In case you aren’t familiar with who Keith Lee is, he is a popular TikTok star known for his down-to-earth, entertaining, and insightful restaurant reviews.
He is credited by his followers for his ability to find ‘hidden gems’ amongst local small or struggling businesses and in turn help those businesses reach sustained success.
His videos, while usually only a few minutes long, have had profound impacts on local businesses across the country and he often tips the places he visits very generously, so his dedication to supporting these businesses is unquestionable.
What places did Keith Lee go to in the DMV Area?
Keith Lee allegedly stopped at over a dozen restaurants along the DMV area even going as far as Baltimore to sample and critique the food from local spots in the region – initially, his first critique was the emphasis on alcohol at restaurants in the area, insinuating deals on drinks were prioritized over the quality of the food.
That being said, since D.C. is known for its boozy brunches and happy hour deals, this sounds like a valid critique from an outsider looking in at the DMV food scene.
Okonomi Asian Grill – Fairfax, VA
This spot made local headlines a few weeks back for falling victim to a DoorDash scam that resulted in the theft of hundreds of dollars worth of food from the restaurant and posting a reward to catch the suspect behind it.
Keith Lee ordered the following items:
- Hawaiian-ish Chicken Bowl
- Lemongrass Chicken Bowl
- Cucumber kimchi
- Pineapple fish sauce
- Bang bang sauce
Location: 9623 Fairfax Blvd, Fairfax, VA
Flavor Hive Food Truck – Alexandria, VA
At Flavor Hive Keith opted to try out their $10 BYOC (Bring Your Own Chips) deal that allowed him to bring his chips of choice and have the food truck add toppings of his choice.
Atop his Doritos and Fritos, he opted for gyro meat, chicken, and beef, along with veggies and sauces.
Location: 5249 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA
CANE – Atlas District
At Cane, Keith opted to try out their authentic Caribbean street food recipes by ordering peas and rice, jerk chicken wings, eggplant pie, and snapper.
He said this spot was ‘right in the sweet spot’ and above average in terms of how good the food was.
Location: 403 H St NE
Dukem Ethiopian Restaurant – U Street Corridor
After the owner of this restaurant’s daughter posted a video that went viral sharing how hard it was to keep up financially in this economy, Keith Lee came through to give this local spot an opportunity to make headlines!
He tried several dishes including:
- Lamb
- Fish
- Beef short ribs
- Sambusa
- Raw beef
- Vegetables
In his TikTok, Keith Lee exclaims that this was the best food he had in D.C.!
Location: 1114-1118 U St NW
Hong Kong Delite Carryout – Congress Heights
At this can’t-miss local favorite spot, Keith Lee got the fried rice and the mumbo sauce fried chicken wings!
His opinion on Mumbo Sauce, which was highly anticipated by Washingtonians, was that it tasted like old-school sweet and sour sauce from McDonald’s combined with ketchup.
Location: 3123 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE
Smize and Dream – Woodley Park
Tyra Bank’s new ice cream spot was on our radar , but it was cool to see Lee check it out for himself.
He tried the vanilla, berries & shortbread, candy bacon, and lemon flavors.
Location: 2653 Connecticut Ave NW
Why is Keith Lee not posting every restaurant?
Keith explained this personal decision in the clip below, he said that the videos were not constructive and it would have done more harm than help those local spots that he stopped at but ultimately did not eat at.