I’m in a university town in Iowa. This is the only place, in 55 years of eating, that I’ve ever seen white guys cooking in Asian restaurants. I think the food is comparable to the Asian food I had all the time in Seattle, but it is still a little freaky to see the white chefs.
You’re right, you can’t outsource cooking, but again, if folks don’t have money to eat out...
That said, the restaurants here amid the cornfields are packed. As a prof, I often go out in the middle of the week to avoid the weekend student crowds, but the restaurants are busy in the middle of the week as well.
Ames? Iowa City? Cedar Falls? Fairfield?