B&B Lavallette ladies' location...aka the source of a solid third of my summer wardrobe.

B&B, beloved local department store chain, will quite literally roll out its wares this Wednesday for one of three summer sidewalk sales at its men’s and women’s Lavallette locations on Grand Central Avenue starting at 9 a.m.

Sidewalk sales usually require some digging so bring your patience, but it usually pays off. I’ve walked out of the B with tons of great finds. I can’t speak for the men’s department, but the junior’s section is rife with fun skirts and tops for going out, nice sundresses and great beach coverups at prices that don’t make your wallet wince. It’s like a Forever 21 by the sea, if you will. (Word of advice – last summer at the Ship Bottom store’s sidewalk sale, you had to purchase the clothes you wanted to try on with cash and could return whatever didn’t fit for a full refund.)

If you can’t make it this week, sidewalk sales return on July 28 and Aug. 11.

The greatest baked good known to humanity.

It’s our pleasure to announce that Colonial Bakery opened its doors at 6:30 this morning and plans to do so every single day from now until September. You may now commence eating Ninja Turtle cookies for breakfast lunch and dinner. That is all. (Big ups to @Suz8 for this awesome cookie shot from her blog. We wholeheartedly endorse her plan to serve these guys at her wedding instead of cake.)

A good way to start is by educating our youth about all that the Jersey Shore has to offer (and it’s not just a good tan) with a marine science day camp held in Lavallette.  This hands-on day camp for students in grades 2-8, advocates environmental awareness.  Led by Marine Biologists and sponsored by the New Logic Educators, students will learn about the marine environment both beach and bay with activities including: seining, sieving, plant and animal identification, water sampling, crabbing, fishing, as well as shell collecting.  Campers may even get a chance to go out on a kayak or zodiac boat.  In the event of rain, students will take a trip to the Point Pleasant boardwalk and tour the Jenk’s Aquarium.

The learning doesn’t have to stop when children leave the classroom, so enroll your child in this fun and interactive camp where they can learn all that our beaches have in store. There are five sessions available, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. during the month of July and first week of August.  Registration is $250 per camper.  Make sure you pack a lunch and drinks to keep cool during the day and meet the camp crew on Reese Avenue across from Bayside.  Happy Summer!

If you’ve ever read the Star-Ledger from Memorial Day to Labor Day, you know Pete Genovese, commander of the venerable Munchmobile and all-around Garden State snack sherpa. At the beginning of the summer season, he named his favorite breakfast, pizza and ice cream at the Shore, and frankly, I’d like to respectfully disagree on his breakfast selection.

Pete picked Toms River’s Shut Up and Eat as the top spot for your morning meal. After hearing about this kitschy haven for so long, we tried it out for Mother’s Day. I certainly shut up at and ate the plate of bacon and eggs you see above. I have such an abiding love for bacon that I could probably write sonnets to it, but their just wasn’t stellar. Chewy, devoid of flavor, seemed like it had been sitting around for a while. So sad.

The atmosphere is definitely fun though. SUE’s motif screams “yard sale!!” The walls are covered with random finds; there’s a tablecloth for every holiday and none of the salt and pepper shakers match.

Also not matching were the plates and mugs, but for good reason: if you bring in a donate a mug, you get a free cup of coffee, and a free pancake comes with every donated plate. If you wear a fun PJ set – like the staff – you get a discount. If you wear non-matching college sweats to bed like me, you’re out of luck. And yes, the owner and waitstaff really do greet everyone who walks in but it’s more “HIIII!!!!” than “Good morning.”

The menu included a few humorous quips like “Children left unattended will be given a free puppy and a shot of espresso” and “Toms River tap water…Free!” under beverages (which was actually more scary than funny).

I don’t mean to discredit Pete; I think he’s fantastic and if it wouldn’t result in massive weight gain for me, I’d LOVE to have his job. He’s always spot-on about vittles in our fair state, but I just wasn’t jazzed with Shut Up and Eat. Also, it’s moved from the K-Mart plaza to Water Street in downtown Toms River and can be hard to find.

All in all, it’s not a bad breakfast joint, per se, but I just think there are some far superior ones in the area.

Like what, you ask? Mariner’s Cove in Brielle, Sunrise Cafe at the Surf Club in Ortley Beach, and Bayside Cafe in Lavallette. And now I’m hungry. Great.

The tastiest harbinger of summer we know

As I drove home from a dreary Monday at work, all sorts of grouchy because it was my first day back after a lovely Caribbean vacation, a sheer-joy-inducing banner greeted me as I turned onto my street. Yes, my friends, Colonial Bakery, most delicious place on Earth, will start baking crumb cake, Turtle cookies, Key lime pie tarts and the greatest doughnuts known to man on May 15.

Who’s excited?!? (PS. Can we get some more Yelp reviews up? Colonial needs some loving on the interwebs.)

Runners pound the pavement in last year's SBB8K

…That’s 5 miles for all those uninitiated to the metric system. Save Barnegat Bay, a local grass-roots group aiming to save our bay from extinction, will host its 4th annual race and fitness walk this Saturday (June 27).

Registration starts at 7 a.m. and the race takes off at 8:30 a.m. Volunteers, who are welcomed on race day even if they haven’t registered, are asked to show up at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m. but will be handsomely rewarded with t-shirts and breakfast.

The race winds down Baltimore Avenue, around West Point Island and down Bay Boulevard – quite the scenic route, if I do say so myself. Walkers get the same tour of WPI but not quite as much of Bay Boulevard’s lovely windiness.

Those who are fast on their feet will be honored at an awards ceremony at 10:15 in front of the Lavallette firehouse. Best of all, everyone who took the initiative to disturb their Saturday morning slumber with exercise will be rewarded with a post-race party at the Crab’s Claw.

A $30 day-of registration fee ($23 for walkers) gets you a T-shirt, commemorative glass and entrance to the party.

2006-07 champ Pat chugs along, cheered on by his sister. Although he was bested in '08, he's looking to return to victory in '09. (Photo courtesy of the man himself.)