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Originally Posted by TWA884
(Post 31167883)
Very perplexed about Southern California.
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Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 31167965)
What perplexes you? Only two restaurants in Orange County and one in San Diego received stars. Santa Barbara struck out. Not a single Korean restaurant got even one star. Seriously? The late Jonathan Gold was right, Los Angeles does not need a Michelin Guide. |
Originally Posted by TWA884
(Post 31168027)
Restaurants such as Lucques, Felix, Republique, Lukshon, Bestia, Bavel, Gjelina and Night + Market, to name but a few off the top of my head, did not even rate a Bib Gourmand designation.
Only two restaurants in Orange County and one in San Diego received stars. We had the most impressive Thanksgiving dinner at Addison. I knew it would get a star. The only other restaurant in San Diego that even came close for me is Juniper & Ivy, which isn’t as formal but which did get a Bib Gourmand. Santa Barbara struck out. Not a single Korean restaurant got even one star. Seriously? The late Jonathan Gold was right, Los Angeles does not need a Michelin Guide. The only real SoCal stunner to me was that the Bazaar by Jose Andres didn’t get a star. |
Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 31168046)
Bib Gourmand tends to be given to more affordable restaurants. I think that explains that! I also have never been as blown away by any of those, to be honest. Same with AOC. They’re good, just not Michelin star good. In my opinion, most of the places that I listed are at least as good and as affordable as Juniper & Ivy, which you mentioned, and Broken Spanish, Cassia, The Factory Kitchen, Kismet, Jon & Vinny’s, Majordomo, Manhattan Beach Post, Rossoblu, Son of a Gun and several others which did make that list. |
Can't speak to the rest, but n/naka and Providence make sense to me.
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Los Angeles Times:
Michelin Guide awards stars to 24 L.A. restaurants; city shut out of three-stars: EATER Los Angeles:*** How Michelin’s team of anonymous inspectors would evaluate Los Angeles in its first year back was a hotly debated topic within the city’s restaurant community. In particular, would the guide — which has been criticized for giving too much weight to fancy European food, luxury trappings and formal service over stellar food — find a way to capture L.A.’s complex and wide-ranging dining scene? For the most part, Michelin’s Los Angeles picks were predictable, with some notable omissions — such as Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, which received two stars in the 2009 Los Angeles guide; Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis’ Bestia and Bavel; Scratch Bar & Kitchen in Encino; and Republique. *** Here’s What the Michelin Guide Got Right (and Wrong) in Los Angeles *** Except, well...Michelin didn’t actually seem to care much about how Angelenos actually eat here. Check this out: There were no Thai restaurants awarded any stars this year. There were no Korean restaurants awarded any stars, either, or Filipino restaurants. The only Mexican restaurant, Taco Maria, is in Orange County; the only San Gabriel Valley restaurant to make the list was the upscale Bistro Na’s in Temple City. Where were the Mariscos Jaliscos of the world, or the Bestias for that matter? No Chengdu Taste or Sichuan Impression or even Triniti or Destroyer? What about slightly more elevated (but still California casual) names like Felix, Bavel, Republique, or Lukshon? Even Silver Bough, Phillip Frankland Lee’s pricey tasting menu restaurant up in Montecito, seemed built for a star or three, but apparently didn’t actually impress Michelin this year. *** Though the guide has awarded one star to ramen shops in Tokyo, a hawker stall in Singapore, and a street stand in Bangkok, LA didn’t land any Michelin star taco trucks. No Korean restaurant received a star. Only one single SGV restaurant, Bistro Na’s, got a star (though a good number did receive Bib Gourmand designations). *** |
Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 29786017)
Just returned Monday from our 2 weeks and 21 star extravaganza in Japan. A quick summary:
TOKYO 3* Yoshitake—truly a mind-blowing and very enjoyable experience. Really delicious. Was much more than just sushi. He made me enjoy a full raw oyster for the first time in my entire life, though that could also have been what made my husband sick later that same night! Service was excellent, and he even attempted to speak with us in English a bit during the dinner. Was full but not stuffed even after such a huge meal, but it only took 2.5 hrs. Highly recommended. 2* Narisawa—absolutely worthy of 3 stars and one of my 2 or 3 favorite meals in Japan. Food was stunning and delicious. Service was fabulous, and the mixed wine and sake pairings were tremendous. An amazing dinner, and yet I wasn’t stuffed like I’d normally be after such a lengthy 2.5 hr meal. I’d return in a second. Highly recommended, and agree that it’s one of the best in the world. 2* Sawada—very nice lunch with mostly just sushi in a sterner environment but surprisingly more casual too—perhaps because it was just 4 of us that day, all English speaking. Excellent sushi. Chefs wife was very friendly. Recommended but wasn’t blown away like everyone else. KYOTO 3* Kitcho Arashiyama—truly the most memorable of all our meals in Japan, and worth every penny for me even as it was the most expensive at $1700 for the two of us. Absolutely delicious Kaiseki food in the most amazing authentic Japanese surroundings, providing an immersive Kaiseki/Japanese dinner experience that as much Japanese cultural and cuisine theater as it was an amazing dinner. Loved the private room and garden, loved the hardware, loved the traditional kimono garbed servers, and the food was divine. Highly recommended as long as you’re comfortable spending over $1500 for two people and think of dinner as entertainment as well as food. 2* Gion Sasaki—what a lunch, a truly memorable and very fun counter experience as the only Anglos, yet the team and chefs tried to speak with us and used Google translate even a few times, and the surrounding customers all spoke with us too! Almost everyone was surprised we’d heard of this place, and most were shocked we’d been able to get booking as foreigners. Most fun meal of our two weeks as a result, with very good food and Kaiseki, some truly intriguing courses that were all quite delicious, better even than 3* Wayamamura in Nara. Was just $100 per person for an incredible lunch. Highly recommended. 1* Tempura Mizuki—wow. Truly delicious and memorable tempura bar dinner at the RC Kyoto. Decided to go a la carte so we could do as much tempura that we wanted as possible, especially since we don’t normally like fried foods, but was so delicious we over did it and bill came to $700 for the two of us! That’s how yummy it was. Paired with reasonable champagne that was a bit too pricey, but overall would return in a heartbeat. Highly recommended. NARA 3* Wayamamura—only $60 per person, this easily is the cheapest and most casual 3* meal of all time for us, very casual counter seating environment with extremely good food. Not as impressive as Kitcho or Gion Sasaki but the food tasted almost as good—and at this price, we were ecstatic. The staff tried hard to communicate in Engoish and were very friendly. We were only Anglos. Highly recommended. KOBE 2* Aragawa—overpriced but still enjoyable bucket list dinner with Sanda Kobe sirloin. Truly one of the money ost delicious steaks we’ve ever had, but didn’t think it was worth the $1200 bill for the two of us. Very friendly staff in a very kitschy traditional place. Not really recommended. Only if you have money to burn. OSAKA 3* Hajime—perhaps the absolute most beautiful and artful food and most delicious food of the entire trip, and perhaps all time, but marred by so many sloppy service fails as to be very confusing. The chef is a genius. Made me love all the things I despise: oysters, beets, uni, and even love his vegetable dish for which he is rightly famous. His service team is ill equipped. Actually refused a wine pairing due to a soured Rhône with beef pairing, otherwise the wine pairings were excellent. Complained only to discover that the sommelier was the manager, and he clearly was ill equipped to serve that role. But the food was incredible. Food wise, one of the best meals we’ve ever had. But service wasn’t even worthy of 1 star. Recommended with caution. |
The hardest challenge of our journey was to get a table at Osteria Francescana. Many will know this Restaurant as it is quite famous. 3 Michelin stars and number 1 of San Pellegrino List for some years. The restaurant seems to be always fully booked, I was able to grab a table with the help of American Express concierge service.
The restaurant is located at a remote street, but metred parking is available one block away. There is this passage. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...10627641b5.jpg The restaurant from outside (still closed) https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c2b1943992.jpg After we entered there was a little line with people who were questioned about their names. After the reservation was found they brought People to their tables. We were seated in a small room with 4 tables. A very technical welcome. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1872480aa1.jpg Mocktails, 20 € each https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f05fe3376d.jpg The menu, the meat courses were changed to vegetarian or pescetarian alternatives. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...14b7b878a0.jpg The dishes: https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...10485350b9.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ac36a9d37c.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...345abc01d9.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f8360f7505.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...46523c3ecb.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...177e6414ea.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c3b51bdacd.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c142f55bf3.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1f395f8890.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a56d940231.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d742a3485a.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...09a2778593.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...87f89dc672.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3f83ee267b.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b198842b00.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...31e0c46810.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d73eb8acb6.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...cd8cc010f4.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3b754ea8ec.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e943897c74.jpg Well, how was everything? As often when visiting highly celebrated restaurants expectations were high. What we got was a good dinner, but I wasn´t blown away. 3 stars? Maybe in my eyes, but not sure. Also I didn´t enjoy the whole experience. Service was OK but not warm in any way and it seemed everything was rehearsed. For excample they did the same joke at every table when they served the main dessert. I can´t laugh when I sit at the forth table, I can´t even weary smile. The Food was as I said good but I don´t have around 2 months after our dinner one dish especially in mind. When we got our bill it was 645,00 €, remind we don´t drink alcohol. As the figures were hand written (relatively illegible) I wasn´t able to add the figures to this sum. So I asked and learned they added 20,00 € to each of our menus for the changes. Not a big deal and I surely don´t care about 40,00 € much but no other restaurant during our journey billed us for changes. Also I think the vegetables were not really more expensive than the meat they offered. Personally I don´t regret that I visited Osteria Francescana but if I´m in the region next time I woudn´t do it again. For me it´s far from the worlds best restaurant, it wasn´t even in the top 3 of our vacation. But I guess that´s the point when personal preferences has to be taken in account. |
Although I agree with the general sentiment there weren't enough on the socal list, I think it's great overall that Michelin now takes into account all of California. I'm optimistic the lists for LA/OC/SB/SD will improve as time goes on. Heading to SD next weekend actually and am already using the Bib Gourmand list to find a place for dinner.
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Originally Posted by Smiley90
(Post 31170435)
I just want to give a shout out to this post for pointing Wa Yamamura out to us, I'm very much stoked for our reservation next month. Our overall itinerary will be much michelin-lighter than bhrubin, but we couldn't pass up on a 3* for that price! Will also stop by 1* Kappo Matsumoto Eirakuten & 1 * Kappo Sakomoto in Kyoto. Still trying to figure out where to go for omakase in Tokyo that's not a) booked a year in advance and b) doesn't cost 400USD/person :D
Not been to Wa Yamamura, but I can recommend Sushi Yoshitake as a truly lifechanging meal in Tokyo (Google is telling me it's $300 which is cheaper than its sister restaurant Sushi Shikon in Hong Kong. ). I'd also like to point out the extreme unlikelihood of anything from here causing anyone a stomach upset. It's almost inconceivable (unless you have allergies I suppose). Chef Yoshitake has a personal relationship with his suppliers over many years and the quality and freshness of the ingredients is essentially what this place is all about. It's not about fancy plating or chandeliers. You can't book most Japanese restaurants a year in advance. They usually seem to have a policy where booking for the month after next begins at the beginning of this month (i.e. 2-3 month window). Being quick on the button when new space is made available has been as successful for me as using Amex concierge. Most M* restaurants are accessible for English speakers and so are hotel places but some of the tastiest food I had there was in places that weren't M* but you needed a Japanese host (you would probably call them mid-range, they are never going to stand out from their peers enough to merit a star). Many other places you can also get very tasty food by having some brass neck and pointing at things, but some unfortunately you can only visit with a Japanese host even if you speak perfect Japanese (which I don't by the way). That goes from the best cheap Ramen shops to the high class eating clubs (which your host probably wouldn't take you to anyway). |
Can’t say I’m surprised by the report on Osteria Francescana. It bothers me when restaurants make me feel as though I should be lucky to be there, as opposed to making everything hospitable and comfortable. I can’t remember if I posted this but a few months back I had a sadly disappointing experience at Alinea’s Kitchen Table. First, they have a policy that all 6 of the guests must order the same level of pairings. They have 3 tiers, and everyone else at my table wanted to do the basic pairing, so that’s what we got, even though I would have preferred the top tier. The sommelier explained this as being because she wouldn’t have time to explain three different pours at the same table. Wow. At the Fat Duck last year at a 6-top we had four different beverage pairings represented—non-alcoholic, and then each of their three wine tiers. And the sommelier there was perfectly happy to explain it all to us at the pace we preferred. The Alinea experience was so hasty it was sad. It was obvious they had a fixed schedule of how quickly they wanted to serve things, ratter than pacing it to us. We booked the last seating specifically because we did not want to be rushed, but alas. Another telling anecdote is that on my way there, there was a car accident on one of the highways (or whatever the most appropriate term is within Chicago) and so I let them know I would be late since traffic was stalled. I was told that if I arrived any more than ten minutes late I would miss the first course. Well, they stuck to their word. I arrived and they actually had me wait by the front until my friends finished the first course rather than bring me to the table right away. I asked if I could still be served the course and they said no. And to top it all off, the food was nothing special and the menu felt disjointed. I will not be returning. Contrast this with Smyth where I ate with 2 friends a few days later. There we had a 5pm seating and were told immediately, “The table is yours all night, the meal will be at whatever pace you would like.” And the food was many times better than Alinea. |
20 euros for changes to the menu? That's one restaurant I will not visit, ever, no matter how good it is.
Looking forward to my meal at Ultraviolet in a couple of weeks, in Shanghai. That will be the most expensive meal ever for me (6000 yuan, or about US$850 per person). |
Originally Posted by Fliar
(Post 31175490)
20 euros for changes to the menu? That's one restaurant I will not visit, ever, no matter how good it is.
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Le Calandre Rubano 3 stars
Le Calandre is the crown of the Alanjo restaurantsand was awarded 3 Michelin stars.
My GF started with the Information that we were in a hurry and so wish a fast service. So it was the fast 3 star meal of my life and the fastest way to spend my money;) Of Course can´t blame them for this, was excactly as requested (by one) of us. The restaurant is modern and relative dark. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5aca6435d6.jpg Little bites https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a1a5473b88.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...134a914e69.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2a8e3f9f94.jpg We took which came 200 € per Person. They don´t have a special lunch menu. For morons like me a reminder: https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...42ceca4afd.jpg Cuttlefish Cappuccino https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a7d84b55f5.jpg Black rice fettuccine with white asparagus and mackarel sauce https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...af3f9cd50e.jpg Seafood risotto with langoustines and artichoke gelato https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...37127e2c8f.jpg Turbot with hazelnuts, capers and coffee https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3f705e6b6f.jpg Stuffed and fried soft shell crabs https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4d732015da.jpg Chocolate, hazelnut and coffee https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3688f0e186.jpg Petit fours https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...88317a9a43.jpg I really liked our meal. Service was good and Alajmo was coming 2 times to make sure everything was fine. I would eat here again and think it´s a good 3 star. |
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