Sunday Gazette-Mail
July 17, 2005
Richard and Beverly Stevens like to go out to dinner and relax after a long day at work. They just don't get there in quite the same manner as most people.
Instead of hopping into a car, the Stevenses climb aboard their 30-foot boat, the Beverly Lynn, and enjoy a leisurely ride down the river from their dock in Kanawha City to their favorite boat-friendly restaurant, Tomahawks in St. Albans.
"We probably come here once a week in the summer," Richard Stevens said. "We cruise down here, have a beer and dinner, and then cruise back. It's really pretty with the sun going down."
Whether boaters plan to dine out on the river, or just find themselves hungry and without provisions, several restaurants with docks cater to boaters on the Kanawha River.
Built next to the Indian Motorcycles showroom on MacCorkle Avenue, biker-themed Tomahawks recently constructed a 120-foot dock and tiki bar. Tomahawks became an instant hit with boaters.
"I have to ask our customers if they came by land or by sea," said manager Mike Hackl. "We have a huge boating crowd. The word is really out."
When Indian Motorcycles went out of business, Tomahawks' owners knocked out a wall between the bar and showroom to expand the bar. They added a patio, and then a deck, and still the crowds overflow as the weekend evenings wear on.
Workers load nearly 90 pounds of pork into the smoker on weekend days, cooking Tomahawks' signature pulled pork for sandwiches and salads. Quesadillas, cheeseburgers and Cajun-influenced cuisine such as jambalaya and corn chowder have a strong following, but the barbecue is king.
"The ribs and barbecue are the best around," said Mike Harless, who rides in regularly on his Harley. He meets his friend Mark Edmonds, who docks his boat several times a week to have a beer and dinner at Tomahawks.
Boaters and bikers rub shoulders, as do the young and old in Tomahawks' casual atmosphere. Shoes and shirts are required in the restaurant and on the patio, but boaters may come as they are to the flag-festooned deck and tiki bar.
During the day, families and groups of friends don't have too much trouble finding a spot on the dock. Boat traffic picks up in the evenings when they are tied up four and five deep.
"The atmosphere here is wonderful. I feel like everybody's family," said Kim Gilbert, who docked with several friends and enjoyed lunch on the deck. "What I like about this place is that everybody's low-key. It's all about docking and having a good time."
When a first-time customer told owner Linda Coulter that Huck Finn's was the "most Jimmy Buffett-style place he'd been outside of the Florida Keys," she knew she had a good description of her restaurant.
The open-air restaurant and bar overflows with sturdy white plastic tables and chairs that withstand the elements of both weather and humans in wet bathing suits. Families and friends fill the place during weekend days, while a more adult crowd shows up in the evenings.
The adjoining dock, also owned by Coulter and her husband, Frank, is for boaters who rent space. Visitors tie up boats on a smaller dock on the restaurant's riverside. Patrons arriving by land park above the restaurant on West Washington Street.
Coulter welcomes all boat passengers, including family pets.
"We are really laid-back. We welcome dogs who come on people's boats, as long as they are on a chain, well-behaved and not begging from other customers," Coulter said. "They get their own specific bowl of water, and I keep dog treats for them."
Huck Finn's opened in 1996 with a Cajun-themed menu inspired by a cookbook that Coulter had been reading. Although she was born and raised in Fayette County, her jambalaya, gumbo and Frogmore Stew recipes have true Southern roots.
In keeping with its riverfront location, Huck Finn's specializes in seafood prepared in Lowcountry style. Customers rave about the fried cauliflower she serves with homemade horseradish.
"Growing up, we called fried cauliflower 'poor man's shrimp.' My dad told me and his mother told him that it tastes like shrimp," she said. "It does have a texture reminiscent of shrimp."
Closing times at Huck Finn's fluctuate according to customer demand, but Coulter always opens at 3 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and at noon Thursday through Sunday. Coulter operates the restaurant only during the summer season, which starts sometime in May and usually ends in September.
"When the water is high and the creek is rising, we don't open," she said about her weather-dependent business.
The Anchor offers riverside dining, a twist on curbside dining. Cell phone-toting boaters phone in orders and Anchor servers walk down stairs to the river to deliver them, said Bill Arthur, Anchor owner.
"It's just a little something we offer above and beyond our normal service," Arthur said. "We just serve food, not beer or alcohol [to boaters]."
The Riverside Anchor, on the far east end of Charleston, is on the northern bank of the Kanawha River.
Arthur makes his own pizza, calzone and bread dough for his trademark Tomato Pie and Squeak sandwiches. Tomato Pies are made on olive oil-glazed dough hand tossed by Arthur. He adds diced tomatoes, spices and cheese, and any desired toppings. He also makes traditional pizza.
Squeaks are named for a former kitchen employee who suggested they make sandwiches on their homemade bread dough instead of the usual buns. Ham, turkey, Philly steak, burgers and chicken breast are favorite fillings, and are largely available as regular sandwiches also.
Each Tuesday, Arthur serves St. Louis-style ribs, which he calls "West Virginia's Second-Best Ribs."
"I came up with that when another place in town advertises that they have West Virginia's best ribs," Arthur said. "I just thought, well, I'll let him have it. I'll be second-best. When people taste mine, they say [other ribs] can't be better than this."
The Anchor also offers salads, barbecue shrimp, wings, stuffed portobello mushrooms and deep-fried pickles. To phone in an order, call 925-9902 and allow 15-20 minutes.
To contact staff writer Julie Robinson, use e-mail or call 348-1230.