Burgoo for you? - Ole Hickory Pit has it, and it only comes once a year

Gosh we live in a cool country. Don't we?

You can travel from state to state, town to town, and discover new food after new food...all while still being in the U.S.ofA. That's pretty darn neat if you ask me.

One of the great joys of living in different parts of the country is discovering and embracing regional cuisine. I'm always amazed at how diverse our food culture is. America isn't just hot dogs and hamburgers. America is smoked white fish on bagels. America is gumbo. America is lobster rolls. America is creamy grits. America is a big 'ol bowl of chili. America is different and delicious.

America right now, for me, is Burgoo.

I've experienced so many new things since moving to Louisville. I'm borderline addicted to liver cheese. One of my favorite new sandwiches is a Goetta BLT (or a GLT I suppose). And just today I had my first bowl of Burgoo.

Nick took me to the Ole Hickory Pit for lunch because, since driving by there a few days ago, and spotting their sign that says they had Burgoo and it's only there once a year, I would pretty much not shut up about it.

I had never heard of Burgoo prior to living in Kentucky. It caught my interest because I heard it was traditionally made with mutton, a meat that isn't all that popular across the rest of the country, however, since it had been such a hot summer, I wasn't really in the mood for a steaming bowl of mutton soup until recently when the weather turned cold.

I'm happy to report that my first taste of Burgoo did not disappoint. It was basically a rich(very rich) broth based soup with veggies and strips of pulled meat. But it's the flavor of the broth, really, that made the dish for me. It was so intense...so jam packed with hearty meaty flavor. I almost could have done without the meat itself and just sipped the broth.

For $4.99 I got a steaming bowl of rich, delicious comfort on a cold, rainy day...here, in this corner of America.

Are there any regional dishes or food items you think I should try? Please let me in on the secret. I love discovering this part of the country...one bite at a time.

P.S. The bbq at Ole Hickory Pit is darn tasty as well. Nick often goes there for lunch and has yet to find something he doesn't like. Today I had a bite of his fried corn bread and I MUST have that again. He's a fan of all of the sandwiches...the mutton especially. Also, the ribs are smokey, fall off the bone yummy(I had a bite of his today). Try the white beans as a side dish. They're a great flavor contrast to the sweet, rich ribs.