TiKToker raises tens of thousands of dollars for struggling eateries
The savior of struggling restaurants: Las Vegas foodie raises tens of thousands of dollars for eateries – simply by posting about their meals to his nine MILLION followers
- Keith Lee, 26, from Las Vegas has more than nine million followers on TikTok
- The former MMA fighter posts regular food reviews from a spread of eateries
- He says a food truck earned $30K in 24 hours after he praised the business
A 26-year-old former MMA fighter-turned-food reviewer has been praised for helping dozens of struggling restaurants turn their fortunes around after leaving them glowing reviews.
Keith Lee, from Las Vegas, has more than nine million followers on TikTok where he posts regular food reviews from a spread of eateries around his neighborhood and beyond.
After giving restaurants top ratings, Lee says owners have seen their order books skyrocket and one outlet he visited – a humble seafood food truck – went from making $50 to $100 a day to making $30,000 in 24 hours thanks to donations from viewers.
Read on for FEMAIL’s round-up of some of Lee’s best reviews, which have given restauranteurs a much welcome boost to their businesses.
Aroma Latin Cocina: Beef shortribs ‘smothered in a mole sauce’ that ‘changed’ Keith Lee’s life
Food reviewer Keith Lee ordered a variety of dishes from Aroma Latin Cocina, including pork belly (left) and French toast with dulce de leche sauce (right)
His only negative comment was about the steak sandwich, which he said was a little too well cooked for his liking, but it was ‘still a very tasty well-seasoned steak’
Lee spent $84.54 on his third and most recent review visit at Aroma Latin Cocina.
He ordered guacamole topped with queso fresco and tostados, pork belly patacons with plantain and a cabbage slaw, a steak gaucho sandwich, beef shortribs ‘smothered in a mole sauce,’ and French toast doused with a dulce de leche sauce.
Lee said one of the best dishes was the beef ribs as the mole ‘changed my life.’ He was also impressed by the guacamole. He said of the mashed avocado mix: ‘It’s salty, it’s cheesy, it’s limey.’
His only negative comment was about the steak sandwich, which he said was a little too well cooked for his liking but it was ‘still a very tasty well seasoned steak.’
Overall, Lee gave the eatery 10 out of 10 for customer service, 10 out of 10 for their ability to hold a large crowd and still maintain standards, and 9 out of 10 for the food. He concluded: ‘The flavors are crazy. I haven’t’ had one bad meal [from here] yet.’
Before he posted his first review of Aroma Latin Cocina, Lee discovered that the restaurant was eight months behind on their taxes. However, now he says they have a waitlist on the weekends and they are raking in cash.
Southern Taste Seafood: An ‘immaculate’ burger that almost brought Keith to tears
The TikToker ordered a burger and fries from the Southern Taste Seafood food truck
He isn’t on yelp so I tagged him on my IG 💕 Southern Taste Seafood taste test 💕 would you try it ? 💕 #foodcritic
In a post Lee reveals that he came across the Southern Taste Seafood food truck while he was cycling home one evening.
At first he didn’t think he could have anything from the outlet as he is allergic to seafood but Gary Shanks, the owner, reassured him that he could rustle something up and there would be no trace of seafood in his meal.
Lee ordered a burger and fries – which costs $10 on the menu – and was impressed by what he tasted. He said: ‘I’m very picky about the fries I eat [but] to me that’s a good fry. They’re obviously just frozen fries that have come out a bag but he’s seasoned them really well.’
When he tried the burger, Lee said that he was on the verge of tears because it tasted so good. He said after devouring the meaty morsel: ‘Delicious! It was juicy, it was cheesy. Immaculate.’
Overall, Lee gave the fries an 8.9 out of 10 and the burger a 9 out of 10.
After posting his review, he said he caught up with ‘Mr Gary’ and found out that he went from making $50 to $100 a day to making $30,000 in 24 hours. He was even raking in thousands of dollars without selling any food as people were sending the food truck owner donations via a cash app.
Stuff My Turkey: Chicken and waffles is one of the ‘top three dishes’ he’s ever had
Chicken and waffles with candied yams and sweet potato syrup, left, and a turkey leg stuffed with sweetcorn, rice and topped with hot Cheeto dust, right
The ‘So Cal’ leg stuffed with cheese fries, jalapenos and guacamole, left, and the ‘Caribbean’ – a new item on the menu featuring a blend of ‘pineapple and spice’, right
The food reviewer explains to viewers that Stuff My Turkey specializes in stuffed turkey legs. He spent about $173 at the restaurant on a variety of dishes.
The first dish he tried comprised fried turkey chops, mash potato and corn. He said after trying the medley: ‘For me the corn is lacking flavor but the mashed potatoes are delicious and the turkey chops? Fire!’
Next up chicken and waffles with candied yams and sweet potato syrup. Lee took a moment to savor the flavors before saying: ‘This is a 10! This is top three of the best things I’ve ever had doing these food reviews. [Actually] f*** the food reviews, the top three dishes I’ve ever had.’
After his meaty dishes, Lee moved on to a large portion of ‘grand daddy’ mac and cheese topped with turkey, honey BBQ and buffalo sauce, and cheese. He said he didn’t want to rate each dish individually, but this one had to be a 9.8 out of 10.
Back to the meats, he tried a turkey leg stuffed with sweetcorn, rice and topped with hot Cheeto dust. At one point he pulled the leg up, and the meat fell off the bone as soon as he lifted it. Other renditions of the turkey leg he tried included the ‘So Cal,’ a leg stuffed with cheese fries, jalapenos and guacamole, and the ‘Caribbean’ – a new ‘secret’ menu item featuring a blend of ‘pineapple and spice.’
Overall Lee gave Stuff My Turkey 10 out of 10 for customer service, 10 out of 10 for the ability to hold a large crowd, and 9 out of 10 for the food experience.
Following his review of Stuff My Turkey, Lee said he went back to the restaurant and ‘every booth was filled.’
Huncho’s Chicken and Burgers: ‘In-N-Out got nothing on this burger’
Lee visited Huncho’s Chicken and Burgers and got three pieces of deep fried catfish and French fries, left, and breaded chicken wings marinated in a honey sriracha lemon pepper sauce, right
The food reviewer took a bite into the cheeseburger and declared it as the ‘top three burgers’ he’d ever tasted
#stitch with @hunchoschickenandburgers Hunchos Fried Chicken And Burgers taste test 💕 would you try it ? 💕 #foodcritic
Lee spent $26.36 at Huncho’s Chicken and Burgers. For that amount, he got three pieces of deep fried catfish and French fries, breaded chicken wings marinated in a honey sriracha, lemon pepper sauce, and a double cheeseburger.
He said of the fish and chips: ‘That some good catfish, for real.’
Lee added ‘it is a bit chewy on the backend like it used to be frozen but it’s really [well] seasoned.’
He was less impressed by the French fries, commenting: ‘To me they don’t taste like anything but fried potatoes. I’m not a fan.’
When it came to the chicken wings, he told viewers: ‘Those do have a kick to them but they’re not super spicy and the zestiness from the lemon pepper actually helps to balance it.’
To top things off, Lee took a bite into the cheeseburger and declared it as the ‘top three burgers’ he’d ever tasted. He explained: ‘In-N-Out [Burger] got nothing on this Huncho burger! That’s crazy!’
Lee gave the burger a 9.9 out of 10, adding that if it had some bacon it would have got the full whack. For customer service the restaurant landed a 10 out of 10, it got a 9 out of 10 for the ability to hold a large crowd, and 9.7 out of 10 for the food experience.
Following Lee’s review, Huncho’s Chicken and Burgers told him they got eight times the usual amount of orders in one day.
Owner Alex thanked the TikTok star, saying: ‘I had so many customers from out of state who drove here just to try the food because Keith said it was the bomb.’
Cuts & Slices NYC: Pizza flavors included teriyaki oxtail, and turkey bacon and chicken ranch
Lee visited Cuts & Slices in Brooklyn and tried the store’s popular oxtail, left, and chicken and waffle flavors, right
While he was visiting New York, Lee visited Cuts & Slices in Brooklyn and spent about $55 on a few different flavors and some desserts.
Some of the pizza varieties he tried included teriyaki oxtail, chicken and waffle, and turkey bacon and chicken ranch.
The TikToker gave the oxtail flavor a 9.7 out of 10. He described the meat as ‘tender ‘juicy’, and ‘flavorful’ and he said he could understand why there was a line outside of the store.
Of the chicken and waffle flavor he said: ‘It works, I don’t know how it works but it works. That’s like a 8.5 out of 10. That’s good, that’s nuts!’
The owner of the store also gave Lee three mystery patties. The food reviewer guessed that they were stuffed with different flavors of oxtail. He gave one of them a 9 out of 10, but the least flavorful got a 6.5 out of 10. There were also desserts thrown into his goodies bag, but Lee said he was too full to eat anymore and on his way to the airport.
After Lee visited the pizza store, the owner said he was inundated with orders and cars were double parked outside ‘all day long’. He said 73 customers said they decided to visit the pizza spot after watching Lee’s review.
As a result, Cuts & Slices sold out of every oxtail flavor one day which meant they had to close the earliest they had ever done since opening.
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