If I'm going out to have a drink and I'm not going to see live music, I try and seek out the best dive bars wherever I am. I have a nose for them and usually know a good one when I see it. I've been asked a few times what makes a good dive bar, and the truth is that the answer to that question would be different for everyone. For me, a dive bar is in no way synonymous with a dump. There are some really bad, unfriendly, filthy bars in this world - those I classify as "dumps". A dive bar to me is a friendly neighborhood bar, full of locals, where drinks are cheap and conversation flows. If these places are on Yelp or TripAdvisor at all, they probably don't have over 3.5 stars because they aren't what many people are looking for. They aren't fancy and most don't have expensive or expansive beer lists. The usual wine selection is "red or white?". There are probably neon signs on the walls, and oftentimes, for reasons I can't explain, Christmas lights. Somewhere on the wall is a photo of someone nobody remembers, but they were important enough to the patrons at some point in the past to put their photo up. The bartenders are generally friendly…
Food is an interesting and underrated form of communication and an essential part of travel. Even if we are cooking for ourselves, regional differences can be spotted in grocery stores from place to place. Things you may have never seen or heard of are piled high and the locals are all grabbing some. Every state has its culinary specialties and must-try delicacies and ideally when you try them they will help you understand the State or region better. Hopefully they’ll be made with local ingredients and you can get a taste for what grows in the area, and there will probably be hints of where the people who make them came from as well. America is and always has been a great melting pot of flavors from around the world and our culinary traditions are ever-shifting. I encourage everyone to be bold when travelling to new places and eat as locally as you can. You know those big national chains will be mediocre at best. Even if you want fast-food, the local option it bound to be better. Use Yelp to sift through them (with a grain of salt obviously, but a 1 or 2 star place is probably that for good reason), or better yet, ask the locals. Here are seven of my favorite meals from the month I spent in West Virginia..
