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Keith Lee ranks Atlanta last of 8 cities he toured this year

Lee's particularly unpleasant experience at some Atlanta favorites sparked a raging debate about the city's food and restaurant culture.

ATLANTA — Consider this the final chapter in the brief, tumultuous relationship between popular food critic Keith Lee and the city of Atlanta.

Lee, who has amassed more than 15 million followers to his TikTok channel with his honest, direct reviews of restaurants ranging from the hip and happening to beloved neighborhood corner spots, sent Atlanta into a frenzy when he visited the city back in October. 

His particularly unpleasant experience at some Atlanta favorites sparked a raging debate about the city's food and restaurant culture.

RELATED: From an illness that shook the world to Atlanta restaurant controversy: Reflecting on top entertainment stories in 2023

In a new post Thursday night, Lee recapped his eight-city "Keith Lee and Family Food Tour" from this year. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the uproar we saw back in October, Atlanta came in dead last of the eight locations.

Stressing that his rankings were "my personal opinion - again, my personal opinion. I don't mean no harm, I don't have no malicious intent," he said of Atlanta: "My biggest issue with Atlanta is that it was hard for us to get food."

@keith_lee125

Ranking Our Food Stops Of 2023 💕 would you try it ? 💕 #foodcritic

♬ original sound - Keith Lee

"I'm a normal person, but I understand that some peoples' perception is different," Lee added, referencing his TikTok fame and the recognition he now gets when he tries to go to restaurants. "But if other people perceived me as a normal person and I went to Atlanta just to get food, I wouldn't have ate nothing. And I mean nothing - and even with people perceiving me the way they perceive me, we still barely ate."

Lee did acknowledge though, that, "When we did eat, it was delicious."

RELATED: Viral food critic Keith Lee visits Atlanta, sparks debate around restaurant culture

Clocking in at seventh, just ahead of Atlanta, was New York. Lee's video included a caption noting that, "The diversity in food put them above Atlanta for me."

Coming in from 6-2, in order, were Detroit, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago and Houston.

The top spot on his list went to New Orleans, saying customer service set it apart.

"Everywhere we went, we felt like family," Lee said.

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