BiziBB

Hi,
It's that time of the year, with a Red Book release. [Tokyo edition]

• When are the other [NYC, Paris, London & other] Michelin guides released?
• Will you be interested in perusing the starred restaurants with a view to dining there?

Particularly the 'western' owned celeb-chef restaurants, considering you may already have access to other restaurants by these chefs?

(My question is general - I am interested in hearing about your experiences across cities rated in these Guides and would ideally try to dine in some of the interesting restaurants in Tokyo, NYC, London and Paris over the next few years if FT, circumstance and my finances combine for some long-haul holidays. )

Here is a very cursory breakdown for the rankings in this book:
Greetings to FT friends in (or visitors to) Tokyo - and to those enjoying other Michelin-rated meals in Europe or NA.

slawecki

i have wondered if it is easier to get stars in one location than another. i am unfamaliar with japanese haute cuisine, but is it a difficult to prepare and require as much human input as french? are the facility requirements as difficult and as expensive in japan as in france? are the same people used to rate both places.

most french restaurants have problems with the facilities and the expense of the facilities to acquire and maintain the third, and even the second star.

from experience with the Zagat guide, where most rating is done by locals, the ratings in various cities is not very consistent.

outside of france, i have only eaten in one 3 star in london(ramsey), and one in italy. i did not think either to be close to the 3 stars of france.

Rudi

my favorite red Michelin guide is the 'Main cities of Europe Michelin' covering the following main cities in one single booklet:

Austria: Vienna
Belgium: Brusselns, Anwerp
Czech Republic: Prague
Denmark: Copenhague
Finland: Hlsinki
France: Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg, Toulouse
Germany: Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart
Greece: Athens
Hungary: Budapest
Ireland: Dublin
Italy: Rome, Milan
Luxembourg: Louxembourg
Netherlands: Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam
Norway: Oslo
Poland: Warsaw, Cracow
Portugal: Lisbon
Spain: Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia
Sweden: Stockholm, Gothenburg
Switzerland: Bern, Geneva, Zurich
United Kingdom: London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow

that guide is worth buying every year.

Others I buy every 2nd or third year: Switzerland, Austria, GErmany, France, Italy.

Overseas red Michelin guides I have also the latest edtions of the San Francisco Bay area, and the New York one.

And last bur not least I treasure first year editions of red Michelin France (1900) and Switzerland (1994)

BiziBB

Rudi, these guides would be worthwhile including in the FT 'book club' or whatever the loan library is called.

I'd buy and make available a Sydney 'Good Food Guide' if i could get access to the Europe guide you mention.

szg

In Austria we have the Fallstaff Guide too, which can be found on www.vipgourmetclub.com (Restaurant & Wine-Guide).

Rudi

I just got the new red Michelin guide Switzerland 2009

***
Crissier: Philippe Rochat (former owner Girardet)
Brent above Montreux: Le Pont de Brent

**
Basel: Cheval Blanc @ Hotel les trois Rois (new)
Cossoney: le Cerf
Ftan: Paradies - La Bellezza
Fürstenau: Schauenstein
Genève: Parc des Eaux-vives
Hägendorf: Lampart's
Küsnacht (ZH): Petermann's Kunststuben
Le Noirment: Georges Wenger
La Punt-Chamues-Ch.: Bumann's Chesa Pirani
Satigny/Peney-Dessus: Domaine de Chàteauvieux
Schwyz/Steinen: Adelboden (new)
Sierre: Didier de Courten
Uetikon am See (ZH): Wirtschaft zum Wiesengrund
Vevery: Denis Martin

* 70 Restaurants: I do only list the new * ones:
- Interlaken/Wilderswil: Alpenblick Gourmetstübli (my regular one on my way to/from Wengen: I had the pleasure to introduce many FlyerTalkers to that place already before getting this star rating)
- Lucerne: Jasper
- Samnaun: Gourmet Stübli La Miranda
- Scheunenberg: Sonne
- Verbier: La Table d'Adrien
- Widen: Ryokan Hasenberg - Usagyama
- Zürich: Mesa
- Zürich: The Reataurant (@ Hotel Dolder)

BiziBB

Thanks for the list, Rudi.
It shows you are treating a lot of FTers to some fine food.

May you receive the same great hospitality on your travels. ^

Peterpack

Or is it all politics ?

hemingway7

They mean more than any other food ratings. Three stars are still the very top of the line. I am going to Paris next week and will eat and one three star but most all the others are bistros with great food and 30-40 euros per meal. There is a little politics in everything. There are food sites like egullet.com which has reviews on all kinds of food and restaurants.

luxury

The Michelin "macarons" do serve as a general indicator of quality and level of fine dining -- typically, the more the "macarons" the more the grand class dining and price.

I used to rely solely on the Michelin star rating and was impressed by 3 stars. However, after eating at about a dozen 3 stars over the years, I realised that I enjoyed 1 and 2 star places more than the 3's. This time in Paris, we have dined mostly at bistro's and have had a fantastic time reserving a Michelin restaurant for a special occasion.

Yesterday, we dined at Taillevent, a 2 star establishment, which, to me, still feels like a 3 star place. It was fine dining at its best and the 80 Euro lunch menu was simply fantastic.

BiziBB

I'd like to visit a certain, recommended 2 hat in Dublin (thanks AidanC)
...what's the beef with Michelin's methodology?

TheBeerHunter

Are you asking what the ratings mean (see this article), or why some people don't give much credence to them (see the Controversy section of the Wikipedia article)?

I think even despite the so-called controversies, Michelin still carries a fair amount of weight in the gourmand world. That being said -- as others have well stated -- you can certainly find excellent meals and dining experiences in establishments that haven't even been rated.

Peterpack

i was thinking because of the coveted nature of the stars, surely under the table deals must happen.

For a restaurant to lose a star would be a disaster

slawecki

i think they do mean something. i have only had one bad meal in a 3*.

among other things that i have read in various places(no links) a 3* must use cloth napkins of a certain minimum size. use plates of a certain minimum quality, cover tables with some minimum described cloth, etc. one cannot get there on food alone. i recall talking to georges blanc some 20-25 years ago. he was quite upset that it cost him the equivalent of $2 mil (at that time) to upgrade his grandmother's restaurant (chez la mere blanc) to get the third star. the food did not change, just the ambiance.

so, probably a countryside 2* is a best value. i found many had food that i thought was just as good as 3*.

i used to prefer Gillaut Millau, as they rated only food. both guys are dead now, and i have not tried the book lately.

most 3* restaurants claim that they cannot make a profit and maintain the 3* rating.

number_6

Chef's and maitre d's have commited suicide after losing a star; but not recently (Michelin ratings aren't as business significant as they used to be, now Food network stars are equally important monetarily). Michelin has a meticulous methodology and while there have been whiffs of scandal, Michelin has proven the integrity of its process over decades.

The catch is that the rating criteria may not match your own dininig preferences. For example the difference between 2 and 3 star might hinge on what kind of fountain pen is provided for you to sign the bill (an exaggeration, but it is an actual rating criterion and one of many non-food quality aspects in the stars). Overall the Michelin red guides have proven to be the best by far (zagat and egullet not withstanding), imho. They do include non-star rated restaurants that are worth visiting (to Michelin's credit).