toledoblade.com --

"Under Old Management" is how the Weeber family advertises its return to the Hathaway House in Blissfield, Mich., after 2 1/2 years away from the business.

It's a clever way of notifying customers that the Weebers are back in charge. They ran the 19th-century restaurant and adjoining tavern for more than 40 years before turning it over to a Chicago couple in 2004. The family has retaken control of both the restaurant and the Main Street Stable and Tavern, the adjacent carriage house converted to an informal eatery.

Earlier this month, the Weebers celebrated the first anniversary of their return with a week-long celebration featuring live music, wine tastings, a balloon-bobbing family night, discount prices, and a revival of the Hathaway House's popular Sunday buffet.

The pillared 1851 Greek Revival mansion, once a private residence, has been a Weeber enterprise since 1963. The family's return undoubtedly restores the gleam in the eyes of patrons from Blissfield, Toledo, and surrounding communities who cherished the place for its elegant dcor, antiques, good food, and genteel European service amid fresh flowers and candlelight.

Hathaway House and Main Street Stable

• Address: 424 West Adrian St. (U.S. 223), Blissfield, Mich.
• Phones: Hathaway House: 517-486-2141; from Toledo, toll-free 888-937-4284. Stable: 517-486-2144.
• Category: Hathaway House: dress up; Stable: dress down.
• Menu: Continental/American.
• Hours: Hathaway House: 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. Stable: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-
Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, but the brunch runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Wheelchair access: Yes.
• Smoking section: Hathaway House: No. Stable: Yes.
• Average price: Hathaway House: $$$; Stable: $$.
• Credit cards: AE, Dis, MC, V.

To be fair, Chicago chef Tim Coonan and his wife Patricia were adept at preparing adventurous gourmet food during their tenure, from roast quail with smoked bacon pancetta to crusty Chilean sea bass in a tomato and olive oil piperade sauce. Several employees say their impression is that tiny Blissfield may have seemed too small for the Coonans after the cosmopolitan bustle of the Windy City.

That brings us back - and forward - to the Weebers, who
have revived some old house favorites and classic dishes to the Hathaway House menu. Among them are steak Diane, roasted duckling with Traverse City cherry sauce, potato-crusted walleye, and a lavish fried chicken dinner, a 40-year tradition. Some entrees were as good as they sounded on our recent visits, while others turned out to be more tired than true.

Over at the Stable, meanwhile, the $14.95 fried lake perch dinner - 8 to 10 lightly breaded pieces of pure delight - ranks among the best I've had. The prime rib sandwich ($9.95) and the generously stacked Stable burger ($6.95) made their own good impressions, as did the hot rolls, thick onion soup au gratin ($4.50), and mushrooms stuffed with Italian sausage ($6.95).

Dinner at the Hathaway House started on a high note with a fabulous appetizer of crunchy Maryland crab cakes remoulade ($10), baked asiago ($7), and Carriage House romaine salad with dried cherries, walnuts, and blue cheese.

Also remarkable was roasted pork tenderloin ($22) in a delectable pool of red currant demi-glace. Two fish entrees disappointed, however. The bland potato-crusted walleye ($24) needed a jolt of herbs or sauce to give it some flavor, and the seared salmon ($22) on a bed of chutney, advertised as "crispy outside, moist inside" was simply mushy.

The vaunted Hathaway House fried chicken ($20), on the other hand, was good to a fault. By that I mean, several pieces of meat, mashed potatoes and gravy, bread dressing, biscuits, and carrot marmalade promised a hearty meal, but the presentation, with everything thrown onto a too-small plate, turned the food into a mishmash of mingled flavors. A bigger plate might have made all the difference.

The Hathaway House and Stable are about 20 miles from Toledo. Take Exit 5 off U.S. 23 and turn left onto U.S. 223, which becomes West Adrian Street. The restaurants are on the right.

Contact Bill of Fare at fare@theblade.com