Blogs

By PEG QUANN Staff Writer - Burlington County Times March 9,2011

Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras in French, is a day of culinary indulgence and celebration the day before Ash Wednesday, when the Lenten season of fasting begins. Catholics and other Christians will fast and eat fish today and Fridays during Lent as a form of penance and sacrifice leading up to Easter, when they celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

Stephen Simon, owner of JB Bakery, didn't hesitate to trust his shop to the capabilities of an inexperienced stranger for an entire day in June. His Burlington City, N.J. bakery became the setting for an installment of "Dinner: Impossible," the Food Netwrok's reality show starring celebrity chef Robert Irvine.

"Irvine is a chef that's known the world over, and he's a guy that has a lot of experience behind him, "Simon said. "He's cooked for American presidents and British royalty, so we trusted that he'd be able to figure it out."

by Katherine Martin, associate editor

What do you do when a North Atlantic Beluga whale finds itself in the fresh water Delaware River? If you're Stephen Simon, you start selling Beluga whale cookies.

"It was my brother Paul who came up with the idea. We were aware that there was a whale in the river, and he said we should make a whale cookie, but I didn't think it was going to stick around," says Stephen Simon, owner of the full-line retail bakery, JB Bakery in Burlington City, N.J.

By Kera Ritter and Adam Fifeld

Whale cookies, whale ice cream. Vendors cater to large crowds hoping to glimpse the stray beluga.

Helis might have been a noshow for visitors in Burlington City yesterday, but businesses near the Delaware River are doing little complaining.

Whale watchers have spent plenty of dollars on food and other items as they've flocked to the riverfront, hiping to spot the beluga whale, which was last seen yesterday near Bordentown and Florence.

By Brian Scheid, BCT staff writer

BURLINGTON CITY - It seemed the only thing on anyone's mind here yesterday was the lates sighting of the most unusual visitor in years to the Delaware River. "Everybody's been asking about the whale," said Barbara Fisher, co-owner of Cafe Gallery restaurant at the end of High Street. "It's created a major buzz."

JB Bakery is a dessert lover's paradise. Family owned and operated, the bakery has remained in the same location since 1952, and has been voted one of the best in Burlington County by the Burlington County Times for several years. Generations have grown to know and love the special goodies from all over the world that can be found here.

By Lysbeth Bledsone
Special to the BCT

For the past six years, the Burlington County Times' "Best of Burlington" competion has made it easy for county residents to buy the best desserts, retain the best realtor, munch on the best pizza, do business with the best bank and, in short, patronize the enterprises their peers have labeled best.