@ghdprentice - I don't doubt at all your experience with Chinese food in China. Here in San Francisco, we have restaurants that serve Chinese dishes from many different provinces of China - Hunan, Szechuan, Hakka, and at least 5 or 6 others. Very different from 'Chinese food' you'll get in most of the US.
Dunno if it's true or not, but I've been told that pizza was invented in the US, not Italy. So many places to get both great and bad pizza! I like NYC-style the best....