I was first introduced to Swiss Cheese fondue 30 years ago and it immediately became my favorite food EVER! Whenever I traveled, especially in France and Switzerland, I did my best to find restaurants that served fondue. Eventually I mastered making my own Swiss Cheese Fondue. And, it even became our traditional family meal for Christmas Eve. While I would love to eat fondue weekly, or even daily, I try to save it for special occasions. If you saw how much fondue I can put down, you’d understand why!
The last time I had fondue was December. So, when Tom suggested we celebrate my April birthday with a fondue dinner, I was more than willing to indulge. We chose the Mona Lisa Fondue Restaurant and invited Tom’s mom, Arlene, to join us.
Location
The Mona Lisa Fondue Restaurant is located in beautiful Manitou Springs, Colorado near the base of Pikes Peak. The restaurant is a few steps above street level… not to be confused with Mona’s Cellar located downstairs.
Menus
Mona Lisa’s menus are posted online. There are different links for the Wine Menu, Main Menu, Seasonal Menu, A-La-Carte Menu, and the Wine Dinner. We all decided to go with Mona Lisa’s Signature 4-Course Dinner from the main menu. It includes salad, cheese fondue, entree, and dessert fondue.
First Course - Salad
For the first course we each selected a salad from the list of three options. I quickly ruled out Caesar because I’m vegetarian and Caesar dressing typically contains anchovies. Tom, just as quickly, chose the Caesar. No surprise given his obsession with fishing! Arlene chose Garden. I considered the Garden salad until I learned the seasonal salad was Spinach Pesto. I love pesto and I need all the iron that I can get from spinach since I don’t get if from steak!
I think it’s safe to say we were each very pleased with our salads. But, I’m certain when the server took away our empty bowls, mine was the cleanest!
Second Course - Cheese Fondue
The second course was the hardest to choose. For one, there were too many options. And, two, it’s a shared pot so we all had to agree on which one to choose. Maybe “agree” isn’t exactly accurate. It was my birthday dinner so I chose and offered Tom and Arlene the opportunity to object! I was a bit disappointed that we couldn’t try three different pots to share because I would happily eat any of them… even the vegan one! (I have to admit that the vegetarian in me appreciates the offering of a vegan fondue, but the cheese-lover in me says… “Huh???” )
We went with the Brie Fondue and it was everything I imagined it would be! In fact, I was so busy shoving forkfuls into my mouth, I forgot to take a picture until the pot was half empty! We managed to finish the pot of cheese but still had plenty of bread and veggies left when the server cleared the table for the next course.
Third Course - Entree
I would have been perfectly satisfied after the second course because, to me, cheese is an entree. But, apparently, that’s not normal. Since another pot of cheese wasn’t an option for the third course, I went with the obvious choice, Vegetarian. Arlene, isn’t vegetarian but she also chose the Vegetarian entree. Maybe because it seemed lighter and less filling after our big pot of cheese! Tom quickly eliminated the vegetarian option but had a tough time choosing from the remaining three options. He finally landed on the Traditional entree.
Since our entrees required grilling and many vegetarians, myself included, prefer not to contaminate our food with meat particles and juices, the server offered to bring us two different grills. She had already oiled the grills. While they were heating up, she brought each of us two plates full of grilling food from our selected entrees. That’s a lot of food and we still had another course coming. We couldn’t possibly eat all that food and still have room for dessert. We had our priorities straight and, reluctantly, let the server take away our unfinished entrees.
Fourth Course - Dessert
The fourth and final course was, of course, dessert. Like the second course, we all had to agree on a single fondue. Unlike the second course, this fondue was chocolate instead of cheese. Again, I was a bit disappointed we couldn’t try 3 different options to share. There were many choices but I could eliminate a few because I’m not a fan of dark chocolate. It didn’t take me long to choose the Flaming Turtle. And, without objection from Tom and Arlene, we had a winner!
We were already full by the time the server brought and lit our Flaming Turtle fondue. But how could we resist it? We shared two plates full of tasty fruits and cakes to dip in the fondue. The fondue alone was so good I wanted to drink it straight just to keep from wasting it. It was obvious, at least to us, that we couldn’t finish our fourth course. But, that didn’t prevent the server from bringing over a Happy Birthday plate with cheesecake and a small bottle of champagne. Fortunately the cheesecake was a very small serving and, between the three of us, we finished it off in a show of appreciation. The unopened bottle of champagne is home in our refrigerator waiting for the next excuse to celebrate.
Too much of a good thing
Tom and I moaned and groaned most of the night and barely ate anything the next day. We all agreed the food was fabulous but way too much for three people. And, it’s not the kind of meal that makes good leftovers to take home. We thoroughly enjoyed the full, gluttonous experience. But, for future visits, we’ll likely choose from the A-La-Carte menu or just dine in the cellar!
Mona’s Cellar
Our server informed us that cheese and chocolate fondues are offered at a discount during happy hour in Mona’s Cellar. Well, it just so happens those were my favorite courses. Hey, I never claimed to be a healthy vegetarian!
I predict a happy hour visit to Mona’s Cellar in our near future!
Comments