[caption id="attachment_44916" align="aligncenter" width="607" caption="Yes, this will be a somewhat ominous dinner."][/caption]

Ever want to dine like a passenger on the Titanic? (And that was DINE, with an N). No? We're pretty sure Qdoba didn't exist then, so we never really wanted to either. But that hasn't stopped a rather clever Houston restaurant from tapping into the renewed interest in the Titanic with a special themed dinner menu. We weren't sure of any Texas/Titanic connection, so we looked it up: It turns out three passengers on the ship were actually on their way there... so there you go.

Anyway, the meal at Cullen's attempts to recreate the 10-course meal served to first-class passengers on the Titanic. The experience is for parties of 12 and is priced at $12,000 (it's all about the 1912/2012 thing, you see), with $1,000 going to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The evening starts at the museum's Titanic exhibit before heading over the restaurant by motor coach. We're picturing that car from a particularly infamous Titanic scene, but it's not totally clear how you get there, or if anyone walks away with nude etchings.

You will, however, be served a bottle of Armagnac brandy from 1900, the same kind that Titanic passengers would have enjoyed as part of their last meal (not creepy at all). Call us skeptical, but we would be hesitant to drink anything that's 112 years old and predates the invention of plastic, Tupperware or beer cozies.

[caption id="attachment_44913" align="alignleft" width="210" caption="The Titanic Belfast opened in March '12"][/caption]

The meal is served in Macy's Kitchen, a glass-walled circular room that's attached to the ceiling and appears to float above the restaurant. It's maybe asking for trouble to invoke the name of the Titanic while dining in a glass room that's hanging from the ceiling, but again, maybe that's just us.

We've got to say, it may be an odd choice for a meal, but props to the people at Cullen's for coming up with the idea (and the museum charity angle to boot). Even if no one books it – and you know someone will – it's great press. In the meantime, if you're looking for a truly impressive Titanic experience (and a press-worthy one at that), check out the new Titanic Belfast, a museum dedicated to the ship, at its birthplace. It's billed as "the world's largest Titanic visitor experience," and it sits in a building designed to look like the ship's bow, in the center of Belfast. And yes, the staircase is re-created, with space for dining, conferences and banquets. It's not dinner hanging from the ceiling, but it will have to do.