Please don’t hate me. But Borough Market — the best food market in London, and quite possibly the world — is right in my backyard.

To say it’s a big part of my life is an understatement. As a freelancer who works from home, the promise of a fragrant curry or a gloriously stinky cheese is often the only reason I can be bothered to change from my pajamas into my yoga pants on any given day.

But living so close to temptation isn’t all fun and wild, exotic game. Since moving here from New York three years ago, the market has sucked untold pounds from my wallet and added at least half of them to the scale. And no matter how much deep breathing I do, I still suffer lunchtime panic attacks when I simply can’t decide between koshari and kangaroo.

I know — boo-frickin’-hoo, right? Still, Borough Market can be an overwhelming place for the uninitiated, and even for hopeless junkies like me. I mean, its history alone is mind-blowing: it’s been there for a thousand years. Shakespeare and Dickens shopped there, and when the Magna Carta was inked in 1215, the market was already celebrating its 200th birthday.

However, while history makes a substantial side dish, it’s no secret that the food here is the main draw. To make the most of your visit to Borough Market, check out my Insider’s Guide to Borough Market in HuffPost.