Food influencer highlights hidden gem restaurants in Seattle

SEATTLE - Pax Leatherman is highlighting under-the-radar restaurants in Seattle with his social media accounts "Palate Provisions."

Leatherman, a former real estate agent, walked away from his steady paycheck to pursue his passion.

Heading out at the beginning of the year, Leatherman has gained thousands of followers in just a few months.

Leatherman found his niche, standing out among a sea of food influencers, by highlighting the restaurants that most might pass by daily, but never visit.

What they're saying:

"There are so many mom-and-pop [stores] right now that are struggling with a million different things," Leatherman said. "It was just kind of cool to be able to help out these restaurants if they make great food and have a great product."

Some of Leatherman’s videos on his account have garnered hundreds of thousands of views, and hundreds of comments. Leatherman tells FOX 13 Seattle that restaurants tell him they have seen a massive bump in sales since his videos. He also says a lot of people are reaching out to him about where he should try next, including local restaurants, even offering him food or money.

However, Leatherman said he never takes money from any of the businesses he reviews and always pays for his food. 

"I just say, "thank you so much for seeing my value as a creator and seeing what I’m worth but I cannot take monetary compensation for any of this,’" said Leatherman.  "I don’t want to be that guy who’s going to wherever he’s pushed to," he added.

Local perspective:

Leatherman has created a few iconic elements to his videos to also make him stand out among a sea of creators, including his greetings: "What’s up, big dogs."

"That was something I started saying so long ago. I want to say, probably more than five or six, or years ago. I did in real estate too. I just love saying something off kilter," he said.

Also, his "dank" food ranking scale may be confusing depending on which generation you grew up in.

"My parents are like, ‘Dank is bad. Dank is like wretched, gross,’" he said. "But because I skied all the time in Oregon, everything was ‘dank.’ I loved that skater culture at that time. So, this is dank, so we’ve always been saying it."

His last Seattle review was shot at Bau 9 Thai in the Columbia City neighborhood. From this point, Leatherman hopes to keep his food reviews moving across the country.

To keep up with Leatherman’s food journey, you can follow him on TikTok and Instagram under his handle: @PalateProvisions 

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