Reservations are a good idea because dinner can be rather lengthy. We were right on time and were seated immediately. Our waiter introduced himself - little did we know how well we would get to know him at the time - and took our wine order. Dale chose a Francis Coppola Blue Label Merlot. The wine was very good with rich, complex fruit flavors. We then ordered the "Big Night Out" meal for each couple. The Big Night Out includes a cheese fondue, a salad, a selection of meats and vegetables, and a dessert fondue. If this sounds like a bunch of food, you are right.
Our waiter brought our cheese fondues first. Dale and Carol ordered the Boston Lager cheese fondue. It contained Sam Adams Boston Lager, a mixture of cheeses, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces and chopped chives. The Tiki Gal and I ordered the Fiesta Cheese fondue containing Miller beer, a mixture of cheeses, salsa, fresh jalapenos and cilantro. Each fondue came with an assortment of bread, chips and vegetables for dipping. We all enjoyed both fondues. While very different, each was good in its own way. The cheese fondues also come with apple chunks for dipping. I was a little skeptical about dipping apples in cheeses but after tasting it, I was right. Apples dipped in cheese are not my favorites.
The next course was salads. The Tiki Gal and I went with the Southwestern Cobb Salad. Dale ordered a Spinach Mushroom Salad and Carol had a California Salad.
For our entree course, we shared a cooking pot of Mojo style broth. Mojo style is described as a "Caribbean-seasoned bouillon with distinctive flavors of garlic with a citrus flair." Our waiter brought out a tray of vegetables containing potatoes, squash, broccoli and mushrooms and dumped it in the pot. He then gave us a platter with uncooked marinated pork, chicken, shrimp, Filet Mignon, lobster tail, salmon and ravioli. Each meat was cut into bite-size chunks. We also were served a bunch of sauces including a Gorgonzola cheese, plum, curry, teriaki, and butter sauces as well as green goddess dip and cocktail sauce. There was also an unidentified brown sauce that the girls didn't care for but Dale and I thought it was good on the mushrooms.
There were four or five chunks of each of the meats so we each stabbed something with our skewers and put it in the pot to cook. I particularly enjoyed the filet and the salmon. The lobster was good too, however. The Tiki Gal liked the pork and the chicken although it was all good. Unfortunately, Carol and the Tiki Gal didn't pull their weight with the entrees so Dale and I had to finish off what was left. It was a dirty job but someone had to do it. At one point, Carol was just cooking food for Dale as he attempted to try all the combinations of meats and sauces.
We finally finished the entree course roughly two hours after we arrived. We then ordered our dessert course. Dale and Carol ordered the Original - milk chocolate mixed with crunchy peanut butter. The Tiki Gal and I decided on the Flaming Turtle containing milk chocolate, caramel and chopped pecans. For dipping, each couple got a tray containing bananas, strawberries, rice crispy squares, graham cracker coated marshmallows, Oreo coated marshmallows, brownies, pound cake, and cheese cake.
Unfortunately for me, I didn't realize that both pieces of pound cake were on my side of the tray and both pieces of brownie were on the Tiki Gal's side of the tray. Apparently, I ate both pieces of pound cake - very good by the way. We had eaten most of the dessert when we started discussing the best combinations. Carol mentioned that the pound cake was good. The Tiki Gal's eyes lit up as she said, "Pound cake? There was pound cake?" She then turned and looked at me with an evil gleam in her eye. It seems that the tray that held the dippers was dusted with powdered sugar and there were two empty squares in the dusting on my side of the tray. Apparently, those two squares were where the pound cake had been.
In my years of marriage, I've managed to learn a few things for my own survival. One of those things is not to get between my wife and certain chocolate-based desserts. Apparently, I can add pound cake dipped in chocolate fondue to that list. One of the waiters overheard the Tiki Gal's protestations over the pound cake and offered to get some more from the kitchen. I think he was worried for my safety.
We were now about three hours into dinner and the restaurant was mostly empty. Our waiter had disappeared and we were stuffed and ready to go. Over the course of the meal, we learned that our waiter was interested in music. Since Dale is a musician, he was able to give the waiter a few tips. The waiter wasn't too sure about Dale's sense of humor, however. When the waiter brought out the Flaming Turtle chocolate fondue, Dale asked if the turtles screamed when they were tossed in. The waiter eventually chuckled, but it took a moment. Anyway, Dale tracked down the waiter so we could pay and get out of there. The meal was extremely good and I would be happy to go back again. (And next time, I will definitely let the Tiki Gal have the pound cake.)
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