It's no secret that one of my life's passions is food. Not only do I love to eat, I love to cook. And whenever I am on vacation, I make it a point to sample either the local cuisine, or something I have never tried before. Last night, I tried something that I have never tried before - and something I consider to be the oddest food I have ever tried - fondue.

It was decided that we would have dinner at the Colorado Fondue Company. So we headed down Interstate 4 to Casselberry to try this unique cuisine. The restaurant itself was very nice, decorated with wooden booths lined with white lights and very pretty wall sconces. The waiter James, who for some reason I kept referring to as "Sam", was also very nice. He was attentive to our needs and did not mind explaining how to "fondue" to me as many times as I needed it - which was a lot. The food, of course, was another story...

As soon as I looked at the menu, I was already lost. While I love food, I do not understand food that is, what I like to call, "Nouveau Riche Creepy". In other words, when I order a salad, I do not want "wasabi pea croutons" in it. So if the salad creeped me out, you can only imagine how I reacted to the rest of the menu.

Summer and I ordered the "Fondue For Two", which consisted of the aforementioned creepy salad, followed by a Blue Mountain Island Cheddar Cheese fondue appetizer. I like cheese, and enjoy it on my nachos, my ham sandwich, and occasionally, on my French fries. I do not, however, like to dip apples, grapes, carrots, and "Andouille" sausage in cheese. So after a few unsuccessful attempts at "fonduing" - I gave up and just ate the stuff plain.

Our main course was an array of uncooked meats, chicken and fish that we had to cook ourselves on a "hot rock" that was approximately 700 degrees, along with potatoes, pasta and vegetables that were simmering in a chicken based bullion that sat on the table. I cooked one shrimp and ate it, tried two pieces of the Filet Mignon, had two red potatoes, and left the rest of the meal to Summer. Besides the fact that I was already creeped out at that point, I did not find the fun or the flavor in small pieces of cooked food. And when it came time for dessert, I had already thrown in the towel.

Even though I did not like the food, at all, I did enjoy the camaraderie of the evening and the enjoyment of making everyone laugh at my fondue ignorance. But the next time we all go out to eat for a Mini-Con dinner - I'll take a cheeseburger.