Fondue fuel

Melt away your autumn angst at La Fonderie

by SARAH MUSGRAVE

After this year's non-summer, there's at least one good thing about the fact that it's officially fall this week: now is the season for fondue. So cheer up, take a walk through Parc Lafontaine, then head to nearby La Fonderie for a cozy evening in front of the fire--or at least the flame.

The menu is divided into different combinations of fondues and cooking ingredients, the most eye-catching being the multi-course "festin de fondue." For about $25, this feast-sized special gets you into the melting pot from appetizer through dessert. It's too much food for one person, so we opted to share parts of the festin and order a second main course only.

We started with a classic cheese fondue. According to my dog-eared copy of Fondue and Tabletop Cooking (published in 1970, the cuisine's heyday), this mouth-watering cheese-wine mixture was concocted by the Swiss as a way to use hardened cheese and bread in the winter. The book goes on to describe fondue-eating as practically an Olympic event: "With a figure-8 motion, he swirls then withdraws the cheese-coated bread to eat. Thus, as the diners continue to dip, the fondue is kept in constant motion." It also notes the swinging tradition that if you drop a piece in the pot, you must kiss someone at the table.

It was followed by a decent Caesar salad, with a tangy dressing that was appropriately not too creamy after the pot of cheese we'd just consumed. A basket of herbed garlic bread, warm and crunchy, was also placed on the table.

If you choose a Chinese fondue for the main course, you'll be presented with a pot of tasty bouillon bubbling with slices of shallots. I ordered three ingredients to cook up in my cauldron: paper-thin slices of beef, chunks of chicken and six fresh, generous-sized shrimp.

The bourguignonne fondue is basically the same set-up, in a taller metal pot that uses peanut oil instead of broth. My companion opted for the chicken and beef combination ($18.95), which comes in larger chunks that allow for more control over cooking. It's very satisfying to hear the oil sizzling loudly as you dunk the meat in, but for flavour I would recommend the Chinese fondue.

The cooked meat can then be dipped into several sauces, roughly: honey mustard, seafood cocktail, curry, garlic mayonnaise, green peppercorn and bland paprika. Overall, I found these concoctions too mild and ready-made to be exciting. What I did appreciate was the divided plate they were served on, with six compartments for the sauces and one for salty home fries--after all, part of the fondue experience is the kitschy accessories like colour-coded forks and bright pots. That said, La Fonderie's middle-of-the-road ski chalet decor, although cozy and intimate, isn't quite up to that same '70s Euro esthetic.

We finished by sharing a chocolate fondue for dessert, again supposedly a one-person serving. It arrived in a small ceramic pot heated by a candle, along with a variety of fruit, including banana, strawberry and pineapple. The Swiss are known for their chocolate as much as their cheese, so it's no surprise that the first and last parts of the meal were the most delicious.

Although the matronly servers were professional, fondue is really a DIY kind of meal. You are your own waiter, hovering over the food, wondering when it will be ready. The secret is to get your two forks alternating in the fondue pots, so that you never have a moment to look outside at the encroaching cold while waiting for the next mouthful.

La Fonderie

Address: 964 Rachel E.

Phone: 524-2100

Hours: Sun-Thurs 5-11pm, Fri & Sat till midnight

Best features: cheesiness, coziness, DIY dining

Alcohol: yes

Vegetarian friendly: yes (cheese)

Credit cards: yes

Wheelchair access: yes

Price: $20-25 per person, without tax, drinks or tip

Rating: HHH out of HHHH