Meet ‘Foodbitch,’ Dallas’ original food influencer who is anonymously highlighting local restaurants online

“Foodbitch” is a bit of a misnomer. The food influencer’s content is mostly positive.

The Richardson native, who lived in Lakewood Hills for 14 years but currently resides in Preston Hollow, started her food reviewing career in 2008 on Twitter to direct people to local restaurants — or as she puts it, to stop going to Chili’s. This was amid the Great Recession, and she and her friends started a comedy blog about the economy and politics.

“It was sort of just how my friends and I found our voice online and how I decided that I really liked being anonymous,” she says.

Her Facebook and Instagram pages don’t reveal her name or face but instead focus on the food, drinks and design of the establishment she’s giving her take on. She was inspired by prominent food writer Ruth Reichl, who used to disguise herself before going to a restaurant she was going to review.

“I’m not going to be one of those people who everyone knows who I am so that I can at least try to tell people what it’s really like to go somewhere because it’s a totally different experience,” she says.

But it is possible to find out who Foodbitch is, and she does get invited to restaurants. It’s important to her to denote in her posts when she receives special treatment or comped meals.

The University of Texas alumna, who has a day job in advertising, shoots and edits her own photos and videos and takes care of any other production needs.

“I’m the creative director, so no one gets to tell me no,” she says with a laugh during a recent conversation with the Advocate.

How did you start Foodbitch?

I joke that I just wanted to keep people from going to Chili’s. Really, the truth is that I wanted to highlight small businesses and places that put the real thought and real effort and real creativity into what people are eating. Instead of spending $12 on a hamburger, you could spend the same $12 and get something that someone made with care. It came full circle during the pandemic when we really were in danger of losing a lot of those smaller businesses, and our favorite restaurants were struggling. I made a really big effort during the pandemic to try to get people to take out from restaurants around town. A lot of people were doing that, but for me, it was one of the more self-actualizing times in my career, if you can call it that. I got to actually use my power for good.

Have you always had the foodie taste palate?

I don’t know if I always have had it. I have an aunt who used to take me out in New York City. She lived in New Jersey, and we would drive into the city. We’d go to a show, and we would go to the fancy restaurants, but for lunch. Because that was the hack. You didn’t have to spend as much money. You could still get the really high-end restaurant treatment. I hadn’t had that fine dining experience growing up. It was really nice to see that and experience people who were career servers and how much skill and choreography there is in fine dining and presentation and the artistry and the decor. At the restaurant Bouley, you knew what to expect every time. Everything was delicious, even something you didn’t like. I don’t like peas, right? Fine, lots of people don’t like peas because they’re good for you. But the way that they made peas with a puree and chicken stock, it was just beautiful, and they can make you like anything. You kind of learn that it’s all preparation. There’s really nothing you don’t like. You can find a way to like it, unless you’re allergic, or it’s not kosher. I don’t eat pork. I don’t eat shellfish. That’s been a little bit of a challenge, too. We are kosher at home. I’m not kosher out, so that’s also something fun to juggle. But you know, it’s all doable. Everyone has their things. I don’t like it when people are like, “Well, I just don’t like peanut butter.” Like, you’re not allergic. OK, fine, but like, try it. Or just try it again. Try it a different way. Maybe make it yourself or have someone that really likes cooking make it for you.

How did you come up with the name Foodbitch?

When I was back writing for that blog, we were also anonymous. My username was “Breadwinner” because my husband was out of work. It was just like a little nod to that. That’s when I decided I just really liked the anonymity of writing and being cheeky on the internet. It was kind of around the time Cake Boss was a thing. I just sort of came up with it, and it was just like, “Yeah, Foodbitch, that one makes sense.” It’s a little antithetical to my real personality because people are like, “Oh, you’re so nice.” At the same time, it kind of allows me to be more direct. It being different than my real personality helps me with the anonymity.

And despite your name, you’re pretty positive about restaurants.

It’s true. It’s funny because my husband says that he’s a bigger critic. He likes fewer things, and I’ll be like, “Oh, you know, maybe they’re having an off day.” But at the same time, I try to be really honest. There are people who know that if I remark a lot about how a place looks and not as much about the food, then usually, it means the food is probably not the thing to go for. It doesn’t really go to my personality to be like, “Well, this sucks.” I usually take that kind of feedback and give it directly to the restaurants and public relations teams first and then sometimes in the DMs. If someone asks me, “What should I get?” I’ll be like, “Actually, just go for cocktails. Trust me.” What I started this for was to help people go to more small businesses. I’m not here to put anybody on blast. I’ve done that before, and it has been fun. Back in the day, there was that unicorn dessert bar in Deep Ellum. It was when unicorn cupcakes were a really big thing. It was almost like AI-generated versions. Then when you got there and you waited in line, you got this thing that you spent way too much money on. When it was something like that, that was so blatant — like they were buying cupcakes from Costco and putting other shit on it — that was actually really fun to go after and be like, “This is ridiculous.” People were coming from across town and across state lines to come wait in line and get a piece of shit. I couldn’t let that stand. Then the real bitch came out.

Would you say that it’s still important for people to go to local restaurants?

For sure. I started a series that was kind of asking for people to tell me what their favorite place is. “If this was gone tomorrow, what would you absolutely cry over?” Those are the type of places that do sometimes get forgotten, or they’re under the radar. We forget to visit them because of all the newness. It’s like, “Got to go to this hot new place.” It’s like, “Well, do you?” Let’s make sure we give business to our favorite mainstays. It’s absolutely just as necessary now. We’re seeing closures all the time, and it sucks.

Tell us about your 12-year-old twin girls.

It’s been fun to have them involved in the brand because they like to help me do photo shoots. Sometimes a company will send me a product, and I’ll need to shoot it in our house. They’ll be like, “Ooh, can I help?” We’ll design the lighting, and we’ll set it up. I just sort of let them see what it’s like to do something creative as a job. They’re both really into art and theater, so it’s very helpful to have their creativity on board. I also have to sort of temper their expectations for what their life will be like when not everything is given to them. Like, “Oh, Mom, are we going to order off the menu today, or are they just going to bring us everything?” And it’s like, “OK, slow your roll. We need to recenter. We need to talk about reality and privilege.” But they’re really fun. I was a little worried when they learned to read that they would see a bad word on mommy’s Instagram page because they are very anti-bad words. They’re always correcting us if we say anything bad, but they’ve learned to be fine with it.

So they come with you to restaurants sometimes?

For sure. Most of the time it’s like a plus-one situation. My husband stays home with them and the dogs, and I bring a friend. Last night, we were able to go out, the four of us, and have a nice meal that we normally wouldn’t spend that kind of money on. That’s always nice, too. We have to teach them, first of all, this is what you wear when you go out to a nice place. This is how you behave. It teaches them to be nice to servers and say “please and thank you” and order for themselves. We’ve sort of progressed. They’re definitely children of a foodie.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.