Raising a Toast

The Melting Pot in Wilde Lake Village Center has announced their closure. In the Baltimore Sun article by Ana Faguy, the reason was listed as a problem with their franchise agreement.  The Melting Pot made it through years of the Wilde Lake Village Center being in limbo, and then, under construction. I’ve been surprised by their ability to hang in there as the local restaurant scene changed around them.

I chose The Melting Pot as the site of my older daughter’s twenty first birthday. I knew it was going to be a splurge and we may have even taken advantage of some promotional deal to make it happen. My husband, not a fan of fancy restaurants, was a bit dubious.

The tone of the evening was set when the waitress came by and asked if we were celebrating a special occasion.

“We’re here to celebrate my daughter’s twenty-first birthday,” I told her, as she started to take our drink orders.

Little sister, then six, piped up, “ But it isn’t her real birthday, that’s not until the weekend!”

The rest of us burst out laughing, realizing she had dashed any hopes of her big sister toasting the evening with her first celebratory cocktail. (She now maintains she hadn’t planned on ordering one anyway.)

The hilarity continued throughout the meal. There was nothing stuffy or “fancy” about it. The hands-on nature of choosing one’s own bits of food, wielding skewers, cooking in hot oil and dipping in sauces put everyone at ease. My (then-future) son in law, who we knew to have talents in sword juggling and flame throwing, was right in his element. The mood play playful. The food, delicious.

My husband had a blast. So much so, in fact, that I worried we’d be asked to tone down our noise level by the establishment. (We weren’t. I was probably overly worried on that one.)

It was a purely delightful experience from beginning to end. In the back of my head I’ve always had the notion of going back for little sister’s twenty-first birthday. We have a few more years yet.

So, pour out a toast to the Wilde Lake Melting Pot. It will always have a special place in my heart.

Do you have any fond memories of The Melting Pot? Share them here.