The food can exist, but you need to really search it out. That is different then if we had a strong food culture, this food wouldn't be hidden away in ethnic ghettos.
My larger point was that LA and NYC (and specific communities in other cities —SF, Houston, etc) have a subculture that celebrates true renditions of various cuisines as cooked by an self-sustaining immigrant community large enough to not require external validation by Americans lacking in food culture to stay in business. You have to get lucky in most of the rest of the states.