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Best lemon desserts around the world

Though it’s sweetness that defines desserts, many cultures across the globe have deployed a secret weapon to balance out all that sugary goodness: lemons. This instantly recognizable bright yellow citrus fruit is a dessert hero, rescuing cloyingly sweet treats with a burst of zesty freshness. Tart pies, mountains of whipped meringue, and syrup-soaked pastries all rely on lemon for their subtle, yet delicious, citrus flavors. Of course, lemon desserts feature prominently in Europe, but people in Turkey, the Balkans, Iran, and beyond also flavor desserts ubiquitous at bakeries, cafes, and birthday parties with lemon. Check out these nine lemon desserts from across the globe if you want to zest up your life.

1. France: lemon tart

Photo: Gray Kotze/Shutterstock

In France this classic lemon dessert is called tarte au citron and will be on display at just about every bakeshop. The buttery, slightly sweet pastry crust balances out the tart lemon custard filling. Interestingly enough, while lemon custard has probably existed in Europe since at least the Middle Ages, the first published recipe for the lemon curd appropriate for a lemon tart filling appeared in a British cookbook called The Lady’s Own Cookery Book in 1844. That recipe took the term “curd,” seriously, detailing how to mix lemons with cream, then straining the mixture through a cheesecloth, separating the curd from the whey. Eventually, the recipe evolved into the smooth, silky curd we know today.

2. Turkey: tulumba

Photo: Deniz Toprak/Shutterstock

These short, ridged tubed shaped pastries are similar in texture to French choux pastry and are deep fried until golden brown, then soaked in lemon-flavored syrup. There’s some debate over the actual origins of tulumba. The Turkish have tried to claim it as their own, as have the Greeks. It’s popular in Albania and Bulgaria, too — in fact, you’re likely to find it all over the Balkans. Though it’s most commonly known as Tulumba (which means “pump” in Turkish) this dessert goes by many other names, including balah el-sham in Eygtpian and bamiyeh in Persian. No matter where it originally appeared, historians agree that it likely first appeared during the reign of the Ottoman Empire.

3. United States: lemon meringue pie

Photo: Kwanbenz/Shutterstock

Though the familiar phrase goes “as American as apple pie,” that title should go to lemon meringue pie. Apple pie is actually a British invention, but this tart lemon custard topped with fluffy meringue can be traced back to Philadelphia. Elizabeth Goodfellow, who ran her own pastry shop and founded one of the first cooking schools in America in the 1800s, is responsible for the recipe: She topped her signature lemon pudding with meringue, perhaps as a clever way to reuse the egg whites that didn’t end up in the filling. Goodfellow didn’t share her recipes, but in 1847, one of her pupils, Eliza Leslie, published the first recipe for a pudding filled pie topped with meringue. By 1860, lemon meringue pies (sometimes called lemon cream or lemon custard pies) were ubiquitous in cookbooks all over the country. Apparently the dessert was a favorite of Abraham Lincoln.

4. Italy: lemon ricotta cake

Photo: Srij22/Shutterstock

This traditional Italian dessert isn’t as sweet as most lemon desserts and features a denser texture than other cakes, all thanks to the key ingredient: ricotta cheese. Especially popular in Naples during Carnevale, its texture is reminiscent of an airer cheesecake. The lemon flavor is subtle, which means that although this ricotta cake is technically a dessert, it’s often served with tea or at breakfast.

5. Iran: Persian love cake

Photo: Xavier Hoenner/Shutterstock

The origins of this cake are shrouded in legend: According to the most common story, when a Persian woman fell in love with a prince who didn’t love her back, she baked this cake for him and imbued it with a love spell. The recipe certainly does have an aura of enchantment: The whipped cream topping is infused with delicate rose water and sprinkled with pistachios, while cake itself is flavored cardamom and of course, lemon peel, to imbue it with a slight citrus flavor. It’s not uncommon to see this cake dusted with flower petals, too, which makes this cake look even more like a dessert fit for a fairytale.

6. England: lemon posset

Photo: Lavitra Pradittphon/Shutterstock

This classic English dessert can be traced all the way back to the Middle Ages, when it was served as a milk-based beverage spiced with wine and honey, and served as a cold remedy. Today, posset is a creamy, citrusy dessert that more closely resembles a pudding than a beverage. Lemons are the star of the show in posset: There are only three ingredients and one of them (alongside cream and sugar) is two lemons.

7. Mexico: carlota

Carlota might remind some people of lemon icebox cake, but this dessert is a staple at birthdays and Christmas celebrations in Mexico. Vanilla-flavored cookies called Marias are layered underneath a super simple sauce made from condensed milk and the juice from as many as five lemons (the dish is also frequently made with limes instead). Once the cake has been constructed, it’s frozen for several hours until the texture resembles that of ice cream. The simplicity of this dessert, along with its heavenly citrusy flavor, have helped carlota spread across Latin America.

8. Spain: lemon olive oil cake

Photo: Lando Aviles/Shutterstock

This wonderfully dense, yet moist and fluffy, cake is inspired by the flavors of the Mediterranean. Spain has its own take on olive oil, often infused with a floral, fruit-like flavor that pairs perfectly with this loaf cake. A fixture in bakeshops in Spain, it’s often served not after dinner but as a merienda, an afternoon snack paired with coffee. In Spain, olive oil cakes come in a variety of flavors, including orange and almond. However, a touch of citrus flair from lemon juice gives this cake an extra zesty kick.

9. Australia: pavlova

Photo: Irina Meliukh/Shutterstock

Popular in both Australia and New Zealand, the pavlova is at once crunchy, creamy, and one of the most decadent, elegant desserts you’ll ever encounter: Layers of crisp-on-the-outside, gooey-on-the-inside meringue are topped with whipped cream, then stacked with towers of strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries. So where does the lemon come in? To give this ideal summer dessert a delicate a touch of tartness, lemon zest is grated over the fruit topping.

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COVID-19 test before travel

Americans are currently barred from traveling to Europe, but that does not mean they have no option for a great summer vacation. There are plenty of countries, especially in the Caribbean, welcoming Americans with open arms — as long as they provide local authorities with the negative result of COVID-19 test.

Antigua, St. Lucia, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and many other nations require that travelers show proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to arrival, but rules vary widely from country to country, creating confusion among the traveling community and inserting doubts in tourists’ minds about the usefulness and effectiveness of the tests. To better understand if COVID-19 tests are truly the ultimate green light for traveling, what tests work best, and if tests are as effective as isolations, we asked expedition and wilderness medicine specialist Dr. Andrew Peacock to give us the lowdown on COVID-19 tests.

Dr. Andrew Peacock has been practicing medicine for 20 years. He works as an emergency doctor in Australia, as a wilderness and expedition medicine doctor, and also as a photography instructor for Lindblad Expeditions. His focus when working on guided trips in India, as a ship doctor on expeditions to Antarctica, or leading treks in Nepal is prevention and risk reduction, so he is acutely aware of what COVID-19 tests can and cannot do for the traveling community and the tourism industry.

Q. Are COVID-19 tests 100 percent accurate and reliable?

A. It is possible for someone who has been infected one or two days prior to being tested to be asymptomatic and to test negative. That’s because the virus would not have had quite enough time to multiply in their nasal passages for it to be detected during a test, so those people can subsequently become infectious. That short window of time when the virus is not detectable is not precisely known.

A false-positive result, i.e. a positive test result even though the person tested is not infected by the virus, can also happen, even if they are very rare. The same goes for false-negative results. No tests are ever 100 percent accurate.

Q. Most nations that require proof of a negative COVID-19 test ask for RT-PCR tests. What are they? What types of tests are best?

A. RT-PCR tests are conducted through nose and throat swabs that detect the viral particles in mucosal secretions. They are the most accurate and most common forms of testing to detect current COVID-19 infections.

PCR saliva tests without swabs are also used in some cases, but although they present advantages, they are less sensitive than nose and throat swabs.

Blood tests are conducted to detect antibodies, i.e. to know if you have had the virus. A blood test is not the best way to decide if someone is currently infected with the virus, but it can be useful to indicate past infections. Note that we do not yet know with 100 percent certainty if a person who has been infected with COVID-19 in the past can’t get sick again, so COVID-19 blood tests are not a free pass for people to stop taking health measures seriously.

Q. Can COVID-19 tests replace 14 days in isolation?

A. Putting people in isolation for 14 days is the best thing to do to prevent the spread of the virus because testing does not pick every infected person up, but it’s obviously not conducive to a thriving tourism industry.

Q. Why are there so many different rules around testing for COVID-19 around the world? Some countries require that you take a test 72 hours prior to arrival, others ask for seven or 10 days prior to arrival, and some nations only make travelers take a test once they have landed. Why are there such disparities between nations?

A. Every country’s chief epidemiologist or chief medical officer has a slightly different point of view as to when is the best time for incoming people to take a COVID-19 test to ensure that they are not infected with the new coronavirus. Nobody knows exactly how to pinpoint the best time for someone to take a test prior to traveling, because it depends on many factors that are out of the hands of destinations. Add to this the fact that there are logistical constraints associated with testing, reading results, paperwork, and you have a disparity of rules and regulations throughout the world. It’d be great if there was a worldwide consensus on testing, such as “take a test two days before arrival,” but we’re not there yet.

All of these attempts by the various jurisdictions, countries, or states are the best guess estimates as to how they can capture the greatest percentage of infectious people as possible before they travel. They’re looking to reduce the risk to zero as much as possible knowing that with a negative test result prior to arrival, the chance of having infected people coming in is very low, even after spending several hours in a packed plane.

Q. Isn’t it possible that people get infected in the airplane on their way to a destination?

A. If everyone on the plane had to produce a negative test prior to arriving at a destination, then there’s very little chance of anyone being infected in the airplane since all the passengers should theoretically be COVID-19 free. Also, although there’s almost no social distancing possible aboard a plane, people are required to wear masks, the aircraft are fitted with high-quality air filters, and everything is thoroughly cleaned, making airplanes as safe as they can be.

Q. As of August 1, 2020, Sri Lanka will reopen to international tourism, but the country requires four COVID-19 tests throughout the duration of your stay. The first should be taken within 72 hours of your departure to Sri Lanka, and the second administered at the airport, free of charge, though you will have to isolate for 24 hours while waiting for the results. The third test must be taken four to five days after your arrival, and if you’re staying for 10 or more days, you’ll have to take yet another test on the 10th day. If you test positive at any point, you will be required to quarantine for 14 to 21 days. What do you think of Sri Lanka’s testing procedures for incoming travelers? Is it the way to go to make sure the spread of COVID-19 stays under control while keeping tourism going?

A. By doing that Sri Lanka is as close as possible to reducing the risk of travelers spreading the virus to zero. They are trying to catch just about every person who may have slipped through the net and protect their country, but why would anyone want to go to Sri Lanka in those conditions unless they had no choice? And considering that there’s a possibility, even if small, of taking a test and getting a false positive, that would then require in-country quarantine or an immediate return home, traveling to Sri Lanka seems to be risky for travelers.

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The post Can we trust negative COVID-19 tests as a green light for travel? We asked a travel doctor. appeared first on Matador Network.

Starfish pool in Bergen, Norway

Scandinavian architecture never disappoints, and the proof is in this new project to be built in Bergen, Norway. As part of a massive waterfront redevelopment project called True Blue, Swedish studio White Arkitekter will create a more-than-half-a-mile-long park along Store Lungegårdsvann lake, complete with gardens, play areas, and a floating starfish-shaped pool.

Photo: White Arkitekter

A nearly 5,000-foot-long sea wall will surround the waterfront park, which will be divided into three zones with the first zone, the closest to the city center, housing the starfish-shaped pool, a city beach, recreational space, and an area for events.

Photo: White Arkitekter

The starfish-shaped pool, made of triangular volumes, will actually be three connected geometric swimming areas floating on Lungegårdsvann Lake and linked to the mainland by a pontoon. The volumes will house a sauna, a picnic area, and a kayak rental, Dezeen reports, and the floating structure will be also used as a stage for large events.

Photo: White Arkitekter

Niels de Bruin, White Arkitekter’s lead architect, told Dezeen, “True Blue is our way to express the love story between the city of Bergen and water in all its forms, the mist, the rain, the running streams and the waiting sea. The design principle is as old as time — given the harsh conditions of the natural coast in Bergen, like the medieval builders before us, we build a wall that forms the perimeter of the park. The space between the wall and the sea, a series of lush hills, meadows and wetlands, become a place to experience water, the wild and dangerous water as well as the soft and soothing one.”

The new waterfront park is set to be built by 2023. Zone one is set to open in 2023, and the pool will be composed of three separate swimming areas, defined by triangular forms that reflect the surrounding mountains. A similar triangular structure on land will hold a large sauna, with others housing picnic areas and kayak rental facilities.

“Strong geometrical shapes are a fantastic way to express architecture in a natural landscape,” said De Bruin. “Linking the triangulated forms together also makes a starfish pattern. The triangle-shaped silhouettes of the surrounding mountains become part of this three-dimensional landscape.”

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The post This stunning floating starfish-shaped sea pool is coming to Norway appeared first on Matador Network.

UK social distancing music festival

Music festivals, in their traditional form, are little more than wishful thinking right now. As with everything else this year, however, there’s a social distancing alternative just waiting on the horizon. This summer, the United Kingdom was forced to cancel iconic festivals like the Glastonbury Festival, Isle of Wight Festival, the Great Escape, and British Summer Time Hyde Park, but some event organizers are trying to salvage festival season by creating a socially distanced version.

Photo: Gisburne Park Pop Up/Facebook

The Gisburne Park Pop-Up in Lancashire will take place over eight weeks, starting on July 11. The festival, which can accommodate 24,000 people in total, will have artists like Jonas Blue, Sam Divine, and Shapeshifters as DJs, with a weekly “Party in the Park” soundtrack. Guests will be able to book individual hexagonal pitches, each accommodating up to six people. Sixteen-foot-wide tents will be provided, complete with electricity, private shower access, and an outdoor fire pit.

Photo: Gisburne Park Pop Up/Facebook

Photo: Gisburne Park Pop Up/Facebook

In addition to the musical stylings of the UK’s hottest DJs, you can also expect dress-up movie nights inspired by Grease, Dirty Dancing, Finding Nemo, and Frozen.

According to the festival’s website, “​​Gisburne Park Pop Up is dedicated to all those longing to spend time with friends and family, deep in the English countryside. It is an opportunity to enjoy eating and drinking in idyllic surroundings, laze through long summer Sundays, laugh at the entertainment on stage. Everything takes place with impeccable social distancing, in the beautiful surroundings of one of Lancashire’s finest private estates.”

Tickets are available online and prices start at $151 for tents.

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The post The UK is getting a socially distanced music festival this summer appeared first on Matador Network.

Australia offers thousands of Hong Kong visa-holders a path to permanent residency

Following the UK’s lead which, in June, offered a path to UK citizenship to nearly 3 million Hong Kong residents, Australia is now extending a helping hand to the people of Hong Kong.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison just announced that Australia will suspend its extradition treaty with Hong Kong, and give the 10,000 Hong Kong citizens on temporary skilled, graduate, and student visas in the country a pathway to permanent residency.

The announcement is a response to Hong Kong’s new restrictive national security law, which was imposed last month by Beijing. According to Morrison, the law is a “a fundamental change of circumstances in respect to our extradition agreement with Hong Kong.”

Critics of the national security law claim that it undercuts the freedoms granted under the “One country, two systems” framework, namely freedom of speech and assembly, independent judiciary, and demoratic rights.

Australia would allow almost 10,000 Hong Kongers on temporary skilled, graduate, and student visa holders to remain in Australia for five years (the limit was previously two years), as well as offer incentives for Hong Kong businesses to relocate to Australia.

Alan Tudge, Australia’s acting immigration officer, said, “There is so much talent in Hong Kong. There are great businesses in Hong Kong. And we know that many individuals now might be looking elsewhere, because they do want to be in a freer country, they want to be in a democratic country.”

China, of course, isn’t pleased with Australia’s interference. “It grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian. “China will not accept it, and expresses strong condemnation. China reserves the right to take action, and Australia will have to bear all consequences because of that.”

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The post Australia offers thousands of Hong Kong visa-holders a path to permanent residency appeared first on Matador Network.

New 1,300 bike trail in the US

The Parks, Peaks, and Prairies Bicycle Route (PPP) is a new 1,287.7-mile bike route between West Yellowstone, MT, and Minneapolis, MN, connecting towns throughout the Midwest with some of the country’s most breathtaking open spaces. The route, planned and created by the Adventure Cycling Association, takes cyclists through Yellowstone National Park, Devils Tower National Monument, the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, and the Badlands of South Dakota.

The route is divided into three sections. The first starts in West Yellowstone and stretches through the national park near geothermal hot spots and waterfalls, and then continues into the Absaroka Range. It follows the North Fork of the Shoshone River to the Bighorn Basin, before ascending into the Bighorn Mountains. The highest point of the entire route is at the Powder River Pass, at 9,675 feet.

The second portion begins in Gillette, WY, going east along I-90. It passes near Devils Tower National Monument, and then continues into the Black Hills where the route merges with the George S. Mickelson Trail en route to Mount Rushmore. From there, you’ll head through the Badlands and eventually end up on the South Dakota highway.

The third section starts on the South Dakota highway lined with farmlands and lakes en route to Minneapolis. You’ll also cross the Minnesota, Cross, and Mississippi rivers.

Carla Majernik, director of routes and mapping for the Adventure Cycling Association, said in a statement, “While 2020 might not be the ideal time to ride the full Parks, Peaks, and Prairies route, it’s a great time to tackle smaller sections if you live nearby or plan for riding in 2021 and beyond.”

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Trump banning international students

The Trump administration just attacked a shining light of our higher education system: international students. In doing so, the administration risks damaging much more than the hopes and dreams of hundreds of thousands of people from across the globe. The move will also hurt US students and our own standing in the world — for years to come, perhaps indefinitely.

On July 7, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that it would not grant visas to international students taking online-only classes — in effect forcing US colleges and universities to offer in-person instruction regardless of the health risks involved. Even if schools begin the academic year with in-person classes, should those institutions opt to go fully online mid-semester, ICE will force international students to transfer schools or leave the country.

This latter requirement is especially perverse, given that students could be subject to travel restrictions in their own country and find themselves with nowhere to go. Moreover, forcing universities to hold classes in-person irrespective of the actual coronavirus situation uses the same flawed thinking favored by the president — that pretending things are okay makes them so. In contrast to that approach, last week the University of Southern California responded to LA’s soaring infection rates by reversing its original plan to hold some in-person classes.

There’s a lot more to be said on what this ruling ignores regarding scientific fact and human rights, but what really hurts is what it says about the Trump Administrations complete misunderstanding of the central value of international students across US universities. And of the value of US higher education to the rest of the world.

Last year, 1.1 million international students studied in the United States, making up a full 5.5 percent of all students in higher education in this country, according to an Open Doors 2019 report by the Institute for International Education. Contrary to stereotypes, these students aren’t just wealthy students from China or India here to earn a US degree and then go home, and they don’t just cluster in the coastal, liberal states. While the biggest recipients of international students last year were the states of California and New York, Texas came in third, hosting over 80,000 international students.

States like Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana also host tens of thousands of international students annually. These students hail from over 170 countries and attend everything from huge state schools to private liberal arts colleges. And they bring a tangible benefit to the schools they attend.

For one, with the exception of a few elite institutions, most US colleges don’t offer financial aid to international students — meaning those full-paying pupils defray tuition costs for their local peers. Rutgers University, for example, currently has 9,000 international students from 125 countries, representing 12 percent of its student body. Rutgers is a state school that charges New Jersey residents less than half what it charges out-of-staters. One way it keeps in-state tuition low and the quality of instruction high is with revenue from international students.

Beyond that, international students promote cross-cultural understanding. I still remember the lasting impression made on me from students who hailed from Kuwait, Barbados, Bermuda, and other countries I’d never visited. I’d go on to attend a wedding in Rio and tour Warsaw with friends from Brazil and Poland, respectively, whom I met in college. Even those who don’t make lasting friendships with international students benefit from the perspectives they bring to dining hall conversations and seminar discussions.

Those students don’t just give something to us. We give something to them. Some come from places where they are unable to access the quality of education and the facilities that make certain types of learning possible — and which we take for granted. Even for those who come from countries where a high-quality, and even free, education is an option, they face other constraints.

For one, the US educational system is unique in the flexibility it allows. In most of the world, you have to decide before college — or earlier — what you plan to study, whereas most US colleges grant you two years to make that critically important decision. Even in cases where US students need to apply to a particular field, like an engineering school, they must still take a breadth of classes. While “distribution requirements” may seem like a nuisance, they represent a holistic view of the college experience that really doesn’t exist elsewhere.

Beyond that, the US educational approach is largely treated as a contract between professors and students, and learning is a collaborative and engaging pursuit. That’s not the case in many countries, where the professor’s word is considered infallible, and class comments can sometimes be seen as a waste of valuable lecture time.

These are just some of the reasons students from around the world are willing to pay considerably more for a college degree in the US than what they’d likely pay in their home countries. These students don’t only come to study engineering, math, computer science, and business management, even if those are the most popular majors among them. They also study art, journalism, and education, bringing back to their countries not just their impressions of America but also values our country once loudly championed.

On the day ICE made its pronouncement, Lee Bollinger, president of New York’s Columbia University, where international students make up 21 percent of its undergraduates, wrote to members of the Columbia community about the Trump Administration’s restrictions of work visas for faculty and visiting students. Bollinger wrote:

“I cannot overstate how strongly I disagree with these new restrictions. They strike at the heart of how American universities function, at their basic character, and at the principles that have contributed to the enormous advances in knowledge over the past century especially. Our great research universities, like Columbia, are able to contribute to the public good precisely because of the commitment to be part of an international community of scholars and researchers. The search for knowledge transcends national boundaries, and the strengths of our universities depend on tapping into that collective quest.”

Bollinger’s email went on to point out that, right now, the transnational search for knowledge also includes the crucial effort to combat the pandemic. He points out the “harm caused by the misguided changes in the nation’s visa policy” because several US-based companies that are working to develop a COVID-19 vaccine actually employ scientists from other countries who are here on visas.

The Trump administration seems hell-bent on using every opportunity to shut its doors to anyone from another country. That Elon Musk, who just worked with NASA to put two American astronauts in flight from US soil, started out as an international student in the US — as did so many other Nobel prize winners, entrepreneurs, and even artists — seems not to matter to this ideological, other-bashing approach. As Senator Elizabeth Warren noted, the approach is simply “senseless, cruel, and xenophobic.”

Consider how cruel. Think of students in their last year at a four-year college, where they’ve formed lifelong bonds. They’re looking forward to spending their final, senior year with their classmates, even if the courses must be taught online. But rather, they will be forced to return to Germany, or Kenya, or New Zealand — as my daughter’s friends will be this year — taking online classes in the middle of the night, ending their education as far from their schoolmates and professors as they could possibly be. Consider the graduate student who has moved their entire family to the US to finish a doctoral degree, one that might be impossible to earn in their own country, and who now has no recourse.

But we already know that the concept of win-win is beyond Trump’s grasp. The idea that our schools would be considered the best in the world and would educate the brightest students from across the globe, that we could instill our highest values to others and have those values shared beyond our borders, apparently means that someone else is benefiting from what the US has to offer. In Trump’s winner-takes-all mind, that must mean we’re giving away the educational goods.

And yet, by pushing away international students, Trump is chipping away at one of the pillars that makes American education great and at our cultural soft-power that we export to the world. Already, 40 percent fewer student visas were awarded this year than four years ago, and students have begun to look elsewhere — going in increasing numbers to Canada and to Europe where ever more universities are offering instruction in English.

Today, we learned that Harvard and MIT plan to sue the Trump Administration over this misguided proclamation. Others are getting creative, reportedly offering one-credit courses at pop-up locations for international students to claim partial in-person learning on a technicality. Let’s wish them success. US higher education — with its US students and the many students it welcomes from around the world — depends on it.

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The post By rejecting international students, will Trump ruin US universities? appeared first on Matador Network.

LGBTQ guide to Pittsburgh

Over the years, Pittsburgh has been quietly inching out of the closet, gaining more confidence in its queer identity. But despite this fortitude and its advancement into a vibrant hub of cultural, artistic, and academic institutions, Pittsburgh is often overlooked as nothing more than a declining Rust Belt city. Changing this mindset is important as it has so much to offer LGBTQ travelers. With its small-town feel and liberal population, Pittsburgh is not only one the most livable cities in the US, but it’s also welcoming and safe for all members of the LGBTQ community. If you are considering a visit, here is our guide to everything LGBTQ visitors need to do in Pittsburgh, from where to stay to where to pull up a barstool.

LGBTQ history

When it comes to LGBTQ health services in the US, Pittsburgh has been a trailblazer, offering non-discriminatory care before homosexuality was decriminalized in Pennsylvania, let alone nationwide. In 1972 — a year before homosexuality was declassified as a mental disorder — Pittsburgh opened the country’s second-oldest licensed LGBTQ mental health center. Named PERSAD, this organization gave the LGBTQ community quality care. In 1982, PERSAD created an AIDS support program and has since expanded to include other outreach programs aimed at supporting LGBTQ people and educating allies.

During the HIV/AIDS outbreak in the 1980s, Pittsburgh stepped up to the plate again when researchers, doctors, and gay activists in the community united to recruit gay men for a study at the University of Pittsburgh. Called the Pitt Mens Study, it joined Baltimore, Chicago, and Los Angeles in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, which was created to gain a scientific understanding of HIV/AIDS. The Pittsburgh branch became a key player in the fight against the illnesses by helping identify the transmission, progression, and treatment of the disease. Today, the non-profit Delta Foundation of Pittsburgh leads advocacy efforts, producing Pittsburgh Pride and collaborating with other smaller organizations.

Attractions

The Andy Warhol Museum

Photo: The Andy Warhol Museum/Facebook

Pop art icon Andy Warhol is a Pittsburgh native and was openly gay as early as the 1950s. Warhol explored his sexuality through art, but much of his artwork depicting gay intimacy never made it into galleries during his lifetime because of homophobia. Today, The Andy Warhol Museum is the largest North American museum dedicated to a single artist and offers monthly tours focusing on Warhol’s queer identity and artwork. In addition to showcasing art, the museum welcomes the LGBTQ community by hosting an annual LGBTQ youth prom and various drag performances.

Where: 117 Sandusky Street, North Shore

Randyland

Photo: Randyland/Facebook

Randyland is the very definition of “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” In 1995, Randy Gilson and his partner Mac bought a run-down, 100-year-old house. They transformed it into a whimsical, vibrant outdoor museum called Randyland using junk they collected from dumpsters and scrapped buildings. Today, it’s one of America’s most colorful public art landmarks and the perfect place for an impromptu Instagram photoshoot. Not only is it free of charge, but guests also often bump into Randy, who is regularly out and about welcoming guests by showering them with bits of wisdom and inspiration. With all its quirk and color, Randyland is (literally and metaphorically) a vibrant spot you should not skip when visiting the city.

Where: 501 Arch Street, Mexican War Streets

The Big Idea Bookstore

Photo: The Big Idea Bookstore/Facebook

For a healthy dose of anti-capitalism during your travels, check out The Big Idea Bookstore. Although the store itself is little, it lives up to its name. Inside, you can browse shelves full of both used and new books, most of which are focused on progressive subjects such as queer politics, feminism, racial politics, and sustainability. If you get hungry while you’re exploring, they also have a café with all-vegan food options and a large selection of tea. This bookstore is also part library — it lends books as well as movies from its queer video vault, and it also has a basket out front with free offerings. Completely volunteer-run, The Big Idea aims to “create a safe and accessible space for people to take part in an open and empowering community.” It does this not only through its books, but through events, discussions, and readings.

Where: 4812 Liberty Avenue, Bloomfield

Bars and nightlife

5801 Video Lounge and Cafe

Photo: 5801 Video Lounge & Cafe/Facebook

With its clean, classy design; gorgeous outdoor patio; and three bars, 5801 is the place to be. And it’s not called a video lounge for nothing — 5801 has 15 big screens that play music videos throughout the night. On game days, Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates fans can head over to 5801 to watch the game on the big screen. If sports aren’t your thing, you can drop in to watch episodes of Ru Paul’s Drag Race instead. 5801 also has weekly trivia, darts, and poker games.

Where: 5801 Ellsworth Avenue, Shadyside

Blue Moon

Declaring itself the “friendliest gay bar in Pittsburgh,” this dive bar is known for its welcoming atmosphere and diverse crowds. Blue Moon may be on the smaller side, but it’s full of character and cheap drinks. Inside, you’ll find two cozy, wood-paneled rooms containing a small stage, pool table, and jukebox. On its modest stage, Blue Moon hosts weekly karaoke, themed drag shows, and open stages. Performers of all kinds are welcome, including burlesque, drag kings and queens, singers, poets, and comedians. And here’s a fun fact: Ru Paul’s Drag Race champions Sharon Needles and Alaska both got their start on Blue Moon’s stage.

Where: 5115 Butler Street, Lawrenceville

Hot Mass

Sandwiched on a floor between a gay bathhouse and a bail bonds agency, Hot Mass is an underground after-hours club that holds “services” every Saturday night through to Sunday morning from midnight to 7:00 AM. Since 2012, Hot Mass has been revitalizing Pittsburgh’s rave scene with disco, house, and techno music played by a roster of acclaimed DJs from all over the world. In its dark, intimate space and atmosphere of unrestraint, Hot Mass imbues its many queer visitors with a sense of complete liberation as they dance until the sun rises.

Where: 1139 Penn Avenue, Strip District

There Ultra Lounge

Located in Downtown Pittsburgh’s Cultural District, There Ultra Lounge is a hub of entertainment with two floors of space for dancing and events. In addition to hosting top drag performers, it also has regularly scheduled amateur nights. Even without an event going on, There Ultra Lounge is worth checking out with its spacious dance floor, great food, and stellar service.

Where: 931 Liberty Avenue, Cultural District

P-Town

P-Town is a nod to Pittsburgh’s small-town feel. P-Town has an array of lively events. You name it, P-town has it: leather nights, bear nights, game nights, drag nights, American Horror Story showings — the list goes on. There are even “Bareoke” nights where you can belt out a song on stage without a scrap of clothing.

Where: 4740 Baum Boulevard, Oakland

Events

Pittsburgh Pride

Photo: Delta Foundation of Pittsburgh/Facebook

The first Pride Parade in Pittsburgh took place in June 1973, just four years after the Stonewall riots. One hundred and fifty people marched nearly four miles from Market Square in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh to Flagstaff Hill in Oakland. Over the years, the parade has taken place on a variety of routes, and in 2019 it even took place on the Andy Warhol Bridge, making it the first Pride celebration to be held on that kind of structure.

Packed with events, Pittsburgh Pride offers never-ending fun. There’s food booths, family-friendly games and crafts, drag performances, Pride pub crawls, and more. And over the years, Pittsburgh Pride has featured a number of big-name performers including Nick Jonas, Kesha, Adam Lambert, Walk the Moon, Big Freedia, and Jennifer Hudson.

Where: Liberty Avenue at the Strip District to Point State Park

ReelQ Pittsburgh LGBTQ+ Film Festival

Photo: Reel Q Pittsburgh LGBT Film Festival/Facebook

Whether you’re a film fanatic or someone who wants to see more LGBTQ representation in media, Pittsburgh’s ReelQ LGBTQ film festival is the perfect place to see queer stories on the big screen. Founded in 1985, it’s one of the oldest film festivals in the world. This 10-day festival shows about 20 first-run LGBTQ-themed films and an additional 30 short films. A committee of volunteers meets once a week year-round to screen films, working through hundreds of submissions to find stories that need to be told.

If you’re in town for the festival, you can stop in for just a day or two — admission is typically around $10 — or get a pass for the full event. ReelQ also holds year-round events in various venues around the city. Some of these events include a monthly international LGBTQ film screening, trans-themed screenings, and teen-friendly screenings. In the spring, a smaller festival called the Pittsburgh Underground Film Festival (PUFF) shows films directed by women and people of color.

Where: Row House Cinema, 4115 Butler Street, Lawrenceville

OUTrageous Bingo

Photo: Outrageous Bingo/Facebook

“This AIN’T your grandma’s bingo,” OUTrageous Bingo’s slogan touts. This boisterous game of bingo features drag queen performances, door prizes, 50-50 raffles, and themed games. Much like attending a Rocky Horror Picture Show performance, if it’s your first time, you’ll be asked to raise your hand to show you’re an OUTrageous Bingo virgin, then take a pledge promising to have fun. This is much more than your standard game of bingo. Founded by Rick Allison during the AIDS crisis, they raise money for the Pittsburgh Equality Center (Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ community center) and the Shepherd Wellness Community (Pittsburgh’s HIV/AIDS support community). OUTrageous Bingo is an event that brings the community together like no other by providing a space for LGBTQ people, their families, and their supporters.

Where: Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Avenue, Oakland

Accomodation

Ace Hotel Pittsburgh

Photo: Ace Hotel Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh’s Ace Hotel is part of a small chain of hip hotels founded in 1999 by Alex Calderwood and his partner Wade Weigel. Many of the Ace Hotels are located inside historic buildings, repurposed to maintain their historical roots while also providing guests with the comforts of a hotel. Built inside a century-old YMCA building, the Pittsburgh location is no different. Its original three-story gym is still intact, and guests can enjoy a game of ping pong or cornhole. It’s also used as an event space and has hosted drag shows, queer DJs, and queer craft markets. Ace Hotel Pittsburgh also employs mostly queer staff, so you’re sure to be comfortable during your stay.

Where: 120 South Whitfield Street, East Liberty

Parador Inn

Photo: The Parador Inn of Pittsburgh/Facebook

The Caribbean-themed, gay-owned Parador Inn occupies a renovated Victorian mansion dating back to the 1800s and is a popular spot for queer couples. There are nine rooms to choose from, each with its own unique design. Every room captures the mansion’s elegance with original detailed woodwork, stained-glass windows, gas log fireplaces, and fancy furnishings. The common areas include a sunroom with tropical plants, a library with space to read and play games, a formal parlor where you can sit back and enjoy a drink, multiple dining rooms, and an outdoor garden.

Where: 939 Western Avenue, North Shore

Priory Hotel

Photo: Pittsburgh Grand Hall/Facebook

True to its name, the Priory Hotel used to be a Benedictine monastery. Restored in 1986, the hotel rooms are now dressed with Edwardian antiques and modern-day furnishings. In the adjoining church is Pittsburgh’s Grand Hall, a space used to host events and wedding receptions. Despite the religious setting, the Priory Hotel openly welcomes LGBTQ guests and wedding receptions. A short walk to the Andy Warhol Museum, Randyland, and downtown, you’ll also find plenty of entertainment nearby.

Where: 614 Pressley Street, North Shore

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Ice cream styles around the world

Ice cream is the closest thing the world has to a universally loved dessert. Equal parts sweet, creamy, and cooling, ice cream is the perfect summer treat — though there’s an argument to be made that it’s just as perfect every other time of the year, too. All of the different ways that it’s prepared in different countries is testament to the appeal of this sweet, frozen treat. And depending on where you are in the world, its form and structure varies widely.

These 15 styles of ice cream around the world are the perfect midday treat, afternoon snack, or cooling dessert.

Quick note: To narrow it down, we stuck to the most literal definition of ice cream. To be considered, it has to have some type of dairy or coconut milk (the “cream”), and it has to be frozen (the “ice”). That rules out favorites like Ecuador’s helado de paila and Iran’s faloodeh, but there’s always room for seconds when it comes to dessert.

1. Germany: Spaghettieis

Photo: ColeMR/Shutterstock

Appearances can make or break a dessert. Spaghettieis has an appearance that, if nothing else, is a head turner. Spaghettieis is ice cream that’s made to look like spaghetti and topped with a strawberry sauce that supposedly resembles tomato sauce. White chocolate stands in for the Parmigiano.

A man named Dario Fontanella created spaghettieis in 1969, according to The Local, after squeezing vanilla ice cream through a spätzle press. Today, it’s estimated that 23 to 25 million bowls of spaghettieis are sold every year.

2. India: Kulfi

Photo: StockImageFactory.com/Shutterstock

Kulfi is a dense, milk-based ice cream that comes in flavors like pistachio, mango, cardamom, and saffron. Legend has it that it was created in northern India in the 16th century, when milk was put in a metal cone and frozen in a slurry of ice and salt. Kulfi today is made in one of two ways. The first is to slowly heat milk with spices while constantly stirring until it’s cooked down. The second, and faster, way is to use condensed or evaporated milk for a sweet, thick base. Either way, it’s frozen in a cone-shaped mold. Kulfi is also common in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan.

3. Indonesia: Es doger

Photo: Ariyani Tedjo/Shutterstock

This Indonesian ice cream is made with a coconut milk base. It’s lower in fat than dairy based ice creams, so it tends to be a little more icy. Es doger comes in a variety of fruit flavors like durian and mango, and toppings like fruit, honey, condensed milk, or another sweetener are sometimes added on. It’s found all over Indonesia.

4. Israel: Halva ice cream

Photo: Gulsina/Shutterstock

Halva is a sweet confection made with tahini, honey, and nuts. The first known written recipe is from the 13th century, though some believe versions existed in the Middle East and North Africa as far back as 3000 BCE. The name comes from halwa, which is the Arabic word for candy. Halva is eaten in many Mediterranean countries today, and in Israel, one popular preparation is to mix halva and pistachios into ice cream for a nutty, cold treat.

5. Italy: Gelato

Photo: frantic00/Shutterstock

Few types of ice cream have the name recognition of gelato, and even fewer are put on such a high pedestal — there’s even a 1,000-square-meter museum dedicated solely to the history and production of gelato.

People in Italy have long ate sweet, frozen desserts using ice from the Dolomites. However, it’s widely believed that the addition of cream to those icees didn’t happen until Marco Polo returned from China with stories about milk-based icees. Gelato, which is thickened with few ice crystals, is said to have been invented by Bernardo Buontalenti in the late 1500s for the famous Florentine Medici banking family.

6. Japan: Kakigōri

Photo: thaweerat/Shutterstock

Kakigōri is a type of Japanese shaved ice that’s flavored with syrups and often topped with sweetened condensed milk (meaning it just makes the qualifications for incorporating both cream and ice). Its history can be traced to the 11th century, when the treat was reserved for those who could afford to keep blocks of ice through winter and into the hot summer. Texture is everything, and care is put into making sure the slivers of ice are as thin as possible.

While kakigōri is popular in Japan, mochi ice cream is the most famous Japanese style ice cream in the United States. It was created in Los Angeles in the 1980s by businesswoman Francis Hashimoto, and it’s similar to daifuku, which has a sweet red bean paste filling instead of ice cream.

7. Malaysia: Ais kacang

Photo: ayarx oren/Shutterstock

Like kakigōri, ais kacang is more like an icee that often uses condensed milk as a sweetener rather than a straight-up ice cream. It’s made with shaved ice, red beans (the name roughly translates to iced beans), jelly, and syrup. Condensed milk and ice cream, as well as nuts or fruits like mango and durian, can be added on top. According to Serious Eats, it’s sometimes called ABC in place of ais batu campur, or “mixed shaved ice.”

8. Mexico: Paletas

Photo: kdbphoto/Shutterstock

Paletas come in two styles: fruity and juice based, or decadent and milk based. Coffee, coconut, and chocolate are all popular flavors for the latter, as well as paletas flavored like chongos zamoranos, which is a Mexican dessert made with curdled milk, cinnamon, and sugar. Paletas are sold pretty much everywhere in Mexico, and a nationwide chain of shops called La Michoacana is famous for its milk-based paletas.

9. New Zealand: Hokey pokey

Photo: Ho Su A Bi/Shutterstock

The hokey pokey has nothing to do with turning yourself around in New Zealand. Instead, it’s the Kiwi word for honeycomb toffee, and hokey pokey in vanilla ice cream is one of the most popular flavors in the country. There are competing claims on who first created hokey pokey ice cream, the most popular being that a man named Brian Simon created it in Dunedin using Crunchie Bar candy pieces. Whoever created it, it first appeared in the 1950s and quickly became a favorite.

10. South Korea: J-cone

Photo: Zainy Zinie/Shutterstock + Fadhli Adnan/Shutterstock

Jipangyi, or J-cones, lack the long history of some of the other global ice cream styles on this list, but it’s no less notable. J-cones are candy cane-shaped, puffed corn shells that are filled with ice cream. Each is filled just enough for a little of the ice cream to stick out either end. Some general histories point to an origin story in the malls of the Philippines, but J-cones really took off in South Korea’s Insadong shopping district.

11. Syria: Booza (also called dondurma)

Photo: Stanislav Petryshyn/Shutterstock

This creamy and dense ice cream stays solid at higher temperatures than the stuff in your freezer thanks to sahlab (orchid root) and mastic (resin). The result is a sweet and frozen dessert that stretches like laffy taffy and is somewhat chewy. The most common flavor is the natural sweet taste from the cream and sugar, though fruit and nut flavors are sold as well. Booza is popular around the Levant, including in Turkey where it’s called dondurma, and it’s believed to be one of the oldest traditional styles of ice cream in the world.

12. Thailand: I tim pad

Photo: Moving Moment/Shutterstock

As known as rolled ice cream or stir-fried ice cream in the US, i tim pad is made by pouring a sweet cream-based mixture onto an extremely cold metal surface. The liquid quickly freezes, and then is scraped off in a roll with a metal tool that looks somewhat like a paint chipper. The beauty is that flash freezing the cream like this means pretty much any flavor is possible, as well as any topping — condensed milk, fruit, and sweet sauces, to name a few. While the full origin story isn’t known, it quickly took off as an internationally known style when the technique moved from Thailand to the US in the mid 2010s.

13. Philippines: Sorbetes

Photo: Dexter Acebes/Shutterstock

Sorbetes may sound like sorbet, but it’s an entirely different thing. Sorbetes are made with water buffalo milk, ice, eggs, and flavors that can be anything from ube to cheddar cheese. It’s eaten on a cone like the ice cream you see in many other places or sandwiched between two slices of bread. You can buy the ice cream from street vendors around the Philippines.

14. Russia: Plombir

Photo: Roman Yanushevsky/Shutterstock

Russia is cold much of the year, but that doesn’t mean ice cream isn’t a popular dessert. Plombir is an ice cream that originated in France but really found a home in the former USSR. It’s defined by a heavy use of condensed milk along with sugar, which gives it a high fat content and a generously sweet taste and thickness. Plombir has historically been one of the most sought-after and expensive desserts in what is now Russia.

15. United States: Frozen custard

Photo: Laura Reilly

Americans love their ice cream. The grocery store freezer aisle alone can overwhelm someone with options, not to mention all of the styles sold at small beachfront stands and loud ice cream trucks that cruise the cities and suburbs. The most classic style is a frozen custard made with a milk and egg yolk base that’s chipped into a solid. The eggs set the ice cream apart, making it more dense with fewer ice crystals than dairy-only ice creams. You’ll find extra creamy, soft-serve frozen custard on the boardwalks of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and more.

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Thai cabinet passes LGBTQ bill

This week saw Thailand taking major strides toward equality. On June 8, the country’s cabinet approved a new civil partnership bill that recognizes same-sex unions with almost the same legal rights as married heterosexuals — as long as at least one person in the couple is of Thai descent. The legislation has yet to pass parliament, but if it does, it will make Thailand the second country in Asia, after Taiwan, to allow same-sex unions. The bill also would allow for same-sex couples to adopt children, enjoy rights of inheritance, and have joint property management.

According to Ratchada Thanadirek, a deputy government spokesperson, “The Civil Partnership Bill is an important step for Thai society in promoting equal rights and supporting the rights of same-sex couples to build families and live as partners.”

It’s important to note, however, that while the bill essentially grants same-sex couples the same rights as married couples, it falls short of actually calling the union a “marriage.” For many, this might sound like an indefensible omission, but in Thailand the bill is still considered a major progressive step forward.

“What’s in a name? It’s the content that matters,” Kittinan Daramadhaj, president of Rainbow Sky Association of Thailand told Reuters. “‘Civil partnership’ shouldn’t distract from the fact that it’s about the legal registration of unions.”

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