My mother was a dietician in a county hospital in the NY metropolitan area. Many of the kitchen workers were black women originally from the South who made the most delicious Southern food. My mother has such fond memories of that. She still talks about it, especially when she comes home from visiting my sister and her husband who believe in low-to-no-fat cooking -- food that is basically absent of any fat and doesn't even stick together when it's supposed to.
Food needs fat to make it taste good. People won't eat food that doesn't taste good. The food nazis are fighting a losing battle.
You betcha!!
It's an acquired taste. Those of us who don't normally eat much fat can't stand it. It's all I can do to choke down a hamburger on those rare occasions I give in to the children. Never mind fries, I don't even order them. I just can't stand all that grease.