keith lee effect

Where to eat in Dallas, according to viral food critic Keith Lee

Keith Lee hoisting fare from Halal Fusionz.

Halal Fusionz

Did you know viral TikTok food critic Keith Lee was in Dallas? If you're online at all, his visit was impossible to miss. He was in DFW all week, eating at local restaurants and spurring headlines, fanfare, and endless social media posts. He came, he ate, he conquered.

In his wake, he left a wave of attention — mostly good, some not as good — for deserving local restaurants.

For the uninitiated, Keith Lee is a social media sensation who visits various food-scene-driven U.S. cities to try food from small, local restaurants. He orders several items online, then a family member will pick up the food to help Lee avoid being recognized (and to prevent being prioritized over other diners).

Lee eats in his car, and films himself as he reviews each dish for his millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram.

Dallas is not his first city to visit in the Lone Star State. In November 2023, he and his family toured Houston where his reviews resulted in surges of customer traffic, which has been coined the "Keith Lee Effect" by several restaurants.

One such case is a woman-owned banana pudding shop in Pearland. After posting his review of The Puddery on November 28, which garnered over 26.4 million views and 4.7 million likes, the restaurant had to temporarily limit menu flavors, and pause all shipping and catering services "until further notice" in mid-January.

In the aftermath of his Dallas visit, several restaurants he visited also experienced the Keith Lee Effect, having to close early or enjoying wait times exceeding three hours.

He often seeks out Black-owned restaurants and local businesses, but in Dallas, his efforts were not always met with success. Nearly a dozen restaurants he tried to visit were unfortunately not open at the time of his arrival including Jazzy's Tacos, Cactus Mexican Cuisine, Cake Bar, Key's Chicken Wings & Things, Chef Nate's Wangz n Mo, Gorilla Nutz, Mary's Twisted Kitchen, Niecy Takeout, and Aunt Irene's Kitchen.

Lee also visited Taste Project in Fort Worth on February 1 — but instead of reviewing the food, he donated $4,000 to the nonprofit to support their mission to fight food insecurity.

The Keith Lee Effect can also have its downside: At least one of the restaurants he visited — the Sweetly Seasoned food truck in Garland — is getting lots of attention, probably unwanted, over a tip he left to staff, and who deserved to get it. (Predictably, there's an explanation from the owner on TikTok, and Lee has also posted his response to the situation.)

Keith Lee had luck at these six restaurants listed below, with the dishes he recommended:

Brunchaholics
Lee visited this Cajun-Creole brunch spot in Desoto, which is open for pick-up and to-go only.
Recommendations: The catfish and fries platter, and Soul Food Burrito (fried catfish or chicken, mac and cheese, yams, and collard greens wrapped in a jalapeño tortilla).

Thunderbird Pies
Lee visited the East Dallas location of this spinoff pizzeria from the Cane Rosso chain.
Recommendations: The buffalo wings and the Connie Detroit-style pizza (double pepperoni cups, bacon, tomato sauce).

Terry Blacks Barbecue
Lee visited the Deep Ellum location of this BBQ concept, which is actually from Austin.
Recommendations: The original sausage, smoked turkey, brisket, and ribs.

Halal Fuzionz
Pakistani-TexMex ghost kitchen in Farmers Branch is now prominently featuring Lee's recommendations on their website.
Recommendations: Nihari X birria taco with birria dipping sauce, mango mojito mocktail, paneer tikka taco, and the chipotle kheema taco (declared "the best one" by Lee).

Hutchins BBQ
Small family-owned BBQ chain with locations in McKinney and Frisco has earned plenty of press on its own, but Lee seems to favor BBQ.
Recommendations: The Texas Twinkie (a cream cheese-and-brisket-stuffed jalapeño wrapped in bacon), brisket with barbecue sauce, pork ribs, and the peach cobbler.

Absolutely Edible Cakes
Small cake shop in Rowlett was a classic Keith Lee destination.
Recommendations: The Sweet Potato Thang (sweet potato pie with a graham cracker crust) and red velvet cake.

Sweetly Seasoned
Lee visited this family-run food truck owned by a mother-and-son team.
Recommendations: The pulled pork sandwich, jerk tacos, and banana pudding.

dallas restaurants reviews local business

Market News

Small specialty grocer in Celina is a go-to for imported foods

Di Mantzios Greek & Italian Gourmet Market

There's a gourmet shop in downtown Celina offering imported European foods: Called Di Mantzio’s Greek and Italian Gourmet Market, it's a small grocery and cafe at 204 E. Pecan St., Ste. C, where it's bringing in goods you might not find elsewhere in town.

Owner Vasilios Mantzios is a native of Greece and former NATO military serviceman who moved to the U.S. in 2008. Missing the foods he'd enjoyed in Greece and Italy, he started a booth at the Frisco Fresh Market in 2015 selling olive oils, Balsamic dressing, olives, and Mediterranean salt. In late 2024, he made the move to open the storefront in Celina (coincidentally down Pecan Street from Mangiamo Italian Market & Deli, another highly personal deli and market, making pecan Street a fun destination for a foodie field trip).

Di Mantzio's carries olive oils, pizza, cheese, charcuterie boards, flour, refrigerated meals, and meatballs with a Greek red sauce, made from a family recipe from Mantzios' aunts and their grandmothers. He also imports marinated lamb and beef meatballs from Greece.

"I only have things that I would put on my table to personally eat — I pick out my items by the quality because I don't want people to have issues with the food," Mantzios says. "I have my mother test everything, so if you pass her, you're in the store."

While he does offer Greek foods such as a recent special with beef kebabs and pita bread, there's a big demand for Italian items. He has a big selection of cheese: parmigiano reggiano, feta, mozzarella, and cheese from Il Forteto. Dry goods include Molino Paolo Mariani Manitaly flour, Caputo gluten-free flour, and Hellenic Farms and Lia extra virgin olive oil.

Mantzios prioritizes small, family-owned businesses because they enjoy what they're providing to customers and value quality.

Di Mantzios Greek & Italian Gourmet MarketDi Mantzios

On the prepared food front, he does pizza using a wood-fired crust imported from Pizza Food Love in Italy, delivered to the shop every three weeks. The base can be topped with ingredients from Tuscany, Italy for a truly authentic experience. More prepared foods are one of the biggest requests he gets from customers, and it's a category he's continuing to expand, as well as adding wine and beer.

They also have cakes and desserts such as cannoli, baklava, Greek rice pudding, French macarons, and gelato from Gelatys.

The interior is neatly organized, with refrigerated foods as well as Greek and European decor such as pestle and mortar, a gladiator helmet, and Greek and Italian flags pinned to the walls.

Mantzios thrives from the personal contact he gets with customers, and they find him equally charming as well.

"The bulk of my customers come from Prosper and Celina, and Celina is the number one growing city with people coming from all around who can appreciate what we are doing," Mantzios says.

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keith lee effect

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