I’m a food guy documenting America at a turning point.

My name is Adam Boles. I’m a writer, a cook, and as of recently, a resident of nowhere in particular. I left Austin, TX back in July 2021 in a teardrop camper and headed out into the country. My plan is loose, my expectations low. I want to find out where we as a nation are headed next, and how food, something we all have in common, plays a role.

I came of age — and went over the hill — in and around the hospitality industry. I’m a happy amateur in the kitchen who learned just enough to be dangerous cooking on the hot lines of a few really fantastic restaurants. I spent most of my career ruining my knees behind the bars and on the floors of literally dozens of dining rooms. Over more than two decades in the industry, I’ve encountered a broad cross-section of humanity, enough to know that the thing all of us share is the need for a good meal with people who love us.

Hunter Thompson, who I don’t love, did say something that’s been ringing in my ears as I’ve prepared for this journey: “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.”

I’ve done a lot of talking in my life, convincing myself and others of one bullshit idea or another. Now, I think it’s time for me to do some listening. So, as long as I can sustain it, this is what I do now. I listen, and I share what I hear. I’ll listen to cooks and farmers and writers, to fellow travelers, politicians, artists, waiters, grandmothers — anyone who has a valuable perspective to offer, really. I’ll learn the skills of living on the road, in the wilderness, cooking off the grid. Maybe I’ll get to feed some people who need to eat. And hopefully, I’ll find some of the answers I’m looking for.

I don’t know if this is going to work. Maybe it won’t. But I’m doing it anyway. Maybe I’ll see you out there.