When Gino's Burgers and Chicken opened this morning in Towson, diners started lining up at 9:30 a.m. in anticipation of their first Gino's meal in decades. The official opening was at 11 a.m.

Jennifer Grill of Baldwin arrived before 10 and had just one reason for being there, "I'm getting a Gino Giant," she said. "I don't care how many calories it is. I've got my stretch pants on."

Ragina Averella, who works at a nearby AAA office, said she did crunches the night before so she could get a Gino Giant for lunch.

Tim Mazz, who drove from Harford County, wasn't necessarily worried about his weight, though he admitted, "I'm here for the Gino Giant." The Edgewood resident is a collector of Gino's memorabilia. He's got coffee stirrers, a Gino's puzzle, and lots of tin ashtrays (those are vintage).

Other people showed up at the fast-food franchise on East Joppa Road with their own memories, one guy wearing a Colts T-shirt and another with an old menu.

Even several Baltimore County patrol cars showed up. I guess in case the middle-age Gino Giant lovers got out of hand.

There was a ribbon-cutting. Unfortunately, the restaurant's namesake, NFL Colts great Gino Marchetti, couldn't be there. He had been hospitalized recently for pneumonia. Up until two days ago, he was still hoping to attend, said Peg Varani, a Gino's corporate spokeswoman. "He'll be here" in the future, she promised.

I'm looking forward to going back soon for my own Gino Giant.

Photo by me 

The next food-truck rally is set for Sept. 2, location to be determined. Baltimore magazine intern Nicole Ogrysko, a student at Ithaca College, caught up with Damian Bohager, owner of The Silver Platter, to find out the latest on the gatherings. Here are her words:

Damian Bohager said he expects to hold the gathering on the first Friday of the month, with the possibility of adding more dates in the future. Unlike the first gathering—which started with rain and ended with long lines of people waiting for food—this month's event on Aug. 5 went much more smoothly.

The sky was clear, the lines moved quickly, and all 12 trucks were stocked with plenty of food ready to serve the rally's estimated 3,500 hungry visitors.

"The Silver Platter didn't run out until around 9:45 p.m., and Gypsy Queen, pictured, was going strong until the very end," Damian said.

Fojol Bros. and 2011 Best of Baltimore winner Haute Dog Carte joined regulars Iced Gems, Grr Che, and Miss Shirley's to dish out a variety of delectable gourmet cuisine.

The location at the Thames and Wolfe Street parking lot proved to be a suitable spot for the heavy stream of customers, but Damian said he's considering moving future gatherings to alternate areas of the city.

"We got a lot of compliments on that location," Damian said. "All the trucks were pretty spread out, and we had chairs and table set out."

Photo of the Aug. 5 Food Truck Gathering by Suzanne Loudermilk 

The Old Stein Inn in Edgewater is set to reopen on Sept. 14 in time to celebrate Oktoberfest. Wurst platters, sauerkraut, and beer will be flowing again at the German restaurant in Anne Arundel County that was heavily damaged by fire last December.

German-born chef Jason Howard will be offering his native cuisine with a modern influence in an updated kitchen. The entire restaurant, in a 100-year-old frame cottage, has been extensively renovated.

And attention, restaurant workers. Old Stein Inn is looking for employees, according to its Facebook page. Facebook fans will also be alerted to a sneak-preview pre-opening.

The restaurant's biergarten will feature entertainment by Sylvia and her accordion, Heidi and The Heimat Echo (who have been known to have yodeling contests), and other music.

Second-generation owners Mike Selinger and his wife Beth promise that the "Old Stein will be back better than ever." 

Spike Gjerde makes an appearance in the award-winning Garden&Gun, one of my favorite magazines, with his crab-cake recipe.

In the magazine's August/September issue, Spike, chef/co-owner of Woodberry Kitchen, talks about using local crab and the importance of making sure all the shell is removed from the crabmeat before making the patties.

He shares that he "uses a black light to illuminate any remaining bits of shell." Wow, that's diligent!

If you haven't seen Garden&Gun, you can pick up a copy at Barnes & Noble. It's a wonderful Southern mix of stories from, yes, guns and music to food and travel.

In this issue, there's also a great story about Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, the husband-wife team who are headlining Hot August Blues at Oregon Ridge on Aug. 20.

I just bought their Revelator CD. It's great music to cook by. 

An "Appetizer Challenge" takes place tomorrow at the Inner Harbor Amphitheatre from noon-2 p.m. to kick off Baltimore Restaurant Week. The cook-off features local chefs and includes food samples for the public.

This summer's Restaurant Week begins Friday and runs through Sunday, Aug. 14. Now is the time to make reservations if you haven't already. A list of restaurants can be found online.

At tomorrow's event, participating restaurants will be judged in three categories: Judges' Choice, People's Choice (audience participation), and Best Use of Locally Sourced Ingredients.

Let the feeding frenzy begin.

Don't forget to stop by the second Food Truck Gathering on Friday, too. The trucks will at the parking lot at 901-911 S. Wolfe St. in Fells Point (across from Red Star restaurant) from 5-9 p.m. 

I have a confession to make about Joe Squared's Flag Pizza being selected as one of the nation's top pizzas by Food Network Magazine in its September issue. I suggested it along with two other local pizzeria's pies. (Any guesses on who they were?)

Here's what happened. Back in chilly January, a Food Network Magazine editor asked me to send her some recommendations for our best pizzas. If one of my suggestions was selected, I would write about it for the magazine.

In March, the editor contacted me again, saying the staff had picked the Flag Pizza for its "50 States, 50 Pizzas" story. I wrote up a blurb about the pizza, but there were conditions: "no blogging, tweeting, or posting about this at all."

I forgot all about it until the Food Network Magazine sent out a press release today. I'm just happy to have had a part in bringing national attention to Baltimore and Joe Squared.

But don't go rushing to Joe Squared for the pizza just yet. The restaurant is closed for renovations today through Thursday but will reopen on Friday.

The magazine issue will be on newsstands on Aug. 9. Or you can check out the winners at the magazine's website.

Photo by me

For real, an adults-only ice-cream truck is coming to Baltimore, offering free massages, manicures, and DOVE ice-cream bars. It may be a publicity stunt, but adults 18 and older are the beneficiaries.

The DOVE "Your Moment" truck started its tour yesterday in Chicago, drawing a big crowd with actor Ralph Macchio handing out free ice cream. (Macchio, recently of Dancing with the Stars, is now hawking ice cream! What's next?) The truck will make stops in Minneapolis and Baltimore, according to eater.com. No mention of whether the actor will be on board.

The Chicago tour schedule is listed on DOVE's Facebook page, but there's no date for the Baltimore visit. I'll keep checking.