I think it is because there are a lot of boring people. They don't know/unwilling or too "shy" to try other cuisines so they keep going back to all these chain places. They're not cheap either. I can't stand paying $19.99 for a steak with fries on the side when I know the restaurant is making a lot of money out of it. You can get 10lb bag of potaotes for 99cents so basically you are paying $19.99 for a steak that you can get for about less than half that at the supermarket and is it really that hard to grill a steak? In recent years though, I've noticed more and more people in "ethnic" cuisines. There are definitely more non-asians in Chinese restaurants now. In the past, a lot of people buy American cars, then they got smart and bought Japanese cars. One day, more people will get smart and refuse to get rip off anymore and eat at Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants. More flavour, cheaper and you don;t have to deal with the attitude and tips.