I think you got it right: most white people live in places totally devoid of authentic ethnic food of any kind. The big city (120k people) that borders the town

I think you got it right: most white people live in places totally devoid of authentic ethnic food of any kind. The big city (120k people) that borders the town I’m from has one Thai restaurant. The last time I was there, I heard someone say it was the best Chinese food they’d ever had. Added to this, Taco Bell has thoroughly exploited the bliss point for salt/sugar/fat and managed to bring the cost down so much that when you’re an overworked, underpaid lower middle class worker, it’s hard to choose anything else, or at least hard to exclude it from your fast food rotation.