Several hidden gems of the state’s food scene are in the spotlight — and it’s all thanks to a TikTok star.
Former MMA fighter turned social media food critic Keith Lee has made his way down South to get a taste of the Carolinas.
@keith_lee125 Family Food Tour Show taste test would you try it ? #foodcritic ? original sound - Keith Lee
In his video announcing his visit — which now has nearly 100,000 views — Lee said he actually did a poll for which cities he should visit.
Ahead of Charleston and Greenville in South Carolina, and Charlotte and Durham in North Carolina, Raleigh was the highest pick with 17,549 votes. But he said he also got over 10,000 DMs telling him to go to Charlotte. So instead of one city, he’s going to all of them, plus Greensboro, Asheville and more.
Here’s a full breakdown of every place with “good food, good vibes, good people” that the TikTok foodie has made a pit stop at in the Tar Heel state so far:
Location: Highway West, 11590 US-70 BUS, Clayton, NC 27520
Total spent: $52.12
Full order: Lamb chop Alfredo, chicken and steak hibachi, lamb chop hibachi, shrimp and steak Alfredo
Rating: 9.2/10 for the lamp chop Alfredo and 8.6 for the chicken and steak hibachi until he discovered it had caramelized onions, which brought it up to a 9/10.
For his first stop on the “Familee Food Tour Show” in the Carolinas, Lee trekked about half an hour outside of Raleigh to a hibachi food truck nestled in the parking lot of a gas station.
Starting out strong, he dove right into the lamb chop Alfredo.
“The lamb chop is a little salty, but it’s seasoned to perfection other than the salt. But this Alfredo? This Alfredo gas… It’s creamy, it’s a little spicy. It’s seasoned perfectly,” he said. “The Alfredo isn’t super salty…you couldn’t season this better in my opinion.”
According to his family, the customer service was amazing — with “very stereotypical Southern hospitality.” That, along with the food, is why he was shocked to find that it was empty.
“That’s crazy nobody is in line, out the door. I’m talking out the door around the corner,” he said. “After this, I pray and hope that they reach their target audience and I don’t mean that lightly.”
Very quickly, that’s exactly what happened.
Thanks to the power of the “Keith Lee effect,” the local food truck reportedly had a line wrapped around the building after its review.
In the food truck’s social media post about Keith Lee’s visit, one person commented that they even waited two hours in line.
@keith_lee125 Hibachi Papi taste test would you try it ? #foodcritic @Tim Shropshire @hibachipapinc ? original sound - Keith Lee
Location: Multiple
Total spent: $28
Full order: Cheddar style burger tray with a corn dog and hush puppies, a “walkin’ taco,” fries, char-grilled chicken sandwich, a Cheerwine, strawberry milkshake, vanilla milkshake and two “Arnold Palmer” drinks.
Rating: 4/10 for the fries, 7.5/10 for the hush puppies, 6.5/10 for the corn dog without ketchup but a 5/10 with it. As for what he called the best thing, which was his burger, he gave it a 7.8/10. Sorry, Cheerwine fans. The Salisbury staple drink only got a 5/10.
Someone apparently told Lee that if he came to North Carolina and didn’t try Cook Out, he didn’t really come to North Carolina — which is arguably very true.
The Greensboro-based chain has more than 300 locations, but he made a stop at the Clayton location.
With more than 54,000 possible combos, Lee’s first impression was how shocked he was about the “insane” menu options.
Asking his friend to “teach him the game” because of how lost he was on what to order, he even joked, asking where the veggie options were? Oh, Keith. Like his friend, Tim said, it’s Cook Out. There aren’t any.
“I was also told pre-incident that this is like an after the club, late night, 2-o-clock in the morning type of place. This is for the culture,” he explained before his first bite.
To put it simply, it was kind of a mixed review.
He wasn’t a fan of the fries, which he said just tasted like frozen fries cooked with “nothing on them” or Cheerwine, which he said was good but sweeter than most sodas, like a syrup.
But he did like the hush puppies, which he said were very sweet, crispy and cooked to perfection — along with his burger.
“This is what I imagine a good burger tasting like. It’s very grilled…The bacon is real high quality too for it to be fast food bacon,” he said. “This is the best thing.”
@keith_lee125 Cook Out taste test would you try it ? #foodcritic @Tim Shropshire ? original sound - Keith Lee
Location: 300 W Hargett St #50, Raleigh, NC 27601
Total spent: $14
Full order: Chicken and waffles with hot honey
Rating: 8/10
Keith Lee’s first Raleigh food stop was at the city’s first pay-what-you-can cafe: A Place at the Table.
The nonprofit cafe has multiple options to pay: Paying the suggested price, donating a minimum amount for a meal, volunteering at least an hour or paying it forward.
First, he did a taste-test of his food and then went in to learn more about the process. From his first bite, you could tell he was a big fan.
“This is one of the main reasons why I love doing what we do. Places like this, people like this and cities like this,” Keith said.
“If you gave me this and didn’t tell me where it’s from, I would one thousand percent think you got it from a brunch spot and you paid $30 for it. It’s seasoned really well, it’s spicy from the hot honey. The waffle, itself, is sweet and fluffy. This is a really good meal.”
To top it off, Keith Lee even surprised one of the cafe’s volunteers, a rising college student, with a graduation gift of $1,000.
Location: Varies
Total spent: $72.74
Full order: Mac and cheese, collard greens, smoked wings, ribs, pulled pork, pulled chicken, lamb chops, brisket
Rating: 7.9/10 for the pulled pork, 6/10 for the pulled chicken, 7.5/10 for the lamb chop, 8.7/10 for the brisket, 8.8/10 for the ribs, 8.5/10 for the smoked wing, 6.9/10 for the mac and cheese, 8.9/10 for the collard greens
As Keith Lee put it, “everybody and their mama” recommended Corner Boys BBQ food truck during his trip in Raleigh — including the owner, who’s been messaging him since 2023.
The owner told Lee’s family that everything on their menu is good and even offered to make their order for them, which was a full platter of classic barbecue.
Even in a quick taste test, you could tell he was a big fan of pretty much everything, but he saved the best bite for last: the collard greens, which the owner said was the best thing. Those got Keith Lee’s highest rating.
“These collard greens are amazing. They’re cooked down perfectly. They are very seasoned — I wish a little more salt. The only thing that’s missing is salt and a little bit of spice, but I know some people don’t like their greens spicy. I do,” he said.
“This is on the vinegar/sweet side so if you like sweeter greens with a little hint of vinegar, I feel like you love these. Overall, absolutely, I get it. One thousand percent. I’m happy we came.”
Note: Lee’s TikTok video does include profanity.
We’ll update this story as Lee visits more spots!
This story was originally published May 13, 2025 at 9:02 AM.