RY'S YOG BLOG: Place #1: Van Gough Cafe

Van Gough Cafe: 300 South Ann Street

Van Gough Cafe is a charming cafe on the corner of Gough (strangely pronounced "goff", NOT "go," I learned..?) and S Ann street in Upper Fells Point. Its menu is short, but oh so sweet. They offer simple bagels and paninis, and very simple sandwiches - PB&J, veggie burger, and a tuna sandwich. But they have knishes; which I had not ever tried before. It's like a pastry/dough/phyllo thing. They have a few different choices in the type of knish you can get - I tried the pizza knish with vegan cheese!
Yes, by the way, I am a vegan. Which will make this whole "experiencing Baltimore thang" even more interesting and challenging. But it doesn't mean I can't successfully review hot spots in the area! I will just have to recruit meat eaters to help me review the meat options on the menus for your sake (disclaimer: I am not in any way promoting eating meat; in fact, I would prefer that you don't! but that's another topic, for another blog!).

Anywho - Van Gough also offers lasagnas, falafel, and mac & cheese. The cafe is Kosher - literally, not metaphorically. They also have several coffee/tea/espresso options (hot and cold) and some sweet treats, like "candy bar explosion cake." It looked like some concoction of oreos, meets reeses peanut butter cups, meets rocky road ice cream, who then said 'hello' to baby ruth. They had about 5 choices of sweet, rich cakes available, which they said were provided by a private baker. Although they do not offer vegan desserts, they do offer soy substitutes for their iced or hot drinks, and also provide agave as a natural sweetener alternative. They also have snacks on the go, such as organic granola bars and bottled juices. It is a very veggie/vegan friendly place.

It is small in size, with about 5 tables in the front area, and then a couch seated area in the back. It's extremely cutesy. When I was there, there was a young family sitting on the couch, and what appeared to be a young professional reading a newspaper at a table. It is very quiet and quaint with a relaxing ambiance. Great place for studying on a Saturday morning; which brings me to the only downside of this place - it's NOT open on Saturdays :-( I would highly recommend that they remain open on Saturdays, but I'm kind of scared to demand this seeming how the restriction in hours is due to religious reasons. The owner family is Jewish. So let's not be hasty, and let's give God's followers Saturdays off. Agreed? I can settle for Sunday mornings. And all the rest of the weekday mornings too!

So for rating purposes, I have decided on a system in terms of an overall recommendation for you.

I really respect Yoda. Who doesn't? It's not so much his powers, but his speech is impeccable; and extremely entertaining.

So I have decided that for a definite "yes" place, my recommendation will be "Go, you will. Try, you must."
For a definite "no" place, my recommendation will be "Not if anything to say about it, I have."
And for a maybe place, my recommendation will be "Do, or do not. There is no try."
For my first rating of a new place in Baltimore, I am rating Van Gough cafe as a definite "Go, you will. Try, you must" place! I recommend you stop by the friendly neighborhood joint to say 'hello' and to share its existence among others!

Check out their site for further info:

http://www.vangoughcafe.com

And just for fun - the REAL Van GOOOOOOOOOOOO.