HOUSTON – Popular food critic Keith Lee is still dropping his highly anticipated video reviews that he took while in Houston on his food tour.
But first, who is Keith Lee?
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For those who don’t know, Lee is a former MMA fighter who started his food critiquing career by documenting his wife’s unique pregnancy cravings, according to Forbes.
The 27-year-old has gained more than 15 million followers on TikTok as he visits local restaurants across the country and rates his food on a 10-point scale. He describes his ordering and food experiences as well.
Lee isn’t the first food influencer to stop in Houston.
In July, North Carolina food influencer Rashad Mooreman, aka Mr. Chimetime, tried a long list of highly-recommended food places and reviewed them on his platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, where he has huge audiences with well over 300,000 followers on each platform.
Some of his ratings and commentary stirred up mixed emotions from Houstonians. He had many viewers on an emotional rollercoaster with his reviews.
During his time here, Keith Lee visited several Houston-area restaurants and posted the reviews on his social media platform.
His first stop
Stick Talk, located at 5819 Richmond Ave., is described as serving Japanese-Cajun hibachi fusion food.
Lee said before delivery fees, he spent $135 by ordering through DoorDash. He said he ordered the two chicken bowls, the filet mignon bowl and a Double Up Combo with ribeye and chicken with a side of salmon. The Double Up Combo alone cost $50. He also bought a blue raspberry lemonade.
“For a late-night hibachi, it’s not bad,” Lee said.
The TikTok video of his review has received more than 3 million views.
So how did the bowls rate?
The Double Up combo bowl: 7.3/10 with the spicy sauce and 7/10 with the mild sauce.
Lee said he decided to not rate the chicken bowls since they were pretty much the same as the Double Up combo bowl.
The Filet Mignon Bowl: 7.2/10.
The Blue Raspberry Lemonade: 7.3/10.
Second stop for Lee
Butter Funk Kitchen, located at 8511 Scott St., serves up authentic Louisiana-style Cajun soul food at affordable prices, according to its Instagram page.
Lee said as he drove around Houston, he received a direct message on Twitter to try out Butter Funk Kitchen. He said he spent $59, and the service experience was really good.
Here’s how the food at Butter Funk Kitchen rated, per his TikTok video.
Red beans and rice: 8.2/10.
Catfish with a side of cornbread: 8.9/10.
Mac and cheese: 3/10.
Fried okra: 7/10.
Six-piece lemon pepper wings: 8.5/10.
Oxtails and gravy: 7.8/10.
Seafood gumbo (his wife tried since he is allergic to shrimp): 6/10.
The Breakfast Klub Houston
“Today is all about brunch and one thing I’m learning about Houston... Brunch is what they do,” Lee said
The Breakfast Klub Houston, located at 3711 Travis St.
He said they spent $28 and described his ordering experience on TikTok by saying it was very good but interesting.
Here’s what he ordered and how they were rated:
Cheesy grits: 9.8/10
Wings & Buttermilk Pancakes: The fried chicken received a 9.5/10 and the pancakes received a 9.8/10
“I’ll mess around and come to Houston just for that,” Lee said about the plate. “I want to sit down and eat the rest of this menu.”
The city of Pearland gets a visit from Keith Lee
The Puddery, located at 5517 Broadway St. suite, is known to serve desserts in a cup.
Lee said he spent $36.07 on his order of desserts and had an amazing customer service experience. The day after his visit, the business was flooded with new customers after his review. The Puddery even changed the name of one of its dessert items from The Oreo Croffle, which is a croissant waffle, to The Keith Lee Croffle.
When Lee tried The Oreo Croffle, he said, “I’m not even a sweets person (but) this is immaculate. I love Texas. I love Houston.”
The TikTok review received over 2.2 million likes and 11.6 million views.
Here’s what he ordered and how they were rated:
Frozen Plain Ole Biscoff: 2/10, noting that it was too sweet for him. Lee’s wife rated the dessert an 8/10.
The Keith Lee Croffle: 9/10
Original Banana Pudding: 9/10
Strawberry Banana Pudding: 9.2/10
When Lee tried the Strawberry Banana Pudding he was highly impressed. His wife even asked him, “Is it better than mine?” and Lee responded, “Yes.”
He said the quality of the Strawberry Banana Pudding is a 9.2/10 and that he rarely ever rates a dessert that high.
“I ain’t going to lie, for them to not be out the door, I am actually speechless,” Lee said. “I don’t say this often, out the door! I’m talking about around the corner. This place in my opinion, the best dessert I ever had in my life.”
Lee waited on the owner of The Puddery after trying the desserts and asked to tip her $2,000. He said she truly deserved it.
Cool Runnings Jamaican Bar & Grill
Cool Runnings Jamaican Bar & Grill, located at 8270 W Bellfort Ave., serves authentic Jamaican and Caribbean food.
Lee’s TikTok review of the restaurant received more than 2 million views and over 400,000 likes. He said he picked Cool Runnings after he saw an Instagram post about a recent robbery it experienced.
According to the social post, a still frame photo shows the robbery suspect running out of the restaurant after allegedly snatching a tip jar.
Lee spent $55.93 on his food ordered and said he couldn’t see much of its customer service because he had to order through DoorDash since they do not take phone orders. He said when his family came to the restaurant to pick up the order, the employee was really nice.
Here’s what he ordered and how they were rated:
Jamaican Beef Patty: 4/10 - “In my opinion, it is a little dry.”
Jerk Chicken: 6/10 without the sauce and 8.7/10 with the sauce -- “The chicken is a little dry.”
Ackee & Saltfish: 7.5/10 - “That’s an acquired taste for sure.”
Brown Stew Chicken: 10/10 - “This is the best plate I had since I’ve been here.”
After reviewing the food, Lee went inside the restaurant and tripled the tip money by tipping what was recently stolen from them, which was about $50 to $60. Lee tipped them $1,000 and tipped the chef who made the food. He also paid for everyone’s food in line and added additional tips.
“That’s some of the best food we had in Houston and Houston has a plethora of places to choose from,” Lee said. “That’s one thing about Houston, Houston has the most diverse and biggest array of food that I’ve had since we’ve been on food tour.”
The Better Box
The Better Box, located at 9411 Farm to Market 1960 Rd. W, serves classic Chinese takeout with a Philly twist.
His TikTok review received over 3 million views and more than 400,000 likes.
The food truck promoted a Cajun Salmon Cheesesteak to Lee and actually captured his attention. He said they spent $34.56 and, of course, to disguise his identity, he sent his family to the truck to pick up their order.
Lee said as his family was waiting in line to pick up their food, ironically, the employees were actually having a conversation about him.
“So far, Houston is up there with New Orleans in my eyes when it comes to the best food. It’s close,” Lee said.
Here’s what he ordered and how they were rated:
Salmon Cheesesteak: 9.3/10 - “This is fresh seasoned salmon with sweet chili sauce, peppers, steak, sauce, butter, cheese.”
Philly Cheesesteak Eggroll: 6.6/10 - “It’s definitely overcooked in my eyes but definitely has potential.”
Firecracker Salmon Eggroll: 8.7/10 “The fish is buttery, I taste all the peppers, they got great flavor. This sauce is really good, its crispy.”
Lee said after they were done eating, he went back to the food truck and ordered another Salmon Cheesesteak and left $500 as a tip to the owner and another $500 for anybody who wanted to come and get food from their truck.
The Waffle Bus
The Waffle Bus, located 1835 N Shepherd Dr. Suite A, is known to serve chicken, waffles and waffle fries.
The owner of the Waffle Bus, Phi Nguyen, reached out to Lee for help after stating that the Heights area location has lost 50% of its sales this year due to construction in the area and how they are now doing everything to stay afloat.
He said they spent $53.49 and said he couldn’t say much about the customer service because they ordered through DoorDash.
“The second we pulled up, I can see exactly what construction he was talking about but the DM wasn’t the only thing that got me to come here,” Lee said. “This place was recommended a thousand times.”
“I heard about this place a lot, so I am assuming this place is a staple for Houston,” he said.
Here’s what he ordered and how they were rated:
Strawberry Irish Creme Brulee: 9/10 - “I’m for sure coming through the traffic for this.”
Cheese Waffle Fries: 8.7/10 for the fries - “That’s a good fry.” Lee did note that he was not a good fan of the cheese sauce.
Fried Chicken Waffle Sandwich with Thunder Sauce: 8/10 without syrup and possibly with syrup, possibly 9/10 - “Some syrup would take this over the top for me.”
Breakfast Sandwich (brioche): 8.9/10 - “That’s ridiculous, it’s delicious but ridiculous.”
Brunch Burger: 8.5/10 - “This thang is stacked!”
“Houston has been showing out with the sweets” Lee said. “They’ve been balanced, not too sweet.”
Mezza Grille
The Mezza Grille, located 6100 Westheimer Rd Suite 154, is described to serve new American and Mediterranean fusion cuisine.
Lee said one of his good friends told him about the Pakistani-owed restaurant has extremely good food and extremely good customer service but they don’t have the marketing.
He spent $69.98 and his family told him that the customer service was really good and they were extremely fast.
The TikTok review received over 5 million views and more than 660,000 likes.
Here’s what he ordered and how they were rated:
Beef Shish Kabob: 9/10 - “I have to eat that with rice or something.”
Mango Stuffed Chicken: 8.9/10 - “I want to be very clear, I haven’t been this high with this many restaurants since New Orleans. Y’all got it Houston.”
Chicken Shawarma Wrap (spicy): 8.7/10 - “A lot of herbs, a lot of spices, very fresh.”
Spicy Chicken Tortilla soup: 8.7/10 - “Flavorful!”
“For this place not to be known, they got some really good food if you ask me,” Lee said.
What do you think of his ratings so far?