The Cornish Pasty - Keswick, UK

Hunger gets the best of us as we hunt fruitlessly for a restaurant that can accommodate us all. 

Fortunately, we can pop into this small, no-seat shop selling warm and flaky creations with fantastic fillings. 

There's a dense Scotch Egg to start, held by the most handsome man, perfectly boiled within a cocoon of sweet sausage and breadcrumb crust. 

The Pork & Apple pasty has a beautiful crust and a surprisingly smooth filling which is savory without too much sweetness. Find a friend to share - these pies are substantially sized. 

A lovely little stop while shopping til you drop. Great stuff to go when you can't or won't sit at one of several saturated restaurants during the peak season of tourists.

Creative Crepes & More - Lake Tahoe, CA

I try not to get too political, but there's been a lot of buzz lately about how the younger generations "don't want to work." If you're trying to understand why, just come here on a weekday and it will all be crystal clear. 

One young lady commands the counter, alone against the long line of patient customers. She takes the payments and makes each crepe or waffle to order, and it's not a quick process by any means. The credit card swipe stops working properly so she's forced to enter every card by hand or take the time to count out change. I asked her where her coworkers and managers were and she quietly tells me that the manager lives 30 minutes away and therefore "has difficulty commuting" so they just told her to unplug the credit card machine and plug it back in. (This has not worked after 4 attempts and they are aware of that). The owner lives "all the way in Reno", one hour away, and therefore can't show up (???). There hasn't been serious snow at all, and though I don't know the details, I'm not sure how any business can justify this utter refusal to provide any aid to their hard-working employees. 

So they make crepes. The wait was so long that I couldn't take photos because my kid was falling apart. I kept it simple with the BSC, which could have used a bit more of everything. Not bad though, especially considering everything was being made under duress. 

The Basic liege waffle is delicious with its sugar-batter, but be prepared - it's a lot smaller than you'd expect for a waffle. 

The food is fine and the service is as well, considering the circumstances but I will never come back here because I can't feel good supporting this business. That poor young lady was clearly not supported at all, and it's just not okay that they treat their employees this way. 

Roots & Rye - Pasadena, CA

When a midday garden walk leaves you hot and hungry but too hot to be hungry, nothing hits the spot like an ice-cold açaí bowl.

When you need something cold and wholesome in Pasadena, nothing hits the spot like Roots & Rye. Full of fresh fruits and tons of toppings, just the selection of granola alone makes the menu anything but granola.

The sizes are pretty generous, and the prices are fair for how much you get, including unlimited toppings. My bowl has a base of vanilla granola for crunch over a cold and berrylicious açaí. A film of chia pudding adds a lighter sweetness and a texture like superfine poppy seeds. I keep the rest simple, with blueberries, strawberries, and banana. Creamy peanut butter glues it all together with strands of golden honey.

The variations are endless if you’re looking to explore. They have creative mixes like the tropical Blue Majik, which sings like a pina colada with pineapple, coconut, and a hint of mango. Tons of wholesome toppers ranging from toasted coconut to matcha powder to kale please purists, health nuts, and pleasure-eaters alike. 

I haven’t had a real açaí bowl since last year’s Oahu wedding, and I had doubts that anything in LA would come close. Roots & Rye got the job done, and I’ll be back for another bowl next time I’m in the neighborhood. 

Mangjyu - Koyasan

Vegetarian meals are on the lighter side so more room for me to snack.

Not much to snack on in Koyasan, not much stuff to eat outside the monasteries, except maybe the Mangjyu. Springy, mochi-esque texture but a little more firm. Sweet red bean filling, an adorable little niblet, buried in banana-leaf. At only 140 yen per mangjyu, it's impossible to have just one.