Rabbit to Launch Late Night Grill in Clarendon

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by ARLnow.com October 17, 2011 at 3:09 pm 4,314 35 Comments

Rabbit Salad and Grill (3035 Clarendon Blvd) will be bringing a couple of new options to Clarendon’s late night food scene this week.

The restaurant, a newcomer to the area, will be launching a late night outdoor grill dubbed the “Rabbit Hole.” From the restaurant’s patio, employees will be serving three “grilled to order” sandwiches: The Cuban (braised pork shoulder, deli ham, dill pickles, mozzarella and Dijon aioli), Classic Grilled Cheese (American and sharp cheddar cheese), and Nutella and Banana (sweet hazelnut spread and a hint of cocoa and slice bananas).

“All three standout sandwiches are served on fresh artisanal breads from a local bakery and offered at a discounted price: $8 for the Cuban and $6 for both the Nutella & Banana and Grilled Cheese sandwiches,” the restaurant said in a press release. “With recipes inspired by Consulting Chef Katsuya Fukushima, an Iron Chef winner, as well as one of celebrity Chef José Andrés most trusted collaborators, “Rabbit Hole” is sure to satisfy any late-night hunger pangs.”

The Rabbit Hole will be open from 11:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings, starting this coming Friday.

Among the Rabbit Hole’s late night food competitors will be Goody’s (pizza), Mario’s (pizza and subs), BGR: The Burger Joint (burgers and shakes), East West Grill (kabobs), Hard Times Cafe (chili, wings, burgers, etc.) and Silver Diner. Each of those Clarendon-area restaurants has a closing time between 2:00 and 4:00 a.m.

SomeGuy

Is there or is there not rabbit flesh on the menu?
- JamesE
  
  This area needs a restaurant that just serves exotic game meat, deer, rabbit, bear, moose, antelope.
  - SomeGuy
    
    Old Europe in Glover Park has a wild game menu for 3 months of the year, starting in November. I don’t recall the food being all that delicious the only time I was there, but you may want to give it a try.
    
    Game menu here:
    http://www.old-europe.com/events_game.html
    - JamesE
      
      I did not know that, and I have been there. I had the steak tartare, pretty pretty good.
    - Lou
      
      Try La Chaumiere in Georgetown as well. Rabbit, venison, tripe, brains. All that stuff.
      - CW
        
        Yum!
        
        Lyon Hall has bison and rabbit, though those are farmed and thus can hardly be considered game.
  - KalashniKEV
    
    Ray’s the Game!
  - Novanglus
    
    Mediterraneo on Lee Hwy — before it burned down and an Dunkin Donuts replaced it — always had Rabbit Pate for Easter brunch.
    
    I miss my bunny loaf!
alaaro

Who wants healthy food on artisanal bread late nite? how about a jumbo slice?
- JamesE
  
  I usually stumble into pizza roma at about 2 am and get 3-4 slices, I regret in the morning but damn is it good at the time.
- Clarendude
  
  Maybe it will find a niche. Personally, I like breakfast food late night. Silver Diner is open til 4AM and is adequate for that, although I live so close and make better omlets I’m just inclined to go home.
- North&South
  
  Healthy food? You can’t consider any of those three options healthy. They’re probably just as bad for you as jumbo slice.
Senor Wiink

Wiinkys may be the best late night food spot on the eastern seaboard
- V Dizzle
  
  Tried their (your?) burgers a couple of weeks back…damn good.
- Elizabeth
  
  Senor Wiink, I came to the comments to add “You forgot Wiinkys!” Alas, you beat me to it.
- LiveNexttoWiink
  
  I’m sure your burgers are good for late night munchies if you are walking by and drunk, but I wonder why you did no market research before opening yet another burger place in Arlington.
  I walk by several times a day, and rarely see anyone at Wiink, and probably for a good reason. From a marketing perspective, it’s obvious that there are already a lot of burger joints in Arlington and none of them are ever full. Plus, they all had a lot more capital to put into their businesses, making them super nice and trendy restaurants (that also serve alcohol). Why try competing with this, when there are other options that are more aligned with local residents?
  
  For example, something healthy like SweetGreen and Chop’t that both have big lines all the time – for both lunch and dinner. Plus, the market isn’t saturated with these types of restaurants. Not too mention, Arlington is a super health conscious city where people don’t tend to eat burgers on a regular basis. Personally, i would have used that to my advantage and started some sort of place that offered healthy alternatives. You would have had a guaranteed customer base with Gold’s next door (which is full of people who rarely eat burgers). It’s sad that yet another restaurant will fail in a such an ideal location because an entrepreneur didn’t think through their business plan and focus on the most obvious customers – people who live in the neighborhood.
  
  Seriously, how many people in VA Square and Ballston eat burgers more than once a month? And, when we do, why would we go to a hole in the wall when we can go to BGRG:Shack, BRG, Five Guys, or Ray’s (mmm…I love Ray’s).
  
  I’m sure you are struggling, so maybe rebrand by getting rid of the hot dogs and trying something that local residents eat on a regular basis.
  - Evil
    
    Well maybe you should do more than just “walk by” Wiinky’s before you claim that no one goes there.
    I’ve been there several times – but always get my food to go since I live across the street. And in the time it takes them to make my burger – I see several other people come in for their take out orders and hear the phone ring numerous times for the same.
    Many people don’t eat there, true, but many people are eating the food.
    And in my opinion, Wiinky’s burgers are way better than BRG & Five Guys! Probably a bit healthy too than the latter.
Chris

I for one will be starting a new movement call…. awe to hell with it.
- John Fontain
  
  I’ll bring the funnel cake!
UnlimitedCustoms

When is Brooklyn Pizza opening?
- CW
  
  It’s just a figment of your imagination. Carry on.
- Mark P.
  
  I think you mean Bronx Pizza…and yeah judging from the looks of the interior, no time soon….
- pghbigdog
  
  I looked at the electrical permit taped to the window last week. It expired 6 months after issue…. back in May. I think they’re storing running shoes in there, actually.
RJ

Uh, does late October strike anyone as a little late in the season to be launching a late night dining menu served from the restaurant’s patio???
- JamesE
  
  not really, I enjoy seeing people dressed up like it is -50 outside when it is actually 65 and perfect.
JEB

. . . love Rabbit – so glad they hopped to Clarendon . . .
Not a fan

I wanted to like Rabbit, I really did. But both visits were highly unsatisfactory. The first time I had the steak salad – although the flavors were nice, the lack of lettuce made it a more of a snack than a meal. Which is so puzzling – it’s not like lettuce is that expensive an ingredient.

For the second visit I ordered the Cuban sandwich, which was easily the worst thing I’ve eaten in recent memory. The “braised pork loin” was so shredded and mushy that it seemed pre-masticated, and the “Dijon aoili” was glopped on so liberally that the entire sandwich was swimming. All in all, a big, sloppy greasy mess. I love a good Cuban sandwich, but felt ill afterward eating this one and am not inclined to return to this restaurant, no matter how late it stays open.
- Can I Ball
  
  “I ordered the Cuban sandwich”
  
  You shouldn’t be eating people anyway.
  Now the county board is going to have to get involved…….
- loved it
  
  My husband and I went there today for lunch and he had the steak salad. It was actually a large portion. Not as large as a salad at the Cheesecake factory… but just as much as you’d get in any restaurant up/down the street. Maybe you should try the salad again… perhaps they were being skimpy on the lettuce your first time around?
- R.Griffon
  
  +1
  
  I wanted to like it as well, and have gone several times, but both of the salads I got were underwhelming flavor-wise, and I left hungry even after finishing it off. Plus it was pretty pricey. Their grilled cheese sandwich was actually very good, but was also pretty pricy for some cheese and a couple slices of bread.
John Fontain

I think Rabbit will end up on the list of endangered species before too long.
Chris

I’ve been enjoying that spot since it opened. I’ll have to keep this in mind if I am ever out watching the drunks at that hour.
GreaterClarendon

It’s good to know where people will be heading late night for drunk food. Now, all I have to do is start up a Crepe food truck at that intersection and steal most of their customers. Maybe Larry’s Ice Cream (I like the owner) should open up a late night crepe outlet – could save that business during the winter – I know I’d be there more often. Likewise, with a previous poster, I was disappointed by the steak salad at the Rabbit place, my favorite salads are now at Zoe’s in Ballston.
ArlForester

Anything that will expedite the demise of Mario’s is fine with me.
Just Another Twenty-Something

This sounds exactly like something I don’t want to be eating that late at night. After a night of drinking a nutella and banana will not be the first thing I reach for. Know your clientele – the greasier the better.

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