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University of Maryland students tweet on Tuesday afternoon “eating a gypsy cone in class. everyone is jealous.” If you pass The Gypsy Queen Cafe, you will quickly recognize it is not your average cafe. If the vibrant fuschia, purple and teal gypsy mural doesn’t give it away, then the whole cafe on wheels thing should.
I pulled up to the unmistakable truck at the corner of North Greene and Baltimore St. on Tuesday afternoon and told co-owner Annemarie I was going to order their Gypsy Cone which I had read about on twitter as their ‘must-get’ item. I was conflicted though, as this eclectic menu featured many gypsy jewels, such as truffle sliders and a ‘gypsy style’ bag of Utz Potato Nachos. I asked her whether I should try the chocolate covered bacon or homemade pound cake for dessert, she said she’d let me decide and showed me each, to which I responded yes, and yes. I ended up going with the chocolate covered bacon, though Annemarie’s sweet Bawl’more drawl was charming enough to make me buy two desserts.
The Gypsy Cone came wrapped in foil with a fork on top, inside of which is a waffle cone full of thick, creamy mac ‘n cheese, topped with what chefs Annemarie, Ed and Tom call “Bacon Bling”. This unique condiment is a mixture of smoked bits of bacon, apples, and caramelized onions in a barbeque-like sauce. It was a strange mixture of rich flavors and textures, and when I say the mac ‘n cheese is rich I’m talking Forbes Magazine rich. I couldn’t finish it in the one sitting I took to wolf down most of my meal in the backseat of my car. My arteries they were a aching but my tastebuds simultaneously salvating. Dessert came in the form of a thick piece of bacon on a skewer, dipped in chocolate and garnished with butterfinger bits–to die for.
The food is deliciously different, in line with Annemarie’s description of The Gypsy Queen Cafe as “kickass” and “unique”. It’s no surprise fans are raving on the internet that the Gypsy Queen Cafe offers the “most delicious lunch I’ve had in 2.5 years of living in Baltimore!” The owners were charismatic and friendly, and though I was told their service was not up to McDonald’s standards of speed just yet, I enjoyed the less than five minutes of anticipation, and prefer my food quality over speed. You really can’t beat the price either, with a FULL lunch (for me, a gypsy cone, chocolate covered bacon and a drink) coming in at $10, and $5 brunch on Sundays. Today, the Gypsy Queen Cafe features a full, ever-changing menu and now accepts credit cards. I’m told next time I have to try the crab cake tacos and red velvet waffles for Sunday brunch which came highly recommended to me by some regulars. Come check out the new venture from former “Helen’s Garden” chefs (Canton, MD) Ed Scherer, Annemarie Langton (”The Gypsy”) and Tom Looney (”The Queen”), as they serve lunch from 11AM to 2PMish, at one of their many consistent locations (printed below), but make sure to check out exactly where they’ll be at their Twitter account, www.twitter.com/TheGypsyTruck. Check out our food photos to see the Gypsy Cone in all its gooey glory!
You can find The Gypsy Cafe online at www.gypsyqueencafe.com and www.twitter.com/thegypsytruck. Their location changes daily and is as follows:
MONDAY – COMING SOON TO HUNT VALLEY
TUESDAY – U of M near BALTIMORE & GREENE STs
WEDNESDAY – HARBOR EAST near CENTRAL & FLEET
THURSDAY – HOPKINS HOSPITAL – WOLFE & ASHLAND
FRIDAY – INNER HARBOR – COMMERCE & PRATT
SUNDAY – CANTON – BOSTON ST. near STARBUCKS
the gooey mac n cheese pic is NSFW!
February 23, 2011 10:28 pmThis sounds so good I want to fly out there. I want bacon bling!
February 24, 2011 2:48 pmI hate cheese but love the pictures
February 26, 2011 1:06 pm[...] lunch. From the SouperFreak truck, to ChowHound Burger, to The Gypsy Queen Café (recently reviewed by Radar writer Rosalia Cefalu), these trucks offer a fun alternative to a boring sandwich or salad [...]
June 2, 2011 8:20 am[...] lunch. From the SouperFreak truck, to ChowHound Burger, to The Gypsy Queen Café (recently reviewed by Radar writer Rosalia Cefalu), these trucks offer a fun alternative to a boring sandwich or salad [...]
June 2, 2011 10:12 am