Diet Foodie Friday: Mad Hatter Cafe
SALISBURY, Md. – It’s time again for Foodie Friday and today is our special menus edition and we’re heading to Mad Hatter Cafe in Salisbury to try out a Delicious Diet!
Go away Gluten
Mad Hatter Cafe owner and Chef T.J. Ownby, run this place with sister. “So, we always had the gluten free and vegetarian options just because we noticed that it was like becoming more of a, not just a trend, but people were actually needing it., and actually me and my sister, my business partner, we’re both gluten free.”
He says they both understand this far too well. “So, if somebody has an allergy, say like celiac, everything is either cooked in its own pan, oil is poured directly from the container into its own pot to cook the fries. Everything will be baked in the oven, like there’s no cross contamination from the flat whatsoever. ”
They say they are making sure people on Delmarva who happen to be on a diet, “It kind of like touches home because of what it does to your body and how harmful it can be to you, so we try to take it really serious when we keep thing separate for our guest.”
Truffle Fries
Be it Mac & Cheese, or their “Smashbrowns”, TJ says there’s always a bit of elevation and imagination here at Mad Hatter Cafe! And when you ask for a side of fries, he says he bet you didn’t have truffles in mind.
“The best-selling appetizer, which would be the Truffle Fries. You can’t go wrong with French fries, and I feel like truffle oil just excites every dish that it’s put on.”
And though it’s listed as a sharable, trust me, I could’ve smashed this all on my own. “With the balsamic and the cheese, with the truffle oil, this like an upscale fancy fry dish. Like if that’s what you want to do, come a be a little fancy, come and try this.”
Veggie Skillet
This next dish avoids most allergies while maintaining loads of flavor. “We came up with the veggie skillet because we had people that were taking things out of our other skillets. So, we’re like, ‘we’ll just make a skillet with all the vegetables that we already use, and it sells really well for us.”
Potatoes, peppers, spinach, onions, turmeric tofu, and their 18-spiced seasoning all sizzling in a mini cast iron smells divine. “You know you would think that this would be heavy with all of the veggies, but it’s really light, and that scrambled tofu really does give like an egg flavor.”
From vegetable soups to veggie sausage and gluten free buns, TJ has found many ways to accommodate and even created a separate menu tab for those so they can take extra precautions when preparing your food.
Deep- Fried Brussel Sprouts
Now while salads may be mainstream, this one, is far from ordinary. “It’s not like your traditional salad, it’s kind of like deep fried brussels, then we put all the toppings and stuff on it so it’s almost like a garden salad, except for the Brussels sprouts, and you can’t go wrong with the flavor of brussels.”
And let me tell you, it definitely didn’t disappoint. “I would have never thought to mix Thai chili with brussels and feta but this combination is delicious… You know mama always said you had to eat your brussels. And mama wasn’t lying… Now this, is a Delicious Diet.”
Sensitive not Sparse
At Mad Hatter Cafe, a sensitive diet, doesn’t’ mean a sparse dish. They are located at 501 West Main Street in Salisbury, MD, and open every day 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Click here for their menu.
If you dine in, be sure to tell them, you saw them on Foodie Friday’s Delicious Diets edition. If you have suggestions for Tierra, send them to us here!
