, brownie pieces, bananas, and other food for dipping.
Although so many choices for multiple courses can be overwhelming, the staff at The Melting Pot walks customers through the menu. The wait staff asks if the customer has eaten with them before. If the customer is new to The Melting Pot, the staff explains the courses, lists the ingredients and makes suggestions from the start to the finish of the experience.
According to Ackerman, all kinds of people are regular diners.
"We have a trucker who stops here every time he's driving through town," Ackerman said. "He drove by one time and didn't know what fondue was, so he stopped in. And now he comes whenever he's in town."
The soft ambiance keeps people coming back, said Ackerman. He estimates about 80 percent of business is either repeat business or from word-of-mouth advertising.
"I love it," said Tom Christainsen, a customer from Fort Wayne. "I love the food and the atmosphere. You know what I really like about it is that's a two-hour meal. It takes forever to go through and you're not rushed."
Dress for The Melting Pot is casual, however reservations are needed. For weekends, customers should book time slots one week in advance. Most weekdays can be booked the day of or day before. For holidays, reservations are suggested several weeks in advance.
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