Back on topic....
I also learned while traveling that the US is much like any other country. If you look for the one off mom and pop restaurant and bars, you can have a kick ass time. Before we opened our BBQ restaurant, I traveled for 9 days around Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina. Every day, I would stop at 2 or 3 BBQ and/or local bars and try out their wares. I met some great people. The most memorable was an old black man IIRR in Northern Georgia. He had a green caboose, a smoker, and a picnic table on a lot next to a gas station. He had the best pulled pork I have ever eaten by then and still.
Anyway, I sat there and talked with the guy for over 4 hours. He was closing up shop when I showed up so I helped him put some stuff away and then we just sat there at his picnic table with some tea. He had been there for 40 years and still loved his job. He gets up early, is home - unless some Westerner shows up - by 4:30 or 5 - earlier when he sells out, and he is open 4 days a week.
When we were about done BSing, I asked him for his pulled pork recipe and with a wink, he said, "as long as you don't go telling any Californians." Some of the best 4 hours I've ever spent in my life.
