There is a great line in the book "The Right Stuff" that says basically that. Houston was a hellhole in the 50s and all that which made ot that way has gotten worse or not gone away since then. All the mercury and dioxins are still in the silt in the San Jascinto river or Galveston Bay, or in your fresh gulf shrimp (sponsored by BP and TransOcean)
There is next to 0 public land in Texas too, people like to compare it to the western states and its just wrong. The state of small government (for corporations and civil protections)
For things like squash, zucchini, and especially eggplant, I like to cut them, salt both sides, and put them in the fridge for like an hour. Then come back to them, pat them dry, THEN add your oil/fat before grilling them. On eggplant in particular, it seems to cut the bitterness. On all of them. It makes them brown faster without getting soggy.
Honestly you can do probably 90% of this on a stove with a griddle pan. I grabbed a big flat cast iron flat griddle and I use it for most of my indoor stove cooking or when I am only making a smaller meal. Yeah, its not a substitute for charcoal or a smoker but for most of your "grilled" meals, you can get 80-90% as good as proper grilled. Its my preferred way to do steaks full stop. Nothing gets a good crust on a steak like a reverse sear on ripping hot flat cast iron.
Ya love to see it. May nature prevail.