I get it, Mad Batter, you want to "be Asheville" in Cullowhee. Sadly, your extremely niche marketing style has made your potentially great restaurant into an overpriced and not-very-eclectic place in a location that demands more.
Your breakfast menu is your best quality because it fulfills its purpose to serve fresh(ish) pastries at a reasonable price. Your coffee leaves a lot to be desired because it is not consistent. One day it's perfect, the next too weak, the next burnt like Starbucks.
Lunch and dinner is where you fall short. Your menu is filled with pretentious versions of traditional meals and sandwiches. Also, you expect your customers to pay $10 for a sandwich that is really nothing special besides the wording on the menu and the word "organic" thrown in.
Finally, Mad Batter, understand that you serve a college campus. You serve kids and young adults that can get 3x the amount of food for the same price of one of your meals. Obviously you stay in business because you serve so many faculty of WCU, but just know that you alienate the rest of the campus population.
For Cullowhee, middle of absolutely east bumble nowhere, this place was pretty good. Stick with the salads - they grow many of their veggies in their own gardens. My big issue was that the service (counter service) was ho-hum and, one visit, totally clueless about everything on the menu.
Mad Batter advertises local food and gluten-free menu items. I was psyched. Visiting with my GF daughter for the week, we were excited to move in and eat here repeatedly. However, our first visit, I asked about a menu item - Salad Sampler, I think - labeled V, GF. Â It listed Spanikopita as one of the sampler items - I asked the server if they would remove that item - she said, no, it's gluten-free. Guess what? It's totally not gluten-free. She also served the salad sampler with bread - I knew that couldn't be GF but she assured me it was. I gave it to my son - thankfully.
I came back a couple of days later, new server. She told me the Spanikopita and the bread were obviously not GF - she actually looked at me like I was crazy for asking. I told her my daughter was GF but would like to test the tomato soup - she said, "No problem!" but then served her a small taste of soup with a crouton in it. Gah! Seriously, people, if you are going to advertise GF, you need to know how not to poison your customers. This is important.
I will give them three stars for the focus on local, natural foods and bread baked on the premises. Happy to see that WCU students and faculty have access to this fun little place because there is nothing else for miles - other than a clearly labeled GF dining hall - so there isn't much competition. Hope they get their servers better trained! If I wasn't GF, I would definitely rate this higher.
The Mad Batter probably gets a larger portion of my paycheck than any establishment this side of the US Government. Â The food here is fresh and tasty and this place is the heart and soul of Cullowhee, USA.
The coffee's great (and only $1 if you bring your cup), and the pastries and muffins are a great treat for breakfast. Â For lunch, you might be drawn to the board of regular items, but I strongly recommend ordering the special (which rotates daily). Â Sometimes I'm not sure about the special based on the description, but the Mad Batter always has a way of expanding my palate and putting things together in a way that is unusual, but always tasty. Â
Mad Batter evenings are fun and you can brown bag (no corkage fee) beer and wine, but you'll have to purchase it in Sylva (Cullowhee is dry).
The Mad Batter really is a community establishment in the best sense of the word so sit down and chat with the regulars. Â We're fortunate to have the Mad Batter in Cullowhee and if you're here, you should visit. Â After all, where else are you going to eat?
Food is very good, but the atmosphere is lacking. Â Would help to keep me coming back if the place felt clean. Â I love a lot of there food, but as a poor college student it is out of my price range, except on special occasions when (occasionally) want to change things up from Rolling Stone or the on campus offerings (which are surprisingly good). Â I understand the feel they're going for (hippie-esque mismatched furniture coffee/food house), but it doesn't pull me in.
TLDR; Food good, atmosphere lacking. Â Good coffee too.
The Mad Batter is conveniently located on my college campus, so I've waltzed in on several occasions.
Overall the food is just okay. The ingredients are all fresh and organic, but the taste isn't as awesome as you'd expect. The atmosphere is better than the food- definitely a cozy place to grab some tea on a cold & rainy day.
A few reccomendations....the rice & veggie dinner wrap is worth trying as well as most of daily soups they offer. The mediterranean sample plate is decent- I've had better. The bean and breakfast pockets are great to grab on the go....the portobello burger is not worth the price, I couldn't even finish mine because it was covered in some mayonnaise sauce- totally lacked in flavor. I've tried some of the baked goods. Not good at all. This place gets an awesome reputation simply because of the organic/vegan menu. People are so stupid sometimes....organic doesn't automatically mean delicious.
It's overpriced as well.
This place is special and strangely addictive. Â It has fantastic coffees, many locally roasted in wnc. Â Tip: if you bring your own cup you get it filled for only a buck! Â Bring a big cup...they wont look at you cross-eyed.
It has a small selection of incredible baked goods. Â Try the cheese biscuits...or cookies. Â
But the true secret of this place is the food. Â Healthy, some organic, local ingredients. Â Selection of salads and vegetarian sandwhiches. It's funny because I find the menu hard to choose from, like there's nothing I want, then you choose and it tastes fantastic. Â Wholesome, hearty food...baked...not fried sweet potato fries, incredible tangy dipping sauce. Â Portobello goat cheese sandwhich on a fresh made bagel roll. Â Look for specials. Even if they seem ... Eh... Do it. Â Another great choice is the black bean burger...it is fantastic.
The decor is coffeehouse, laid back, Â decidedly not fancy. Â Order at the counter...lunch is crowded with truly addicted professors and students. Â I honestly can't stop coming back... No matter how blah I feel when I look at the menu im always happy.
Last... To the owner. Â The squash blossoms over grits special is one of the most memorable dishes I've had anywhere this summer. Â Get that on the menu in summer when in season!!!! Pleeeeaaaaaaasssssseeeeee!
Fantastic organic food, all freshly made. Their menu is small and seems to be a daily kind of thing; I had a Mediterranean wrap (which was big enough for two, really) and a chocolate croissant that was simply heavenly. AND it's one of the few places in the area where you can get a pellegrino if that's your taste.
Atmosphere: seat yourself with or without your laptop and settle in to chill out, chit-chat or get some work done. lots of nooks and crannies to tuck away in and plenty of natural light to help you forget  you've been working on that same project for hours.
In the six years since it has opened The Mad Batter has grown into the place to be on the WCU campus.
Jeannette's bread and pastries are all made from scratch and are completely delicious.
I now live 900 miles away, but I still think about the challah, berry streusel muffins, and mad batter mad cookies.
If you are ever in Cullowhee, NC you will find that there isn't much to do. The Mad Batter is a good place to go hang out and have some coffee and a pastry.
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