DEFEND YOUR RIDE: Annmarie At Johns Hopkins University

Q: Are you one of those cash only trucks? So you take credit cards?

A: Not today we don't. As soon as our credit card machine comes in, we will but usually we take anything. We take green. We take plastic. We'll do trades. We'll do whatever!

Q: What's your truck's nickname?

A: A friend of mine, who we bought the truck from, nicknamed her Trixie, but I call her the Lil' Gypsy. I guess that would be her nickname now.

Q: How'd you get her?

A: We picked the truck up from New Jersey, so we drove her back on the New Jersey Turnpike in the rain. That was the furthest we've ever driven with this particular truck. This is actually her fourth day on the street and she's been running pretty good so far.

Q: Did you guys get hungry during the trip and cook?

A: No, we didn't. We were petrified of driving the truck. She's a big girl.

Q: Do you come to Johns Hopkins a lot?

A: Yes. We're here twice a week, Mondays and Fridays. Those are actually our favorite days of the week. We love everybody here.

Q: What other places do you frequent that get a lot of people?

A: Hopkins Hospital. Inner Harbor. City Hall. Canton, by the Starbucks. All coffee shops or wine shops love us.

Q: Have you ever had any trouble at any locations?

A: No, we haven't had any problems yet. I think our personality shines through and we're really friendly, so people like seeing us around.

Q: How long have you been running?

A: We started December 31, 2010. We were really successful, so we were able to buy a second truck. In less than a year, we were able to get this second truck, so I'm very excited. Look for the third truck coming soon.

Q: What's the biggest hit with customers?

A: Crab cake tacos. We sold so many crab cake tacos that we were able to buy this truck. That's how good they are.

Q: Did you guys paint it the way it is, or was it already painted?

A: We had our first truck designed by Jane Polanka, a friend of my partner Tom. It looks amazing. Right now, we're in the process of blinging Lil' Gypsy out too. The brightest colors draw attention, so we want to be the most fabulous we can be--or the most obnoxious. She's not quite there yet, as you can see, but we're going to bedazzle the bottom and add some other stuff. There's also an octopus on the back. That's our mascot.

Q: Why Gypsy Queen?

A: We were fooling around with the name. My culinary background is Mediterranean. I always speak in 'theez geepsy voys' when I'm 'kook-eeng' because that's one of the ingredients that's gotta be there, my gypsy accent. We've always joked around that we were gypsies and my partner is a big queen. So there you have it, a gypsy and a queen.

Q: And Gypsy Queens make crab cake tacos?

A: Not only do they make crab cake tacos. They make fish tacos, chorizo pineapple tacos, and falafel. We have a full menu. We really are a full restaurant on wheels. That's actually another reason we want to call ourselves the Gypsy Queen. We're taking our restaurant from place to place, so we're like nomads.

Q: What's your next truck going to be?

A: We've had so much success with our concept that we will keep it in the Gypsy Queen family. But the next truck that we have our eye on, we want to call the Cracken, so that every day when we leave, we can say, "Release the Cracken!"

Q: Anything else you'd like to add about your truck?

A: I would like to challenge the Chowhound boys to a race. I want to do Lil' Gypsy versus Chowhound, and see whose ride wins!