I should have totally done at least a minor in anthropology and/or sociology. This kind of thing fascinates me to no end. That's why I posted in the first place. Again, I was in a real hurry when I wrote the initial post - about to step out to pick up food for the evening as we were hosting a couple of friends who just returned from a year away. My fiancée was already giving me dirty looks before I got half way through.

In retrospect I could have worded the subject so it would have a little less impact since from the initial replies I think it took the focus away from what I actually wanted to discuss.

There are not only huge differences between any part of Canada and the US, but also within each country, both covering such an enormous landscape. In my experience however, the US does tend toward a more homogeneous society. I can still remember being in Cape Cod and going to a supposedly "Portuguese" style bakery that might as well have been anything but and the people at the counter were in fact a little offensive about the national/cultural implications/associations. In Canada even many second generation citizens will still link themselves to the roots of their parents/grandparents. Certainly nearly every first generation Canadian I've ever met also considers themselves "xxxxx" (whatever the nationality of their parents).

So many of the customs brought from Europe, Asia and Middle East stick around. And in fact some of them even rub off on the long established anglo population (at least those I know). I think it's important to consider discussions such as this in context. And again, perhaps I should have done a better job of outlining the context and/or asking about customs elsewhere. I believe in the end (or up until now anyway) the gist has been worked through and I certainly understand some additional viewpoints. I hope no one here thinks I'm any more shallow than before I had started this thread. Yes, I'm a wine snob, but really down to earth otherwise.

With regards to last night's dinner... My friend, of eastern european origin, did not bring cash to my place for dinner. He did bring an amazing bottle of wine however. If anyone appreciates a fine wine, I can whole-heartedly recommend the 1994 Rioja from Torre Muga (Spain). If you can find a bottle under $100 it's well worth it.