Let’s get to the point: Kris from Brooklyn elevates the online food review

“Let’s get to the point,” declares food content creator Kristian Cruz, more commonly known online as Kris from Brooklyn — who is indeed from Brooklyn, and it shows. 

Stylish and eloquent, he has a strong propensity for all things beautiful and creative, attuned to details like businesses’ food, marketing, and interior design. 

But don’t be fooled; Kris is no snob. 

Embodying the full spectrum of what it means to love food, he frequents street carts to local restaurants to major chains, all reviewed constructively, thoroughly, and with a garnish of his signature subtle humor. 

A proud foodie and established photographer, Kris shares that his food review page is a natural progression of his passions. 

“There are two things that are natural to me. I like unique food. I naturally like sharing content. There’s no big strategy, no big ambition. If I myself am not excited about it, how can I expect my audience to be excited about it?” 

It is this refreshing sincerity and eagerness to share — not just with viewers but the people he buys from and interacts with — on which Kris has built his reputation as a no-frills food vlogger who stands out in his genuine desire to see businesses thrive.

‘And let’s be honest’

Across the bustling variety of establishments Kris visits, he asserts that he approaches all of them the same, primarily judging the price of the experiences offered relative to quality, presentation, flavor, and environment.

“If you’re from a street cart, for example, I sometimes feel you’re underpriced for such quality, presentation, and deliciousness,” he explained. “And same with a high-end restaurant. If you’re asking me to pay for this high of a price, [and if] you’re falling short of that.”

More than an evaluation grounded in this thoughtful criteria, Kris strives to offer suggestions that are sensitive to each business’ intentions, capacity, and potential. This is why the feedback in his videos is often first shared with the owners, staff, and vendors in person. 

As he does not expect or demand that people follow his advice, Kris is grateful for the positive interactions, regardless if they do. After his review of a restaurant went viral, the team took his observations on organization to heart and addressed long lines, unclear ordering processes, unreachable staff, and faulty payment. The brand then reached out to him to thank him for his honesty. 

But it is with up-and-coming local businesses that Kris finds the most fulfillment. When he revisited a new restaurant he had given a glowing review, a staff member approached him and thanked him for ushering in the surge of patronage, as it had qualified the team for 14-month pay. 

“‘I was able to buy my kid a bicycle,’ he said. I think for the longest time, especially in New York, it’s all about the money and the career. It’s really nice to become useful, not just as a content creator, but as a person. So that story from that man really approached me, I think it just hammered the fact that, okay, now I understand why I do what I do.”

In a new, old light

Kris’ dream as a content creator is to feature the underrated food that is distinctly Filipino. “Street food, regional cuisine, and food from our childhood,” he enumerated. “I don’t think Filipino food would disappear, but I think it lacks representation.” 

As a loyal regular of street vendors, Kris wishes all Filipinos would move past seeing street food as unclean or unrefined. “When a street food vendor handles food without gloves, it’s suddenly dirty. But when we watch documentaries of award-winning chefs from the West and they’re handling food without gloves, why is there no outrage? When it comes to street food, why is there an adverse reaction?”

Often, such adverse reactions render the invisibility of vendors. Kris is eager to shine the spotlight on street vendors as mainstays of everyday Filipino life serving not just affordable but delicious food. Recalling one of his proudest moments as a content creator, one vendor had once thanked him, not for increased sales, but for making him feel seen.

“[He] was feeling like dinadaanan lang siya (people would just pass by him) and it was hurtful for him. [He said] ‘Sir, more people are coming to my cart. Thank you that someone featured it and thank you that someone saw me.’”

Sharpening the lens on our own culture, Kris hopes that we can learn to better appreciate our local and daily cuisine beyond its familiarity.  

“We don’t celebrate ourselves as much. We have some of the most colorful and most beautiful food. I really worry that we continue to look beyond our country for beauty when, in fact, we have so many beautiful visuals and flavors in our own culture,” he emphasized. “I worry that we’re forgetting how beautiful we are inherently.”

Kris’ convictions are a reminder that passion and kindness can take you far — but sometimes, all you have to do to find what’s interesting is to take a look around you, and see the beautiful on and in our own. – Rappler.com

Raine Romero is a Rappler intern studying AB Political Science with a Minor in Creative Writing at De La Salle University.