By Alesia Mayfield, Eastside News

The Madison restaurant scene is diverse and is always looking for new places to add to the landscape. Fast food, casual dining and fine dining all vie for customers’ attention and appetites. Vegan restaurants are now getting noticed. Add to the list a new all-vegan restaurant on Madison’s near east side to the everevolving food scene.

Mad Rabbit Café, 805 Williamson St., opened Feb. 1 in the former La Kitchenette. Owner and California native Nate Anger called operating Mad Rabbit Café hard and fun, with long hours and “you get into this business to be hospitable.” Anger has been in the food industry his entire professional life.

Anger created the menu for Mad Rabbit Café. The comfort food with a vegan twist restaurant serves salads, flatbreads, french fries and plant-based sandwiches, wraps and burgers. Beer and wine are also available.

A popular item on the menu is the No Harm, No Fowl fried chik’n sandwich. Stalzy’s Deli on Atwood Avenue supplies the buns for the sandwiches. With the exception of the plant-based proteins, everything is prepared in-house. Anger and his staff of four add their own seasonings and breading to the proteins. Mad Rabbit’s brunch menu has pastries, crepes, a breakfast burger and a breakfast burrito.

While he was in Sacramento, Anger ran a food truck business, Rabbit Food Revolution, that also served vegan food. The food truck opened in March 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and he was cutting his teeth running a food business. He felt he had an advantage over traditional restaurants because a food truck is mobile, allowing Rabbit Food Revolution to survive the pandemic. Anger eventually sold the business and moved to Madison in 2022.

Keeping with the rabbit theme and obsessed with Oliver Stone and Quentin Tarantino movie imagery, Mad Rabbit Café was born. Anger describes the space as “trippy, psychedelically punk rock.”

Anger wasn’t a vegetarian until he met his wife. With two teenaged boys who are not on board with veganism anymore, Anger jokes that he’s 95% vegan. He continues to value the concept and lifestyle, and it’s a sustainable way to eat and run a business.

Mad Rabbit Café is not only great for vegans, but for people who are looking to expand their restaurant options. Within six months of opening, Anger was awarded Best Chef 2024, and Mad Rabbit received first place for best dessert with its strawberry rhubarb crepe by Vegan Outreach, a nonprofit working to end violence toward animals.

Mad Rabbit Café is open Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for brunch. The restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday. Mad Rabbit uses third-party delivery service from Door Dash and Grub Hub. Customers can also order pickup by calling 608-230-5350.

View the menu here and follow Mad Rabbit on Facebook.

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