I like Fieri okay, but DDD does wear on one after a while. My other knock on it is that while he seems to blanket the country, too many of the places are actually fairly concentrated in major population areas. For instance, in Colorado there are 14 places listed, yet zero outside of the Denver/Boulder area. In my opinion, that isn't a "road trip", it's a city exploration.
Just 40 minutes west of Denver there is the Tommyknocker Brewery that serves fish and chips with the biggest deep fried fillets you'll ever see, as well as just really good pub fare, paired with some great house brewed beers.
Just the same distance southwest from Denver is (or was the last time I was out that way) the Buck Snort Saloon in Sphinx Park, with some great burgers and sandwiches and not a french fry to be found.
And right here in the tiny town (pop about 350) I'm now living in is Bully's Restaurant and Tavern. If you want a real steak, forget Outback, and come to Bully's. Mark buys and cuts his own meat, and as a former butcher, he knows what he's doing. He also knows how to cook it. The fried catfish and the trout almondine are also pretty darn good. The place is only open Wednesday thru Saturday, but it's usually full for lunch (about 20 sandwiches plus salad bar on the lunch menu) and dinner all 4 days.
I could go on and on.
These are the kind of places that I thought he was reviewing, not just a bunch of citified yuppie dives. Disappointing....