Food Network celeb and chef-restaurateur Bobby Flay will be signing his new "Bobby Flay's Bar Americain Cookbook: Celebrating America's Great Flavors" at Williams-Sonoma in Annapolis Mall at 2 p.m. Sept. 21.

Maybe we can get him to tell us more about the restaurant he will be opening at the Maryland Live! complex at Arundel Mills. The Cordish Co. project will also include The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Obrycki's, and a new live music venue operated by Annapolis-based Rams Head.

For the book signing, shoppers should reserve a ticket for the event since space is limited. The cookbook, which will be released Sept. 20, also needs to be purchased at a Williams-Sonoma store.

The cookbook features recipes using America's regional flavors and includes dishes like barbecued oysters with black-pepper-tarragon butter, Kentucky ham and ripe figs over arugula, red snapper with plantains, and Brooklyn hash browns. 

The corner of Baltimore and Greene streets was a little busier today, if that's even possible. Word had spread via Twitter and Facebook that the Gypsy Queen Café food truck was being filmed for an appearance on the Cooking Channel's "Eat Street" program.

And so it was. The colorful gourmet food truck, pictured, was in the spotlight as a cameraman focused on the truck's activities and its hungry patrons. The truck, helmed by chefs Annmarie Langton and Tom Looney, will be featured in the TV show's third season, date to be announced.

Today, curious employees, doctors, professors, and students who make up the growing University of Maryland complex on the west side of the city lined up in an orderly fashion to place their orders for dishes like the waffle cone stuffed with gooey mac n' cheese and topped with bacon "bling." The "Eat Street" crew interviewed many of them about their food.

Ashley Watson, pictured left, often visits Gypsy Queen when it parks in the area, she said. Ashley, who works in IT at the University of Maryland, ordered a crab cake and fries with Old Bay aioli. She was quickly approached by the TV crew as she dug into her meal.

She took it in stride and didn't miss a bite. When I talked to her afterward, she said with a laugh, "I normally would not order such a rich lunch, but today I got up early to vote and needed a treat."

I hope she makes the cut when the show is scheduled. It airs at 8 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Tomorrow, "Eat Street" heads to D.C. to film Baltimore's own Dangerously Delicious pie truck, according to the show's blog. Nice.

Photos by me

It’s part contest, part celebration—all fun. The first B’Eat More Pie Fest will be serving up slices of sweet and savory goodness on Sunday (Sept. 11) from noon-3 p.m. at St. John’s Methodist Church on St. Paul St.

I found out about this event while paging through my September issue of Southern Living magazine this weekend. I’m glad I was timely for once. Sometimes, I’m reading my magazines months after the fact! 

For the Pie Fest, bakers can still enter their pies until noon Saturday. See the festival’s website for information.

Samples of each pie will also be sold or raffled to visitors. Proceeds will benefit Heart’s Shelter Place, an overnight shelter for the homeless.

The festival will also feature live music, family activities, and vendors.

Photo courtesy of the B’Eat More Pie Fest

Actually, it's an event called "Race to Little Italy" in celebration of the Grand Prix in Baltimore. The restaurants in Little Italy will be offering alfresco dining options along South High Street today and tomorrow.

The street between Eastern Avenue and Stiles Street will become festive with food, drink, and music from 4 p.m.-midnight today and from noon-midnight tomorrow. Souvenirs and gifts will also be available for purchase.

I'm going to stop by this afternoon on my way to the food truck Gathering in Fells Point. There's so much to do and eat this weekend.

Photo of Da Mimmo in Little Italy 

When a restaurant names a burger after your boss, you have to check it out. And the fact that it features a topping of lobster mac and cheese with fontina also merits attention—and a curiousity about the dish.

The Geppi burger, named after Steve Geppi, Baltimore magazine's publisher, is in good company on a menu of patties that honors icons like Frank Zappa, Led Zeppelin, and Clint Eastwood at Pacific Coast Dining Company in Little Italy.

"The burgers were named after things that were pertinent or had a connection," said Michael Lyston, Pacific Coast's manager. Restaurant owners Marianna Strati and Stacey Tamaris wanted a Little Italy celebrity represented on the burger list, too, he said: "We thought of Steve, living on High Street as a child."

Steve recently moved back to his old neighborhood, and he's thrilled that Pacific Coast is the "home of the Geppi burger." "It wasn't my idea," he said in an e-mail. "In fact, when I went in one day, I was surprised to see it on the menu."

I was, too. I'd been to the restaurant for lunch—read my mini review in our August issue—but the Geppi burger isn't on that menu. It's listed on the dinner one. No worries, manager Michael told me. It can be ordered anytime.

As I nestled into one of the restaurant's banquettes this afternoon, I started to fret. What if I didn't like the burger? It did sound awfully decadent from its description.

"We wanted something savory and luxurious," explained Michael about the burger's composition. "People love our lobster mac and cheese. It's one of our most popular appetizers. We combined it with the burger."

The Geppi burger, $16, pictured, soon arrived at my table. The plump, 10-ounce, grill-charred beef patty was surrounded by a mound of hand-cut fries coated with Parmesan-and truffle-oil seasoning and a piquant red-cabbage Asian slaw.

The staff knew why I was there. All eyes surreptitiously were on me as I cut into the meat. (It was too big to pick up gracefully.) Gulp. The verdict? It was good, really good.

The burger, made with organic certified Angus beef, was juicy and flavorful. It carried the silky mac and cheese—with tiny, cut-up penne pasta and a meld of fontina, Parmesan, and cheddar cheeses—well. The lobster cubes in the pasta were tender and fresh. I admit, ashamedly, that I ate most of it.

"It is awesome as is just about all the food there," Steve said in his e-mail.

Pacific Coast's menu is much broader than burgers. It also features soups, appetizers, salads, and entrees like seared rockfish, crab cakes, fish tacos, a fiery flat-iron steak, and a Berkeley pot roast.

"We didn't want to do Italian," Michael said of the cuisine. "We're focusing on fresh California grill fare." 

Photo by me

UPDATE: The restaurant is expected to open in late October.

The new restaurant Bond Street Social—where DuClaw Brewing Co. used to be— has finalized a concept. It will feature a menu of "social plates," with dishes fusing European, Latin, Asian, and Chesapeake Bay cuisine, according to an e-mail sent today by Mike Mastellone, a restaurant partner.

The executive chef will be Neill Howell, formerly of Stanton Social in New York City and the Soho House in NYC/L.A. The restaurant also will serve "social drinks," brought to the table in glass-infusion jars, plus craft beer, wine, and specialty cocktails.

The modern interior with stone walls, steel chandeliers, hardwood floors, and glass tiles will also showcase four glass fireplaces and a custom-designed indoor fire pit, the e-mail said. There will also be outdoor dining.

The restaurant is at 901 S. Bond St. in Fells Point.

There was no opening date given in the e-mail, but it did say, "we have made some great progress on the construction." 

Preview photo of Bond Street Social courtesy of the restaurant's website

Regi’s American Bistro is having an Earthquake Happy Hour to help soothe today’s shakes. Settle your nerves with free appetizers in the bar until 7 p.m. tonight.