Tucked away on Clarendon Boulevard in Arlington is a small eatery that promises what it delivers: slow food fast. That is, the kitchen serves up dishes — sandwiches, salads and entrees — that are kicked up several notches beyond the typical fast-food offerings. Its name: Rabbit Salad and Grill. And behind the line is the young chef/manager Malachi Broadnax. A native Californian who grew up in Marion, Ind., Broadnax gives full credit to his mother, who took him at the age of 7 and said quite firmly, “You will learn how to cook,” he recalls. Great words of advice from a woman who had a catering service and then some restaurants. “She made really traditional American cuisine,” he says. “Her foods were traditional style, and included chicken, steak and pasta.”
The first food his mother taught him to prepare was fried potatoes, and he remembers her instructions to be sure the oil was very hot and to be very careful around the kitchen. “I learned [all this] very early,” he said.
