Mad Michaels Southern Smoked BBQ and Bakery

On the banks of the Wye River, sits a large building from 1830, which began as the General Store and Post Office. In 2002, Michael and his wife Kay, purchased the now locally known Yellow House and married his passions of building rustic furniture and twig creations with his love of creating food. Thus was born Mad Michael's TreeArt Restaurant and Bakery. From the beginning, everything possible was made on the premises, from the breads and soups to the ketchup and mustard. In 2005, Michael opened his Treehouse kitchen and started to get very serious about creating proper barbeque. Located in a grove of green trees separate from the main building, the Treehouse contains and 8 shelf smoker, a deep wood fire pit and an Adobe oven. All meals are finished in the Treehouse and served by the kitchen staff themselves. There are many sayings at Mad Michaels. One is "Doing all the wrong things for the right reasons". Instead of reaching for a jug of mayonnaise, the staff make their own and several kinds. Instead of wood pellets for the smoker, they chop the wood from several cords of Red Oak delivered throughout the season. Produce has been sourced locally before it became fashionable to do so by the public. Many times Michael goes into the farmerís fields to harvest Asparagus, Rhubarb and Pumpkins etc. Seasonal means Seasonal. When Asparagus is finished, it is off the menu for the year. Meats are either organic (like Belanger's Whole Lamb) or drug and hormone free. Vegetarians are pleased by the wide choice of dishes that are not offered elsewhere. From the Seasonal Soup of the Day to the Caribbean Fried Pumpkin, there are 8 - 10 options to explore. In addition to the restaurant, the bakery does a brisk business with a large variety of pies, cakes and pastries made from scratch on the premises. Butter Tarts and Coconut Cream pies are the big winners, along with Gluten Free Coconut Cookies and Diabetic Macadamia White Chocolate cookies The season ends each Thanksgiving weekend with a bounteous feast of what the land has to offer. A local tradition, the entire menu changes to be everything Turkey, Cranberry and Pumpkin. It is a truly festive time to wrap up the season and await the New Year.