Buckle up, Chicago: Massively popular TikTok restaurant influencer Keith Lee, a former MMA fighter who has rocketed to social media stardom, is back in the Windy City.
On Monday, July 22, the former MMA fighter and Detroit native announced his return to Chicago for a more robust visit than his brief stint in fall 2023 when locals first saw the “Keith Lee effect” play out in real-time at spots like Soul Prime in Lincoln Park. “This time, we’re doing the whole thing,” says Lee.
Lee’s straightforward approach, arguably a key facet of his popularity, relies largely on suggestions from his millions of followers, who direct him toward mom-and-pop restaurants that often don’t have the deep pockets required to hire a PR team. His video reviews generally follow the same structure. First, Lee’s family enters the chosen restaurant, assesses the service, and orders take-out. Lee remains incognito, devouring the food from the comfort of his car, and rating the items on a one to 10 scale.
As Lee chomps his way around town, Eater Chicago will update this running list.
Tacotlán
4312 W. Fullerton Avenue, Hermosa
For his second Chicago stop, Lee and his family headed to Tacotlán, a well-known haven for birria lovers in the Hermosa neighborhood. In a review posted Wednesday, July 24, Lee acknowledges that the restaurant isn’t exactly a hidden gem, but says he was drawn by claims that it serves the best quesabirria in town. He spent $22.25 on three quesabirria tacos with extra rice, no beans, and a styrofoam coffee cup of consomme. As Lee chows down, a booming sound effect rapidly clues viewers in on his reaction: “Good night,” he deadpans. Both Lee and wife Ronni bestow the juicy tacos with a 9 out of 10 rating.
Amici Chicago
3933 N. Broadway, Lakeview
For his first stop in Chicago, Lee visited a tiny spot that specializes in arancini (fried Italian rice balls) stuffed with savory ingredients from various countries. It’s become a favorite of neighborhood Facebook groups. Lee, who posted his review on Wednesday, July 24, and his family spent $54 on six arancini, each with its own dipping sauce: Ethiopian doro wat, Mexican birria, Indian butter chicken, Indian tikka masala, Caribbean jerk chicken, and Italian meat sauce with cheese and peas. The birria arancini was an immediate hit for Lee, who praised the spices and “high-quality” meat and rated it 8.7 out of 10.
A classic Italian submission, which Lee describes as a “hand-held meat pie homemade lasagna,” rated even higher (9 out of 10). Things get a little confusing when Lee proceeds to a “curry chicken” arancino, which appears to contain butter chicken, which was (unsurprisingly) low in spice but high in flavor, earning it a rating of 7.9 out of 10. The doro wat arancino, stuffed with berbere-spiced chicken, caught Lee slightly off-guard as he’d never tried it before, and he found it a little too salty, resulting in a 4 out of 10 rating. Finally, Lee circles back to the Indian tikka masala, which — like the other “subcontinent” option — also lacked flavor, though Lee ultimately assigned it 6.5 out of 10.
