Down the Hatch

The restaurant where we had dinner Saturday night is called "Dante's Down the Hatch". About 16 years ago, I went to a Dante's in another part of Atlanta and had a wonderful experience, so I suggested it to Don. He looked it up on line and found this one in Buckhead. The entrance was behind a lovely mansion (at first we thought the house was the restaurant, but then noticed a sign that said Dante's was around the back). There was a boardwalk leading around a curvy path, past an old wooden building with wooden barrels out front, past a crocodile grave, and into a dark, wooden room. The restaurant is an 1880's ship anchored in a port. The wharf is teeming with businesses and most had open-air dining and wax period people hanging out the windows and standing on balconies. The entire wharf-area was part of the restaurant. We walked on the wooden wharf through the little village with live crocodiles and turtles swimming in the moat beneath us. At first, we thought they were fake, finding it just too shocking that they would have live crocodiles in the restaurant. Then Don noticed several warming lights over what appeared to be nesting areas with ramps going down to the water and we looked closer, only to have one of the smaller crocs wink at me. A waiter later explained that they're Dante's pets and they have a handler that comes in every morning to feed them fresh meat.

As we walked past the bow of the massive ship around the wharf, I was struck by how authentic the surroundings were. We were seated on the ship which had 3 or 4 stories, cut out in the center, with a grand piano in the middle on the bottom floor. A classical pianist played until 7:00, when the Jazz Combo took over. The music was excellent and the entire restaurant was lit by candles on the tables, track lighting on the wharf and steps, and lighthouses blinking to other ships still out at sea. The ship was complete with rails, sails, tack, men hanging from ropes, a ship's wheel, and other paraphenalia. The tables were small and cozy and each one had its own personality.

The restaurant serves fondue. We began with an appetizer portion of cheese fondue into which we dipped french and honey nut bread and apples. Next our meat and vegetable trays were delivered. Two pots had been placed on our table when our appetizer arrived - one with denatured alcohol for the cheese fondue, another of the same to heat up our cooking oil in the second pot. We ordered chicken and an Oriental mix of battered jumbo shrimp, garlic pork, marinaded beef and ginger chicken. Each order came with mushrooms and squash and 4 types of dipping sauce. Although cooking was a slow process, each person had been given 2 fondue forks and we had as many cooking at a time as we could fit in the pot. Deanna leaned back, tipped her head onto the back on the seat, closed her eyes and enjoyed the music. The boys stayed occupied between bites looking at all the cool stuff in the restaurant.

Before we knew it, two hours had passed and we were having a wonderful time. The only thing that could have made it better would have been a dance floor, although I'm not sure I could have talked Don into dancing. At one point, we went looking for the bathrooms, which were down a flight of stairs off the wharf. At the bottom was an elderly black man in a bow tie and short white jacket (the bathroom attendant). The area in front of the bathrooms was a replica of a 1920's 2-seater barber shop, complete with the pole, tools, and mirrors. There also was an old manual elevator which was turned into a phone booth and contained an old wooden phone. The whole thing was enchanting. Inside the Ladies' Room, there was a wall of glass that was dark. While we were washing our hands, a light came on behind the glass and a wax body began talking to us. It was quite interesting.

On the wall where our quaint little tables was located was an authentic advertisement for an Auction that was held in the 1880's in a small harbor town in England. A ship had been run aground by pirates who tampered with the lighthouse. The ship parts were being auctioned off, one by one. The boys thought this was amazing - pirates!!

Just as we were finishing up dinner, the owner, Dante, visited our table. It seems he makes the rounds each evening. We had a nice chat with a very southern gentleman, then paid the crocs another visit before stumbling out into the daylight for our walk back to the train station.

The train ride alone would have made the evening memorable, but the restaurant is something the older two will never forget. It was a wonderful night and the children were profusely thankful. Over and over again they thanked their father for doing the research, finding the restaurant, and planning this great family adventure.

When Don and I were first married, I was always the one planning adventures. It seems the shoe has shifted now and Daddy is just as interested in making our children's lives memorable and fun. Saturday proved it once again. I'm sure there'll be many more adventures in our lives like Saturday, but this is definately one for the old diary.