A food influencer has been traveling across North Texas reviewing
restaurants, some already popular and some just breaking out.
And so that included a rave review for a small
ghost kitchen, It's called Halal Fusion.
The owner emailed TikTok food reviewer Keith Lee emailed him
personally to reach out.
Other notable stops on Lee's North Texas tour included two
BBQ joints and a pizza place as well.
Fox 4's Amelia Jones on the food tour tonight, checking
it out.
What can you tell us?
A really hard job, Heather.
We all know that social media can have good or
bad effects, but the Keith Lee effect, it's a different
level.
Whether the food review is good or bad, it's putting
local DFW restaurants on the map.
With more than 15,000,000 followers, a restaurant review from Keith
Lee can be a big deal.
Lee landed in North Texas for a food tour, and
there was a lot of anticipation about which restaurants he'd
choose.
I used to live down the street and I didn't
know these places right here.
Rashima Williams had to try Hollow Fusion after Lee gave
it a rave review on Monday.
Apparently, a lot of people wanted to try it out.
She waited hours to get her order.
Oh yeah, he definitely crashed.
The owner Ahmed Siagi saw Lee was coming in town
so he emailed Lee asking for him to come and
try his Asian fusion creations.
You can't even explain like it just, you know, caught
me by surprise.
Once the review was posted to TikTok, orders started flooding
in.
I'll say a few 100.
It's it's been wild.
Tiagi is typically by himself at the ghost kitchen, but
he had to hire two people to help fill all
the orders and the food.
3 hours I was the first one in line is
worth the wait.
I'm sorry.
It's amazing.
Lee posted that he's trying out restaurants that fit into
three categories.
Places with good food and good customer service, but may
not be well known.
Popular local spots voted on by locals and restaurants with
diverse backgrounds.
Hutchins BBQ, with locations across the Metroplex, was a top
locals vote.
Lee visited the McKinney location on Monday, although this one
was on his popular list.
I can't believe I live literally like 7 minutes down
the street and I've never been here.
So he's definitely putting things on the map.
Tarina Alfour is a big Keith Lee fan and plans
to try every spot he recommends.
His impact is huge.
And I think that, you know, the fact that he
has the categories of popular and all that, I just
really hope that he just puts a lot of people
on the map that deserve it.
While these two spots earn some of Lee's top ratings,
others like Terry Black's Barbecue and Thunderbird Pies Pizza got
mixed reviews.
Thunderbird Pies near White Rock Lake told us they've still
seen an uptick in business.
So whether the review is good or bad, there's still
a Keithley effect.
I'm just honestly really blessed to have this experience and
it just means a lot that the community showing so
much support and everybody's coming, you know that, you know,
everyone's getting to try the food and you know, but
the most that carrying on my mom's legacy through this
whole experience, that's what means a lot to me.
Lee gave Siagi a $1000 tip and after Lee's reviews,
Siagi said it really helped him solidify his plan to
open up a dine in restaurant.
I asked people what do they like so much about
Lee's reviews and they told me it's his honesty, good
or bad.
Since Lee plans to visit 3 restaurants in each category,
he's still got 5 to go, so we'll just have
to wait and see which one's next.