Locals fight back after food influencer rips Mississippi Coast restaurants
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Food influencer's negative reviews spark backlash from Mississippi Coast locals.
- Critics accuse videos of rage baiting and undermining small restaurant owners.
- Coastal dining scene remains vibrant, with praise from chefs and national outlets.
Mississippi Coast locals are speaking out and accusing an aspiring North Mississippi food influencer of “rage baiting” after he slammed several restaurants in a series of videos posted on social media in late July.
“Dear Gulf Coast Mississippi, the food scene down here has been ass,” Kartavis Buchanan, known on social media as Big Tae Eats, said in a video introducing his series on the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s dining scene. He said he only liked a handful of the 12 restaurants he tried while visiting.
The reviews, mostly done inside of a car, often include his wife. Creating social media food reviews can be a lucrative job, and influencers like Keith Lee can get 4-6 million views per video. Buchanan adds #keithlee as a hashtag to many of his reviews, which can reach 100,000 views or more.
Mostly negative reviews
In a series of videos, Buchanan complained about the quality, pricing and taste of several restaurants on the Coast.
Big Daddy’s, a Black-owned soul food buffet in downtown Gulfport, is known for their portions and affordable prices. The restaurant has hundreds of 4-5 star reviews on Google, with many praising the meat-and-three style spot.
Buchanan, however, was not impressed.
Rosita-Maria Zaldivar’s tacos and Mexican fare has had a cult following for years. In 2022, she was able to expand from her food truck into a standalone restaurant in St. Martin, where the lines can be long.
She specializes in tacos, birria ramen and tres leches cakes. The menu is affordable, with most items costing less than $20, and Rosita’s has a 4.8-star ranking on Google.
“The tacos were great! The street tacos were great! The people were friendly and inviting,” Chip Kerr said in a Google Review last week. “You want to go here, you really do.”
Once again, though, Buchanan was not happy.
Buchanan’s wife, however, enjoyed her meal and loved the strawberry tres leches cake. Both of them said the customer service was exceptional.
Buchanan also gave negative reviews to restaurants including The Shed in Vancleave and Tay’s BBQ in Jackson County.
He gave positive critiques to Cheryl’s Steakhouse in Ocean Springs, Dem Damn Burgers in Biloxi, Trina’s Sweets in Pascagoula and Nana J’s soul food in Ocean Springs, calling many of them hidden gems and praising the homemade pastries, well-seasoned protein and flavorful side dishes.
Locals defend Mississippi Coast restaurants
Many locals didn’t buy Buchanan’s hot takes.
Matthew Bounds, known online as Your Barefoot Neighbor, is a Gulfport-based influencer who gained massive online following while cooking recipes during the pandemic. His videos, which often receive 2 million views or more, are meant to show people that cooking isn’t as hard as it looks.
Bounds took aim at Buchanan’s review in a viral Facebook post, accusing him of “rage baiting” for clicks or just being unnecessarily critical if he did not like the dish.
“There’s a way to create food reviews with honest feedback, both good and bad, in a constructive, respectful way. Big Tae ain’t it,” he said.
Bounds noted that small business owners often pour their time, creativity and money into their work and one bad review that goes viral can make or break their future.
“You couldn’t pay me enough to sit in my car and scream and my audience and trash their hard work, type HORRIBLE in all caps in the captions, even if I didn’t care for their food.”
His post was shared hundreds of time, including by many restaurant owners in the area who were not featured in Buchanan’s videos.
Brad Elliot, who owns Lost Pizza Co. in Ocean Springs and Hattiesburg, said he appreciated Bounds’ perspective.
“As a restaurant owner myself you have eloquently stated the truth!” Elliot said on Facebook.
Rosita’s also gave Bounds a shout out, complete with a teary eyed emoji: “This is why we LOVE you!”
Growing food scene
Regardless of viral videos, the Mississippi Coast’s food and dining scene has exploded since Hurricane Katrina, with hundreds of new restaurants opening in Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties.
The area will soon be considered for Michelin stars, and two popular hotspots — Vestige in Ocean Springs and White Pillars in Biloxi — have been recognized by the James Beard Foundation.
Famed weatherman Jim Cantore recently raved about eating in Old Town Bay St. Louis on his latest trip the Coast, and many area restaurants were just ranked among the best in the U.S. for wine selection.