Rated: ♣♣♣
Friday night, I moseyed on down to the Fondue Cowboy for a spaghetti western and… melted cheese? Whoever came up with the combination of fondue and cowboys is obviously crazy, but they know how to serve up a mean cheese.
Though you may consider this restaurant a gimmick, you’d be surprised at how trendy the restaurant is. If you could ignore the western flick playing behind the bar and the giant painting of Clint Eastwood’s face on the wall, this could be your typical after work happy hour spot. I actually don’t think they went far enough with the whole cowboy theme. I picked this place off of Open Table because of its name. So, I was expecting to be served a piping hot pot of cheese by a waiter in leather chaps and a Bolo tie. Instead, I got a male hipster in tight jeans.
Between 3 people, we shared one fondue with an added meat plate. I can’t remember the name of the fondue we ordered, but I believe it had gruyere, mushrooms, white wine and roasted garlic. We were slightly concerned about our diets, so we made sure we ordered the fondue with mushrooms in it. The cheese was so thick and rich, I’m glad we only ordered one. The accoutrements were plentiful - cubed pieces of bread, some crispy garlic bread, broccoli, roasted potatoes, mini pickles, olives, grapes and apples. The cured meat plate that we ordered in addition consisted of prosciutto, salami, sweet melon and other cured meats. All this food was dunked in the creamy gruyere and devoured.
I was thoroughly satisfied with the fondue at this place. After scraping the pot clean of any leftover droplets of cheese, we were way too full for chocolate fondue for dessert. That’s one thing I realized… when I go out for fondue, it’ll either be savory or sweet. There’s no freaking way I could eat both in one meal. My heart might kill me for it. All-in-all, the restaurant is fun and casual and I wouldn’t mind coming back for more.
Fondue Cowboy
1052 Folsom St
(between Russ St & Sherman St)
San Francisco, CA 94103
Neighborhood: SOMA
Looks like an interesting place to eat out. I’m a fondue fanatic and a regular at the Melting Pot restaurants. I will definitely give this place a try!