CHICAGO -- Keith Lee's online food reviews garner millions of views and help spotlight small, struggling restaurants around the country—his boost to those restaurants has widely become known as the Keith Lee Effect.This week, the Last Vegas-based Lee made an unannounced visit to a Lakeview restaurant that has been having a hard time—and the impact was immediate.Amici is a relatively new restaurant located at 3933 N.
Since Lee's visit to Amici and his favorable review on Tuesday, lines there have been out the door.People are talking about Amici, and Sciacca sold out of his now-coveted rice balls within hours of opening Thursday. He had to turn customers away empty-handed, but they were happy for him nevertheless.'I'm surprised,' Sciacca said. 'I'm not accustomed to this—people giving us a high five or fist bump when you run out of food.