Keith Lee and his family did a lot of eating and got a lot of people talking on their five-month family food tour in 2023. So, for one of his last posts of the year, the popular food critic, who has over 15 million followers on TikTok and nearly 2 million followers on Instagram, dropped a video ranking the eight cities he visited.
Of course, commenters had some pretty hot takes on his list.
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It should surprise no one that the ATL came in last on his list. Lee was outspoken about the poor service his family received from restaurant staff and the outrageous rules many of the establishments he visited had in place. But seeing New York City in the next-to-last spot was especially heartbreaking to locals. Lee said he didn’t feel like he got the true NYC experience on his visit — something residents attributed to transplants giving him bad restaurant recommendations.
“This should be illegal. This is a crime. New York, ya’ll need to answer for this. Ya’ll let this man eat a salmon chopped cheese out of a deli? Ya’ll let this man eat fish out of a deli?” said TikTok user @_joeboss. “This man came to your city to eat, and ya’ll gave him a fresh plate of bubble guts.”
But it was the battle for the first and second spots on Lee’s list that seemed to spark the fiercest debate. Lee gave New Orleans the top spot, praising the warm customer service he received as well as the food. “Everywhere we went, it felt like family,” he raved in the video. “The food, everything was fried, dyed and laid to the side.”
Though Lee started his year-end video with a disclaimer that his choices reflected his personal opinions, that didn’t stop a heated discussion in the comments between Houston (his runner up) and New Orleans residents over who really deserves the crown.
“Houston only made it because after hurricane Katrina alot of New Orleans folks moved there and opened restaurants, and then they brought alot of our signature food there like Patton Hot sausage, seafood, etc. So basically, New Orleans is 1 and #2 😂😂😂 #truestory,” wrote @badazz_yellowgirl on Instagram.
“So New Orleans brought Italian, Tex Mex, and Texas Bbq to Houston? You do know that Houston has always been known to have some of the best BBQ and Mexican food in the nation? Don’t think New Orleans had anything to do with that😂 People from Houston don’t even care for Cajun food like that,” @gregg_htx clapped back.
But there was one Houston resident who had no problem with The Big Easy being No. 1.
“As a Houstonian, the only city I believe could ever beat us is New Orleans, so I am on board with this list,” said a user on TikTok.
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