Watch out, Dallas. Keith Lee is bringing his popular TikTok food tour to town.
The Detroit native is a former MMA fighter turned social media foodie with more than 15 million followers on TikTok checking out his matter-of-fact restaurant reviews.
Lee and his family travel around the country assessing the food scene based on a handful of restaurants. Before visiting an area, Lee researches restaurants known for great food and customer service, with an eye toward those who could use a little extra marketing love. He also tries to find places that highlight diversity. He has visited about a dozen cities so far and in some cases has received a bit of criticism for not going to the “right” places. So, for Dallas he’ll have a poll on his IG stories so locals can help him decide.
And many of y’all are already suggesting Terry Black’s in the comments, which we can’t agree with more, but it is based out of Austin by way of Lockhart, if that matters.
At the end of 2023, Lee ranked the eight cities he visited that year. Atlanta was at the bottom of his list (long wait times), New York City was seventh and Detroit, which he said lacked some diversity compared with other cities, was sixth.
LA was fifth because, he said, it was a challenge to find diverse spots at first, but those he did find were “delicious.” Vegas was fourth, all based on great off-the-strip restaurants. Chicago was third: “Almost every time we got food, absolutely delicious,” he said.
Houston was second, carried in part by a place called The Puddery, a locally owned dessert shop that on some days before he visited would get just two customers a day. Lee indulged in the from-scratch banana pudding (9.2 out of 10 stars) and an Oreo croissant waffle (9 out of 10 stars). The day after his video was posted, The Puddery had a line wrapped around the building. Good for them.
Finally, the best food city he’s visited so far was New Orleans, in large part because of the hospitality. And, well, the food. Who can argue?
But, things don’t always go so well. Case in point: San Francisco. He left the city early because he felt it wasn’t a tourist city. “I don’t believe The Bay is fit for tourists at the moment,” he said. He also had to visit the emergency room after an allergic reaction — maybe that had something to do with it.
Some of Lee’s visits to restaurants, which are always anonymous, end with a cash donation to the restaurant. Lee never charges fees, unlike many social-media-based food influencers.
Keep an eye out for that survey, and we’ll keep an eye out for Lee at some of our favorite hidden gems.
@keith_lee125 Food Tour Improvements & Annoucement 💕 Dallas Tx we’ll see you soon 💕#foodcritic ♬ original sound – Keith Lee
Lauren Drewes Daniels
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