The Bunny Hutch

[January 16th, 2008]

Finally, a place on Hawthorne that doesn’t serve hummus. Even though Gold Dust Meridian (3267 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 867-6197) had only been open a few hours (ever) upon a recent visit, it looked like it had been there for eons. Home to loads of lumber, hanging lamps, a pool table and “Velvet,” a semi-nude painting of a business-suited missy that hangs over the bar, GDM resembles a private room you’d see buried deep inside the Playboy mansion—or at the far end of a golf course. It’s old-school butch with a CPA-on-a-bender edge; coincidentally (or perhaps not), the space was previously an honest-to-God accounting firm. Although the name sounds like the title of a Neil Young bootleg—in actuality it was the result of its owners (one of whom used to own the Night Light Lounge) throwing around over 1,000 word combinations until they came up with one they liked—its inexpensive menu of rustic grilled cheese sammies ($5), deviled eggs ($3.50) and “fish ’n’ chips” (puff pastry-wrapped halibut with roasted potatoes, $10) is anything but hippie-dippy. It even has “scorpion bowls,” those 60-ounce killer cocktails served in giant orbs. All that’s missing is some fake boobs. Men, welcome to your new boys’ club.