From time to time I find myself in areas of Jersey no one ever needs to discover. Most people who live in New York are used to places like Bayonne, Jersey City, Atlantic City, etc. coming to mind when they think of the Garden State, but truth be told, a lot of Jersey is really country. Eastampton, NJ is one of those places. There’s a few main roads and strip malls but most of your dining options consist of McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, and sub shops.
Tucked away from this culinary wasteland is a gem of a bakery, though, and it’s not even too far removed from I-95 (exit 7 on the turnpike, if you’re coming from NYC). Even if I didn’t have to be around here, this place would be worth an occasional trip. What ensued was high calorie bliss.
Above is a peach turnover, perhaps one of the best turnovers I’ve ever had. Besides the peach flavor being uncommon, and also being one of my favorite fruits, the dough was flaky, fresh, and not sweet. The filling didn’t feel like solidified sugar syrup. It tasted as healthy as a turnover can be. It was fucking delicious, for lack of any better way to put it.
I also indulged in this wonderful tiramisu…
Usually a light and fluffy option, this was the richest tiramisu I’ve ever tasted. It was still light, but that was real whipped cream right there. The kind you can feel traveling straight to your ass while you eat it. Those lady fingers at the bottom? Soaked in amazingness. The flavor was good, but this was intense. I shared half with my mom, there was no way I was eating this all.
My fat ass also partook in their lunch menu. Yep, they serve real food – pasta, pizza, sandwiches, etc. As if fresh tiramisu wasn’t any indicator, jars of Nutella and boxes of pasta for sale by the door were an obvious sign that this place was Italian-influenced, so naturally I opted for one of my favorite Italian lunch options: the sausage and pepper sub. The sausage and peppers were great, surprisingly I wasn’t too impressed with the bread on this sandwich (for it being a bakery and the sweets being so good, I expected more), but it still wasn’t bad.
In a nutshell, if you’re ever stuck in this area of Jersey, buy a dozen peach turnovers, and thank me later. Seriously.
Bonus: random trivia? They sell specialty cakes wholesale to various restaurants throughout Jersey and beyond. It’s quite an impressive array of flavors, too. I’m most fascinated by the cannoli cake – a layer cake featuring cannoli filling between the layers and a mini cannoli atop each slice. YUM!
Olde World Bakery, 1000 Smithville Rd., Eastampton, NJ
