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Airlines suspend alcohol service

We all know that air travel is going to look very different due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but temperature checks, canceled flights, and empty middle seats are the least of our problems. The real issue is that some airlines are banning alcohol on their flights.

To limit contact between passengers and crew, EasyJet and Virgin Atlantic will temporarily stop serving alcohol on all flights, and British Airways and American Airlines will only serve alcohol on long-haul flights. Delta, similarly, has cut the service on domestic and short-haul international trips. Limiting alcohol isn’t just about reducing contact between passengers and crew, but also preventing alcohol-fueled incidents that could potentially lead to COVID-19 transmission.

Non-alcoholic refreshments are also taking a hit. EasyJet passengers must bring their own drinks on board, limiting its in-flight drink service to glasses of water that are only available upon request. Southwest will also be temporarily suspending all onboard beverage and snack service. British Airways will offer a free bottle of water, but the typical selection of sodas, juices, and coffees won’t be available for a while.

Some airlines are also reducing food services. Virgin Atlantic will be serving food in pre-prepared boxes, EasyJet will stop serving food altogether, and British Airways will provide complimentary biscuits, chips, or pretzels, with all meals served in boxes.

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Airbnb new anti-discrimination plan

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer and the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests that have spread throughout the world, companies across all industries are reevaluating their approach to racial issues. Airbnb’s platform continues to be the scene of race bias, with both hosts and guests allegedly discriminating against potential guests and hosts on the basis of race. Now, Airbnb is taking steps to prevent this from happening.

According to Airbnb, the new Project Lighthouse initiative is designed to “address discrimination that’s based on perception — and on Airbnb, people percieve race from things like first named and profile photos.”

Currently, Airbnb requires hosts to agree to a non-discrimination policy, hides user photos until after bookings are confirmed, and has hired a non-discrimination team. Now, Airbnb is partnering with civil rights organizations like Color of Change and Upturn to determine what further policy changes might be needed to remove bias from the reservation process, reviews, and interactions with hosts and customer support.

On the Project Lighthouse website, Airbnb said, “Since 2016, we’ve removed 1.3 million people from Airbnb for declining to treat others without judgment or bias — but there’s still a lot more work to be done. An important step in our continued fight against discrimination is understanding when and how it happens,” and described the new initiative as a way to “uncover, measure, and overcome discrimination when booking or hosting on Airbnb.”

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Virtual Grand Canyon Star Party 2020

Virtual stargazing is about as much fun as virtual hiking. After months of virtual substitutes, we’re ready for the real thing. Sadly, in many cases that’s simply not possible, or safe, so for a little while longer we’ll have to settle for the online version of our favorite activities — and that includes stargazing. Nothing’s stopping you from going out to your backyard and looking up at the stars, but if you want to experience the Grand Canyon’s annual Star Party this year, you’ll have to tune in online.

Since Grand Canyon National Park is closed due to the coronavirus lockdown, its 30th annual Grand Canyon Star Party must be held online. Every day from June 13 to June 20, the national park will post two live videos on its Facebook page. The first is a presentation from a guest speaker, and the second is a livestream from astronomers’ telescopes, with narration describing what you’re looking at in real-time.

The Facebook page invites viewers to “join the astronomers as they develop real-time astronomical photographs before your eyes of galaxies, nebulae, globular clusters, asterisms, and much more.”

The presentation videos go live at 6:00 PM Pacific, and celestial live streams at 7:00 PM Pacific. Tonight’s presentation (June 16) will feature a demonstration of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope by astrophysicist Dr. Amber Straughn. Tomorrow will include a photography lesson from night sky photographer Shreenivasan Manievannan. Check out the schedule of events on the event’s Facebook page.

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Underrated wilderness Western Canada

The parking lot at Banff’s Moraine Lake can fill up by 7:00 AM, and traffic jams, shuttle lines, and relentless crowds don’t exactly spell summer fun. Instead of fighting to get into Banff, let’s dedicate 2020 to the lesser-known spots, the crowd-free spots, the stay-six-feet-away spots. In Western Canada, even these spots look like stock desktop wallpaper, practically offensive to the rest of the planet in their outrageous beauty.

The below national and provincial parks — the provincial parks are free to visit — are all in British Columbia or Alberta, concentrating on the Canadian Rockies. Each of them has a fraction of the visitors you’d find at Banff, not to mention Yellowstone or Yosemite. Even if you can’t get here soon, here’s where to point your dreaming.

National parks
Waterton Lakes National Park

Photo: Scott Prokop/Shutterstock

Glacier National Park’s twin just across the border, Waterton Lakes somehow gets 2.5 million fewer visitors than its identical American counterpart. The beauty, though, certainly doesn’t care about the flag change.

True to its name, Waterton Lakes is as much about the water as it is the mountains: Hop on the classic Waterton Lake boat tour, take the scenic Akamina Parkway all the way to Cameron Lake, and from here, consider taking the 12-mile Carthew-Alderson Trail past four other lakes to Carthew Summit. For something a bit more casual, the 8.7-mile Red Rock Parkway is another scenic drive that’s absolutely worth your time — take it slowly and keep your eyes peeled for wildlife, like bears, deer, and bighorn sheep.

Mount Revelstoke National Park

Photo: Richard Cavalleri/Shutterstock

Mount Revelstoke. Giant Cedars boardwalk. Meadows in the Sky Parkway. Inspiration Woods. The fairytale-ish names at this national park are well-deserved: Here you’ll walk among giants, you’ll summit mountains, you’ll paddle jade-green waters. If nothing else, you’ll definitely revel.

Mount Revelstoke’s summit is reachable via hike, bike, or car — stick around after sunset, though, and you’ll be in for a night sky that’s almost as bright. On your way to the top, stop at the Monashee Viewpoint on the aforementioned parkway for a bird’s-eye view over British Columbia.

Tip: Heading east out of Revelstoke takes you along Highway 1 across Roger’s Pass to Glacier National Park of Canada and Yoho National Park. It’s a 2.5-hour drive you won’t believe.

Yoho National Park

Photo: Don Mammoser/Shutterstock

45 minutes from the town of Banff, Yoho — a Cree word to describe amazement or awe — gets 80 percent fewer visitors than its next-door neighbor. And yet if you were to compare images of both, you wouldn’t be able to tell which is which. Glittering lakes, snowy peaks, northern lights, thundering waterfalls, the works.

Lake O’Hara is can’t-miss, though you’ll need a reservation to shuttle in (otherwise it’s an eight-mile hike). There’s also Emerald Lake, true to its name, and the impressive Takakkaw Falls, Canada’s second-highest waterfall at 1,250 feet. You can drive right up to the base.

As for hiking, consider the 10-mile trek to Twin Falls, the easy three-mile loop around Emerald Lake, or the two-day, 12-mile Iceline Trail. In certain parts of the park, you’ll be hiking along Burgess Shale, known for its insane sea-creature fossils from the Cambrian Explosion. Keep your eyes peeled.

Note: We’d be remiss not to mention the Emerald Lake Lodge. With 85 rooms, you’ll certainly run into other travelers, but its location on the lake — and its boardwalk — make it hard to not make an exception.

Kootenay National Park

Photo: r.classen/Shutterstock

Kootenay sits in Banff’s shadow a mere 30 minutes away, yet another underrated spot with all the glorious glacier-capped peaks and turquoise lakes of Banff at a fraction of the crowds.

If you’re coming from Banff, you’ll hit the Vermilion Pass Area first — you’ll want to make the 5.2-mile round-trip trek to Stanley Glacier or the shorter one-mile hop to Marble Canyon. From the south, it’s easy to spend the day hanging out around Olive Lake or soaking in Radium Hot Springs. The Sinclair Canyon and the stretch of Hwy 93 along the Kootenay River offer great photo opps, too.

Provincial parks
Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park

Photo: Mekdet/Shutterstock

You guessed it: Mount Assiniboine is just south of Banff, and, well, you get it. Nicknamed the “Matterhorn of the Rockies,” Mount Assiniboine is the peak to know. It would certainly not have a fraction of Banff’s visitors if it had any roads.

To get in, you’ll be hiking, taking a helicopter, or some combination of both, and you’ll definitely be staying the night. You’ll have a few hiking options regarding routes, each about 20 miles. Once you’re here, you’ll spend your nights camping, staying in hostel-esque huts, or taking it easy in the remote Assiniboine Lodge. You’ll spend your days hunting for the most beautiful lakes you’ve ever seen, no overcrowded parking lots in sight.

Wells Gray Provincial Park

Photo: Bjoern Alberts/Shutterstock

Wells Gray’s volcanic, waterfall-tumbling landscape — still in the Canadian Rockies but a solid six hours from Banff — mixes this list up a bit. The southern quarter is the only truly accessible section, the 21-mile “Corridor” leading you to trailheads, campsites, and millions of acres of potential.

While here, you’ll want to see the twice-as-high-as-Niagara Helmcken Falls, paddle Murtle Lake, and climb Pyramid Mountain — the eight-mile round-trip to the summit provides you with spectacular views over the province.

Mount Robson Provincial Park

Photo: Chantal de Bruijne/Shutterstock

The highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, the 12,972-foot Mount Robson is a giant among its kin. The stunning Berg Lake Trail is well known in Canada, rising 2,600 feet over 14 miles — most do the picturesque trek across several days.

If you’re not one to backpack, check out the headwaters of the Fraser River, hike to the spectacular Kinney Lake, gaze at Rearguard Falls, and go for an afternoon paddle on Moose Lake.

Honorable Mentions
Jasper National Park

Photo: Stas Moroz/Shutterstock

At well over 4,000 square miles, Jasper is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies. Its views would cement it near the top of this list, but with 2.4 million visitors in 2019, we can’t quite call it crowd-free — even if it does have almost half the visitors of nearby Banff.

That being said, it’s absolutely worth your time, and with its size, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a corner to yourself. Backpackers and campers can easily avoid the crowds; those who prefer waking up to Italian espresso should look to the 32-room Glacier View Lodge, the only glacier-view resort in Canada, and their private morning tours of the Columbia Icefield Skywalk.

Joffre Lakes Provincial Park

Photo: Pierre Leclerc/Shutterstock

Three glacier-fed lakes — Lower, Middle, and Upper Joffre Lakes — give this park its name, though “park” is a tiny bit of a misnomer. Yes, it’s a park, but for all intents and purposes, it’s a hiking trail. Park five minutes south of Lower Joffre Lake, and in about 2.5 hours you’ll be resting along the edge of Upper Joffre Lake, where you can camp from the night or picnic on the water before heading back to civilization.

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve

Photo: Sara Winter/Shutterstock

Pacific Rim passed the one-million-visitor mark last year, making it one of Canada’s more popular parks. It’s on the southwest side of the famously wild Vancouver Island, known for its epic storms and ultra-dense rainforest. But paddle out to the Broken Group Islands or go for days on the West Coast Trail, and those million-plus visitors will be a distant memory.

Kananaskis Country

Photo: karamysh/Shutterstock

Kananaskis Country doesn’t make the list because it’s not a park — but it used to be part of Banff before its downsizing in the 20th century.

Now, it’s parks, plural — 11 to be precise. Because of its confusing designation (and its proximity to Banff), the trails are rather quiet: The four-mile Read’s Tower hike feels like Fjord Norway, the six-mile trek to Sarrail Ridge would be one of the best in Glacier, the easy 2.5-mile Grassi Lakes hike will get you your own private Moraine Lake-esque experience. And there are dozens more, each tucked into a corner of the Canadian Rockies that could be all yours.

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Ring of fire eclipse in June

If you look up at the sky on June 21 and see a giant ring of fire, it’s not a sign that the apocalypse is finally here — despite what the rest of 2020 may suggest. It’s actually a dramatic annular solar eclipse.

An annular eclipse, also known as a “ring of fire” eclipse, occurs when the new moon is furthest away from Earth on its elliptical orbit, and doesn’t cover the sun completely while passing between our planet and the sun. The moon then has a circle of sunlight around its edges, making it look like a bright ring.

The solar eclipse on June 21 will be visible mainly in parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. If you happen to be in the Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan, India, Tibet, China, or Taiwan, you can expect to see the celestial phenomenon. The best spots to see the annular solar eclipse is between the two blue lines on the NASA-created map below.

Photo: Google Maps/NASA

Because looking at a solar eclipse can damage your eyesight, make sure to wear proper glasses to protect your eyes.

The next North American “ring of fire” eclipse will take place on June 10, 2021. It will be visible at sunrise in parts of Canada, particularly Ontario, Quebec, and Nunavut.

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Walls to protect Miami sea levels

Miami is hard at work trying to storm-proof its coastline. Under a proposed plan currently being developed by the US Army Corps of Engineers, storm surge gates would be installed on three major waterways emptying into Biscayne Bay off the Miami coast. The plan calls for a $4.6 billion storm surge protection system to keep the 2.8 million people living in Miami-Dade County safe.

The strength of hurricanes have increased due to climate change, along with the threat of storm surges. Miami was noted as one of the world’s most vulnerable cities according to a report from Resources for the Future, with sea levels expected to rise 3.5 feet over the next 60 years.

The Miami River, a major commercial thoroughfare, would be among the waterways protected by the gates. Additionally, the plan would install pumps and floodwalls along the city’s waterfront, ranging in height from one to 13 feet. Downtown, a 36-foot-high wall could rise from the floor of Biscayne Bay to protect the city center.

Pushback may come from local residents and workers concerned about losing their ocean views, as well as from conservation groups preferring natural solutions such as increased reef health and biodiverse shorelines. “This project is really reflective of an agency that has a hammer and sees everything as a nail,” Rachel Silverstein, of Miami Waterkeepers, said to NPR. “We know there is really valuable protection from storm surge given by natural infrastructure like coral reefs, mangroves, dunes and things like that.”

The formal plan won’t be completed until 2021. It then must gain approval and funding from national and local government officials.

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Belgium free passes for residents

International borders aren’t exactly being flung open just yet, so countries are getting creative with ways to promote domestic travel. To incentivize people to travel locally, Belgium is giving residents free train passes and vouchers for spending at cultural institutions. All residents will receive a rail pass good for 10 free journeys (five return trips), valid from July until the end of December. The pass can be used anywhere in Belgium. In addition, employers can now give their staff tax-deductive $337 gift vouchers, which can be used at restaurants, museums, and theaters.

After three months of lockdown, Belgium’s bars, restaurants, and cafes will reopen this week with social distancing measures in place. To increase restaurant profitability, the VAT rate on food and drinks (except alcohol) has been reduced to 6 percent until the end of the year. This won’t benefit customers, but will be a way for employers to keep a larger share of their sale.

In addition to encouraging tourism, the Belgian government is giving its vulnerable population — those receiving welfare benefits — an extra $56 per month until the end of the year.

Hopefully, these combined measures will stimulate an economy that has all but grinded to a halt.

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Bakers Against Racism launches

Two DC-based pastry chefs, Paola Velez and Willa Pelini, are mobilizing professional and home bakers to support causes connected to the Black Lives Matter movement. The pair are behind Bakers Against Racism, a virtual bake sale taking place from June 15 to June 20.

At first, Velez and Pellini predicted that only a handful of professional bakers would be interested in joining their efforts, but the bake sale has since evolved into a global effort. So far, 2,400 bakers have pledged to join Bakers Against Racism. According to a post on its Instagram page, participants are from “42 states, over 170 US cities & 15 countries.”

Documents distributed to participants provide instructions on how to operate a virtual bake sale and manage orders. They also state that the goals of Bakers Against Racism is “an end to racism, fascism, and the unjust treatment of BLACK people in America,” and that “everyone who wants to see radical change against systemic and structural racism” can participate.

Participants are asked to commit to baking at least 150 pieces of the baked good of their choice, proceeds from which will go to the anit-racist or social justice adjacent cause. Their suggestions include the Brooklyn Bail Fund, National Bail Out Fund, Communities United Against Police Brutality, or a local chapter of Black Lives Matter.

Bakers began taking orders on June 15, and are encouraged to plan their own safe and socially distant pickups or deliveries. The hashtag #bakersagainstracism groups all the participating bakers together, making it easier to search for a baker in your neighborhood. On June 21, bakers are encouraged to post receipts indicating their donation under the same hashtag.

“As part of a multicultural industry that is oftentimes underrepresented with diversity, it was important for us to participate in this movement to show our support and unity for Black and Brown [people],” Chris Tucker, owner of Betta with Butta, and one of the participating bakers, wrote to me in an email. “We will always show favor to charitable causes that allow delicious food to bring people together for much needed conversation.”

Velez told Eater that she hopes Bakers Against Racism becomes an annual event. For now, we can only hope that lots of people will be motivated to buy homemade baked goods at top dollar if it means supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

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Cheesecake history and styles

America’s taste for cheesecake is evident. If it’s not diner menus across the country making the case, then the more than 200 Cheesecake Factory restaurants from Alabama to Wisconsin, which grew out of a humble cheesecake-only bakery in Los Angeles, give some indication.

But cheesecake existed long before Evelyn Overton started peddling the Cheesecake Factory’s namesake dessert in the 1970s. The concept of mixing fresh cheese (cheese that’s neither pressed nor aged) with eggs and flour, then baking it using hot stones, dates back to antiquity. Ancient Romans left records of libum and savillum, which Cato the Elder outlined in De Agri Cultura, one of the oldest surviving examples of Latin prose, in 160 BCE. In ancient Greece, where cheesecake is said to have originated in the third century, a similar recipe may have been offered to athletes at the first Olympic Games in 776 BCE.

The concept continued to evolve throughout medieval Europe. Italians have long baked cakes using ricotta that can be seen as precursors to today’s cheesecake, while a crustless, heart-shaped relative called coeur à la crème was popular in Victorian France.

American-style cheesecake recipes made their way into print by the late 19th century when chef and author Jessup Whitehead published The Steward’s Handbook and Guide to Party Catering. Yet the dense, indulgent dessert that’s so ubiquitous in the United States today specifically incorporates cream cheese, which Whitehead’s recipes do not specify.

It’s unclear when cream cheese was first introduced to lend modern American cheesecake its characteristic richness. One thing is certain, though: You can’t make a New York or Chicago-style cheesecake, America’s signature rivals, without it.

From the East Coast to Europe and Japan, these are the cheesecakes every fan needs to try.

New York-style cheesecake

Photo: Vladislav Noseek/Shutterstock

Cream cheese has been commercially produced in the United States since the 1870s, thanks to New York dairyman William Lawrence. Lawrence was in the business of making Neufchâtel, a soft cheese tracing back to sixth-century France, before he added cream to the pressed product and made an even richer cheese. According to food historian Sarah Wassberg Johnson, this likely set the stage for New York’s longtime obsession with cheesecake.

Legend has it that the first New York-style cheesecake can be attributed to Jewish deli owner Arnold Reuben, of Reuben sandwich fame. As the story goes, upon sampling a cheese pie made with farmer’s cheese, Reuben swapped the dairy product for cream cheese, creating a version that took New York City by storm. A second Manhattan deli, Lindy’s, allegedly hired Reuben’s pastry chef shortly after to produce its own legendary cheesecake, said Johnson. Lindy’s recipe was later enshrined in the hit musical Guys and Dolls, which made reference to the cheesecake at a stand-in restaurant called Mindy’s being the best in the country.

No matter its origin, New York cheesecake is distinct from other recipes. In addition to using cream cheese, bakers add sour or heavy cream to the filling. Extra egg yolks may be thrown in for extra richness. “The result is light as gauze. It also packs the wallop of a professional boxer. Americans understand this and champion it,” said Ed Levine, who considers heavy cream non-negotiable, in an essay published in 2006’s The New York Times Dessert Cookbook. This thick, velvety filling is then loaded into a graham cracker crust made from crumbled graham crackers, sugar, butter, and a pinch of salt.

German cheesecake

Photo: HungryBild/Shutterstock

The history of German cheesecake is murky, as käsekuchen is an example of a European fresh-cheese dessert recipe that developed over the ages. It’s been around since at least the 1600s, and Austrians eat a similar cake known as topfenkuchen.

Rather than cream cheese, käsekuchen filling is made with quark, which is a fresh, unripened cheese with a small curd, plus eggs, milk, and sugar. It’s traditionally baked in a dough crust, though shortbread crust is not uncommon. Another variation, käsekuchen torte, incorporates cream and gelatin to set in lieu of being baked. Berries or other fruit may be added to the filling.

Chicago-style cheesecake

Photo: Eli’s Cheesecake Company/Facebook

Chicago’s cheesecake origin story centers on one restaurateur, Eli Schulman, who became a local celebrity when up-and-coming stars like Barbara Streisand began frequenting his delicatessen. Schulman opened several successful eateries in Chicago over the next few decades, including Eli’s Cheesecake World in 1996.

Schulman was not the only Chicago restaurateur serving cheesecake when he endeavored to perfect the recipe at his 1966 steakhouse. He was, however, committed to creating the city’s fluffiest recipe, which he debuted at the inaugural Taste of Chicago in 1980. His success, and his cheesecake’s popularity, eventually led to the establishment of his dessert emporium, which churns out some 20,000 baked goods daily.

The secret to Eli’s Cheesecake Company’s proverbial hotcakes is slow-cultured cream cheese and the addition of sour cream. According to some Chicago cheesecake purists, however, the city’s signature style requires an extra dollop of cream cheese in place of sour cream. Whatever winds up in the filling is then smoothed onto a shortbread crust and baked in a greased cake pan, rather than a tall springform pan as used by most New York-style bakers.

Pinoy cheesecake

Photo: Zane Vergara/Shutterstock

Cheesecake is purple in the Philippines thanks to its central ingredient: ube. Ube is a bright purple yam that’s sweeter than most sweet potatoes and used often in Pinoy desserts. To make no-bake ube cheesecake, the tuber is first boiled and mashed into a standalone sweet known as ube halaya, which is then mixed with cream cheese, vanilla, and maybe condensed milk. The purple concoction is spread onto a graham cracker, digestive, or cookie crust and served cold. A baked version also exists, which incorporates eggs into the batter but is still served chilled.

Japanese cheesecake

Photo: Assawa M/Shutterstock

If Chicago’s cheesecake is famous for being fluffy, then Japan’s can be called the goosedown of desserts. It’s cakier than what diners typically see in the United States, with an impressive rise similar to Japanese pancakes and a delicate texture similar to souffle.

American soldiers brought cheesecake to Japan after World War II after introducing soft, Western cheeses to the Japanese palate. It was not commercialized until the 1960s, however, when confectionery king Tomotaro Kuzuno discovered käsekuchen, or German cheesecake, while traveling in Berlin. Chain bakery Rikuro Ojisan helped spread the recipe while Uncle Tetsu’s flagship location in Fukuoka was among the first in Japan to gain a following for the dessert in the 1990s. Thanks to social media, Japanese cheesecake also achieved its 15 minutes of internet fame in the mid-2010s.

A couple of factors contribute to the cheesecake’s characteristic airiness: Egg whites and yolks are whipped separately, like a chiffon cake, and it’s cooked in a bain-marie, or hot water bath. The rest is pretty standard: There’s cream cheese, butter, sugar, and whipped cream, though Japanese cheesecake is lighter on the sugar than others.

Swedish cheesecake

Photo: pingpongcat/Shutterstock

One source traces the written record of ostkaka, meaning “cheese cake” in Swedish, back to the early 16th century, when it supposedly appeared at the bishop of Linköping’s New Year’s Day feast. It’s a traditional dessert in Småland, a southern province located a few hours north of Linköping, and a variation is also common in Hälsingland in central Sweden.

Both recipes call for rennet and milk to create small curds, which can be substituted for cottage cheese in a pinch. Cream, sugar, eggs, almond, and bitter almond round out the batter, which is then baked without a crust, topped with whipped cream and jam, and always served warm. In Småland, copper pots are essential to the baking process. There, it’s customary to eat ostkaka from the middle out, likely as a vestige of avoiding any parts that may have been tainted with copper or tin during the home-baking process.

While most ostkaka are store bought today, the dessert still has a dedicated fanbase. In 2003, a group of them formed the “Friends of Ostkaka” nonprofit and campaigned for an Ostakaka Day, which has been celebrated in Sweden on November 14 since 2004.

Basque cheesecake

Photo: Paul's Lady/Shutterstock

Gazta tarta, a cheesecake from the Basque region of northern Spain, is one dessert that’s supposed to look burnt. Its exact origin is not lost to history like so many other European cheesecakes: Gazta tarta originated in San Sebastian by way of a pintxos bar called La Viña.

Spain’s Basque region is no stranger to custard-based desserts, but this particular cheesecake has been served at La Viña for about three decades. It was invented not long after Philadelphia cream cheese arrived in the region in the 1970s. Outsiders have since caught on, both traveling to San Sebastian to line up for a slice and recreating the recipe in their home kitchens.

The trick to La Viña’s nearly burnt cheesecake, which is now served in restaurants from around Basque Country to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, is baking it at a high heat for a short time. This creates a jiggly, molten center and dark, caramelized exterior that adds texture in place of a crust.

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What it’s like to camp in a Roofnest

There are a few sounds you don’t want to hear when tent camping. A clap of thunder is one of them. On a recent night in Kiptopeke State Park, Virginia, on the shores of the Chesapeake, my fiance Heather and I heard one and then two, both quickly followed by lightning. At that point, we stopped slowly counting and started quickly throwing our things back into the car.

It was the first night we were testing out the Roofnest Falcon. In a way, the weather was just right. Trial by thunderstorm is about as good of a tent test as there is.

Roofnest is a hardshell rooftop tent company with seven different options ranging from $2,895 to $3,395. The foldable tents are fancier than car camping, plusher than tent camping, and nimbler than hauling a camper around. Plus it’s far closer to nature than hiding out in an RV. And, judging by first-hand experience, it’s a wonderfully dry spot to listen to heavy rain cascade outside.

Camping is primed to have a moment in 2020. It’s among the safest activities in the COVID-19 era, so long as you stay away from crowded spots and follow the Centers For Disease Control guidelines for parks and recreation (something that’s easy to do when your tent can be set up pretty much anywhere your car can park). It’s also looking like 2020 will be the year of the road trip as people avoid claustrophobic airplanes and countries retreat to travel bubbles that Americans aren’t invited to. Driving to where you want to go and sleeping outside isn’t just something to do, it’s close to the only thing that restless souls aching for travel can do.

Photo: Nickolaus Hines

Figuring out how to set up the Roofnest was the first thing on the agenda after checking in at Kiptopeke and driving to our campsite. I had a link to a YouTube video that explained it all — something I put perhaps too much trust in rather than figuring out the tent beforehand. There wasn’t enough service to load the video. Instead of driving back out to download some instructions, we decided to just wing it. There were beaches waiting to be explored and fish to be caught (or, in our case, not be caught).

I climbed on top of the roof and released the two latches holding the Roofnest shut. Then, from the ladder, I pushed it up to fully open. The process took all of three minutes from when I pulled out the ladder to unzipping the door, leaving me wondering if I was missing something or if it really was that simple.

It wasn’t long before the man one camp spot over walked up to ask what we thought about the Roofnest. He liked the look and ease of set-up, and he was thinking about getting one after talking with another person a few spots down who had the larger, three-to-four person Condor Roofnest. We told him he’d be the first to know as soon as we had a chance to figure it out ourselves. This cautious, distanced form of communication — one part curiosity, one part compliment — happened wherever there were people. I lost count of whether the car or the tent got more attention over the weekend. One thing was clear: I had more face-to-distanced-face conversations with strangers about Kia Tellurides and car-top tents than any other topic since March.

Photo: Nickolaus Hines

Heather and I didn’t have much time to get the sheets ready and set up before the rain came. The first benefit to sleeping on the roof of the car was clear even before the rain, though: Our campsite neighbors had spent the past hour emptying out their tent by flashlight because the region’s many ground-dwelling spiders had taken up residency.

In our first rush to put the tent up and our second rush to get inside of it, we forgot to extend the awning. Still, there was enough room for the two of us, pillows, a box of wine, and our small Pomeranian-Chihuahua. Our English bulldog slept below in the car, her snores echoing out from the open windows and reaching us in the tent. The three-inch foam bed felt like a nice mattress topper and beat laying on blankets and sleeping bags on the uneven, rocky ground. The exterior kept all of the rain out. While I wouldn’t say I had the luxury of stretching out as wide as possible, there was more than enough space for me, around six feet tall, and Heather, a little over five feet tall, to sleep comfortably without knocking the sides. Really the only downside was how slippery the wet ladder was in the morning.

The campsites around us were taking rain shields off of tents and draping them in the sunlight between tree clusters by the time we got up. Our Roofnest needed a little airing out, but that consisted of leaving it open until we left early that afternoon.

Photo: Roofnest

The Roofnest and other tents on top of cars aren’t for everyone. You have to have a capable car, for one, and the price tag is a little too high for someone who only goes camping a couple of times a summer. I didn’t notice an impact on driving performance, though the only car I tested it on was a smooth driving 2020 Kia Telluride, so I’m not sure what it would be like for an older or smaller car. Yet for someone who is looking for a camp-wherever-you-are option, having the Roofnest is an easy way to make last-minute plans happen.

Our campsite neighbor was true to his word. Shortly after we made a fire for breakfast, he walked to the edge of our site and asked how the Roofnest was. Our well-rested answer was simple: If he’s looking for an easy two-person tent, few things are better suited to the era of road trips and COVID camping than a rooftop tent.

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