Dara on the Rabbit Hole: 'Shockingly Conservative'

This week in Week in Reviews, Mpls.St.Paul Magazine's Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl heads to The Rabbit Hole, the relatively newly-opened spot from The Left Handed Cook's Thomas Kim and Kat Melgaard. The upshot? "Nothing has surprised me about The Rabbit Hole as much as its essential conservatism," Moskowitz Grumdahl writes.

From the price point (low) to the business model (folding The Left Handed Cook into The Rabbit Hole) to the food itself, which, while "often extraordinarily good" (also "devastatingly good" and "so good they're almost frightening") is "the most shockingly conservative" of all. From short ribs to french fries to burgers to charred green beans, the dishes are "expertly done and safe as houses." She writes:

There were times at Rabbit Hole when I wanted to shout: 'Chef, throw off your self-imposed shackles!' The food at The Left Handed Cook is actually often easier to love, with its tossed-off quality of I've-got-talent-to-burn-so-I-think-I-will.

Turns out, Moskowitz Grumdahl even contacted Kim for the story, asking him about what she terms "the surprisingly conservative bent of Rabbit Hole." He tells her that the restaurant is in a "trust-building" phase with customers right now, and then things may get a whole lot more adventurous. How adventurous? Think beondegi, a Korean snack of silkworm larvae. Paired with whiskey, of course.
· Restaurant Reviews: The Rabbit Hole [Mpls.St.Paul Magazine]
· All Coverage of the Rabbit Hole [Eater MPLS]
· All Week in Reviews [Eater MPLS]