It's more that I walked up to the hotel reception and asked where the restaurant was - The lady deduced the rest for herself "Oh, Mr. EuropeanPete, I assume?"

you said "I had briefly mentioned in the email"

email address alone may yield a lot of open source intelligence

what's a Michelin star?
 

Is it like a AAA rating? Does it have anything to do with the tire mfr?

Also, how do you know a restaurant has such a star? Is there a Michelin search guide? Are there Michelin rates restaurants in the U.S.?

Yep, exactly.

It's where the rubber meets the road.;)

lol I was being serious!

Google is your friend! It started out as an offshoot of the Michelin Guides. It's a fairly selective rating of restaurants from 1 to 3 stars. It is purportedly very snootily French in character, leading to all sorts of controversies.

Be prepared to pay up for increasing numbers of stars.

Bon Appétit!

:) thanks doc!

More or less true, but there are some values to be had, especially in Asia, in my experience. For ex, a restaurant with 1 Michelin star in LA, CA will set you back at least $100 per person. But in HK, there are several dim sum type places that are very affordable.

There are no "Michelin starred" restaurants in L.A. The Michelin Guide only covers a few select cities in the world.

Consolidated "Michelin Restaurants" thread
 

IIRC there are three ** Michelin restaurants in L.A. and almost two thousand restaurants scattered around the globe with at least one *. It is not just a few cites, in fact there are hundreds of cities/towns in France alone that have at least one coveted star.

there are a LOT of cities/countries with michelin
seems the last michelin for LA was 2008/2009

current michelin chicago list >
http://www.chicagomag.com/dining-dri...-Star-Ratings/
map of michelin chicago >
http://chicago.eater.com/maps/chicag...rants-mapped-2
17 one star - this lists cheapest 8 entree average - $23 to $44
https://www.thrillist.com/eat/chicag...w-york-options

AAA and forbes/mobil are really not comparable to michelin

enviroian, im sure there are some casual/inexpensive michelin that would appeal, but maybe only overseas
and things like dress codes are becoming increasingly less common even at some very expensive restaurants

The last L.A. guide was 2009, so I suppose you can call those restaurants that appeared in the last edition and which are still in business today as "Michelin starred." I don't. For example, the Langham got one star while it was under Michael Voltaggio, who has since moved on to ink in West Hollywood. That said, many restaurants in the 2009 L.A. guide are still very good. I just choose not to call them "Michelin starred." IMO, those restaurants exist only in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco (in North America).

As far as "limited" is concerned, the Michelin Guide is limited to Europe, U.S., Japan, and Hong Kong (where its Western cuisine-based rubric is, IMO, highly suspect when applied to Chinese food -- and not so for Japanese food). There is a whole world of great restaurants and eating destinations. I've had amazing eating experiences in China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Peru, Canada, ... all no thanks to the Michelin Guide.

And Smaller portions....

:(

Also check out Michelin's "Bib Gourmand," a recognition that falls short of a star but indicating a friendly place with good food where you can get a couple of courses and a drink for less than $50 or so.

The Michelin guide started out in France as a guide for French road trips but has long since branched out.

The story is that it was a political move to appeal to a broader market (i.e. the Chinese).

I've eaten there and it's certainly not Michelin quality.

The star rating has a rough correlation to price, better correlation to service, and none to taste, IME. Some of the better meals I've had were the 2s and 1s, and even restaurants that later went on to earn stars... the 3s were good too but most of them had a very stuffy style of service

A small selection of Michelin * / ** / *** restaurants (mostly Europe & Asia) I have been to.
Never got disappointed.

http://www.hotel-sonnora.de
http://im-schiffchen.de/go.php?p=schiffchen
http://www.schlossberg-nennig.de/eng...rten/index.php
http://www.schlossbensberg.com/en/restaurant-vendome
http://tantris.de/home.php
http://www.schuhbeck.de/en/
http://www.auberge-de-l-ill.com
http://www.vau-berlin.de/en/
http://www.aucygne.fr/de/#restaurant

http://www.hongkong-ic.intercontinen...ning/spoon.php
http://www.alain-ducasse.com/en/rest...-ducasse-tokyo
http://www.robuchon.hk

In my view, Michelin stars are by far the most reliable published ratings around the world. They still are done entirely anonymously, and normalised by region. The stars are all about the food, and are distinct from the Toques (on a scale of 1-5) which concern themselves with luxury (or stuffiness as some here would call it). Whilst it's unlikely that you would get a 3*, 1 Toque restaurant, in theory the two scales are independent. Toques are more correlated with price, but any restaurant which gets even one star will put its prices up sharply, and expect to be pretty well full.

Whilst staying in Les Trois Rois in Basel last week, I asked, more in hope than anticipation if a table might be available at Le Cheval Blanc, which has recently been elevated from 2 to 3 Michelin Stars.

About 10 minutes after the inevitable knock back, the phone rang in the room to say that there had just been a cancellation for the next evening if we still wanted the table - the answer was of course yes.

It was, inevitably an evening of superlatives. The tasting menu, at an eye-watering SFr 220 per head brought climax upon climax of last and texture.

There isn't time and space to outline every one of the 4 amuse bouches, 3 starters, main course, 2 desserts and petit fours that were on offer. Suffice it to say that climax followed climax.

Thoroughly recommendable and even at the inflated price, excellent value for money and to be recommended.

I've had my share of Michelin-starred restaurants (27 total stars, including 5 restaurants with 3* -- I keep track :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: ).
My favorite, and my first Michelin restaurant, will probably be the French Laundry in the Napa area in CA. Beautiful and unassuming setting, small restaurant, like someone's home. Best service of any restaurant I've ever had.

I'm heading to NOMA in Copenhagen tonight. Been waiting for this moment for years. :D Snagged a table for 4 after logging in back in September, using 14 different browsers and getting a number in the low 100s. Though it looks like some big tables might open up on short notice - this morning I saw a table for 5 available on December 9th at 12:00.

The other 2* places I've been to in CPH are AOC (Aaro & Co) and Studio at the Standard. I did the extended tasting menu at AOC and was impressed with the innovation of the dishes, but I thought the service was somewhat robotic and stuffy. The sommelier was very friendly and very skilled in his pairing of wines - he had it down to a precise science with very good control of temperatures and using different glasses/decanters.

Studio was truly in a class of its own and one of the best Michelin experiences I've had. I did their lunch menu which was an incredible value at 425 DKK (I also got a foie gras supplement for 225 DKK.) I was seated at the Chef's Table, right in front of the kitchen. For 2.5 hours I had the privilege of interacting with all of the members of the kitchen and Torsten Vildgaard himself, and watching them assemble dishes with impeccable, surgeon-like precision. The service was absolutely spot-on, a great balance between being casual and professional. I would highly recommend Studio if one can't book Noma! ^

Aside from these, I've also been to:

CPH:
Relae (*)

HKG (the Michelin guide seems to have gone nuts here, I personally don't think many of the places like Tim Ho Wan deserve a one-star, as the service is part of the rating, and I would file it under the category of "excellent cheap eats"):
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon (***) ^
8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA (***) :td:
Tin Lung Heen (**)
Ming Court (**)
Fook Lam Moon (*) ^
Ah Yat Abalone (*)
Ho Hung Kee (*) :td:
Tosca (*)
Tim Ho Wan (*)
Loaf On (*)

Tokyo:
Sushi Yoshitake (***)
Sushi Saito (**)
Sushi Mizutani (**)
Sushi Sawada (**)

London:
Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester (***) :td: (most overrated place I've ever been)
Lecture Room by Sketch (**)
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal (**)

NYC:
Per Se (***)
Eleven Madison Park (***)
Jean Georges (***)
Le Bernardin (***)
Babbo (*)
Sushi Yasuda (*)

No it isn't. Perhaps partially to appease criticisms that they only cover fine dining joints, Michelin (officially, at least) purely rates the cuisine, and not the decor, ambience, or service.

Which is how all these dim sum places got their star.

I'd like to see your review of that. It's been on my bucket list for awhile along with El Celler de Can Roca, which I just can't crack.

We had a 'year in review dining thread' for a few years running. I'll gather my notes and start one for 2015

Noma was definitely one of the most memorable dining experiences I've ever had of my life. I can't say that I enjoyed every bite of what was put in front of me, but it was something of a revelation in the different textures/preparation methods that some ingredients can have. For instance, I experienced garlic in a licorice-like format and the most perfect egg yolk, which were delights for all the senses. The real hits for me were the seafood dishes, which included sea urchin from the Faeroe Islands with walnuts, raw squid with kelp, the mahogany clam and the frozen, thinly sliced monkfish liver on toast.

However, I was letdown by a few courses, such as the "beet tartar", "burnt onion" and the main course, the duck. The beetroot tartar just didn't taste anything special to me (though the citric taste of the ants was a pleasant surprise), and the texture of the centre of the onion was almost gritty, with the flavour not being there. The duck didn't feel special, as it was presented whole in front of our table with the breast being carved up - but it was up to us to split the dish. It came accompanied with a cabbage that actually detracted from the duck, which was perfectly cooked, but lacking in presentation. When the other bits of the duck came, it was up to our table to gnaw on the bones and pick at the parts like the tongue and the brain - and I was left feeling they could have done something more with those parts. (My comparison is Studio - which served the duck 5 different ways, along with impeccable presentation.)

The art of Noma seems to be the ability to transition these ordinary ingredients into a sensual experience. I think it is best described as "experimental" and "edgy", and not the place where you come for comfort food or just to have really well executed favourite dishes - it's where you come to reimagine how you see an ingredient.

The atmosphere is best described as being "cheery" and upbeat. It's a very casual setting with almost every one in the restaurant being truly excited to be there, and it reflects on the kitchen crew, who have a big role in presenting their dishes. What really made the Noma experience special for me is being presented the dishes by different kitchen staff and interacting with them, as you can hear the passion they have put into preparing the dish and talk about their varied backgrounds and philosophies.

At $420 for the menu, 2 glasses of wine, juice pairing, water and coffee, it wasn't for the faint of heart. If all I got was just the food, I would have said it wasn't worth it. But the experience of being engaged with the kitchen, hearing about the development of the dishes and understanding the techniques/innovation behind everything was a really crucial part of the experience that will make this one of the most memorable meals of my life.

(Dropbox link to photos from the night):

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xw6jl0jto...WrODNbyka?dl=0

Awesome, thanks for posting! What's number 3?

The meat in number 19 is mouth-watering

Number 3 is the beet tartar with elderflower and ants on top. The ants were probably the highlight of that dish (I'm being dead serious) with a very refreshing citric taste once you bit through the body. :D

Number 19 is my portion of duck breast from the whole duck. It was the most perfectly cooked duck I've had in my life, it had that melt in your mouth feel. I plated it like that for presentation purposes. The only letdown was the lack of presentation and weird pairing with the cabbage - otherwise it was out of this world good!

I didn't know Babbo had a star. Woo hoo I've got a star on my eating resume :D

Thanks, I was wondering if the base was Amaranth. Reminded me of a dish I had at La Pergola. Somehow I just can't get excited about the thought of eating ants.

I ate there earlier in the year. As a sole diner, I got really well looked after. Glad someone else enjoyed it as much as I did!

True

Noma (at least in its current incarnation) is closing at the end of 2016 - would you recommend going there before it closes? I ask just as my wife and I might make a stop in Copenhagen at some point next year, but it's almost primarily to visit Noma (I'm sure the city is lovely, but the food is ephemeral).

As one of the chefs explained it to me, Rene Redzepi will be re-opening at some time, just in a different setting and with a modified concept.

Noma is truly the granddaddy of the modern Nordic cuisine movement. It has been the source of inspiration for most of the other modern Nordic establishments in Copenhagen. I've had the fortune to dine at AOC, Studio, Relae and Amass, and in retrospect they all pay great respect to the concept launched by Noma.

However, I think that Noma was the one meal out of them that had the serious "Wow" factor beyond the rest of them. They push the boundaries in terms of flavours and innovation much further than their competition in the city, and really have a young, dynamic and passionate crew behind the establishment. I just think you have to be prepared to not enjoy every single bite of the meal, since they often challenge your tastes in a way that can't possibly please every single person.

So the longwinded summary is: if you have an idea of what modern Nordic cuisine entails, then no question, you should arrange a trip around Noma. The more I think about the meal, there is a reason for its legendary status in the culinary world. On the same trip, I'd also highly recommend trying Studio to compare and contrast.

Not correct :
- 79 michelin restaurants in Paris and 75 in NY..... (i.e probably more in NY than in Paris factoring the size / number of people)
- and 226 in Tokyo
- and 99 in Kyoto
- 594 michelin restaurants in France vs 516 in Japan

These numbers clearly confirmed that Europe and especially France is "over represented" :p

source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ed_restaurants

IMHO Michelin guide is fair in France and rarely outside.

Anyway, there are some great restaurants all over (as French chef start to relocate..... :o:p:eek::o)

Michelin includes restaurants in France, especially, and throughout all of (Western) Europe that are not in the big cities; outside of Europe, Michelin rarely includes restaurants not located in the big cities. Your data is correct, but I would argue the conclusion you draw is therefore seriously flawed.

About 494 of the 516 Michelin restaurants in Japan are located in the big cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima. About 98 of the 595 Michelin restaurants in France are located in the city of Paris and smaller "cities" of Lyon and Marseilles. (Even counting Lyon and Marseilles as big cities here seems laughable, but I'm including them to make my point even more obvious.)

The fact is that Michelin includes small town/village and resort location restaurants in France and in Europe as a whole--but does not do that in North America or Asia to even a remotely comparable degree. The only big exception might be the Napa Valley!

The net effect is that Michelin ignores whole regions of "countries" like the USA, Japan, etc. while including whole regions and small towns of France and most European countries. That pretty much makes it fairly easy to conclude that Michelin over-represents France and Europe. It also ignores whole continents like South America and Africa despite the obvious gourmet dining presence in both, which is an even greater reason to question Michelin when discussing the "best" restaurants in the world.

I used your source, by the way.

source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ed_restaurants

I would clarify to say the Michelin guide is exhaustive in France and rarely outside. Again, Michelin over-represents France and, to a lesser but still significant degree, all of Europe. The numbers speak for themselves...especially when you critically examine the numbers.

If Michelin ever fairly considered US cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Miami, Boston, Washington, Charleston, New Orleans, Seattle, etc, let alone the resort destinations like Carmel/Monterey, Santa Barbara, Hawaii, Las Vegas, etc, the USA likely would crush France and perhaps all of Europe.

If Michelin ever fairly considered countries like Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Canada, etc, the rest of the world might very well crush Europe--or at least make far more people aware that Europe isn't quite the center of the culinary universe as it pretends and craves to be.

Michelin includes off-the-beaten but tremendous restaurant locations like Rubano and San Sebastian and Modena, but somehow misses Lima, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Sao Paolo, Medoza, Bogota, Bangkok, Singapore, Cape Town, Los Angeles, Houston, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Anchorage (just kidding!), etc. It isn't because Michelin can't find amazing restaurants.

Like I said, Michelin is to fine dining like France is to wine: not quite the epicenter that it always craves to be.

You know, there is a reason for this anomaly. Small town in France (and Belgium, etc) have examples of top level restaurants. For me the best restaurant in France is in the town of Chagny. However in small towns in the US the best restaurant is usually Cracker Barrel. Yes I'm sure you can find some good examples here and there, as you say Napa Valley. However the vast majority of the geography in the US is served by fast food restaurants, diners, and the occasional decent restaurant that isn't quite up to Michelin standards of quality.

Seems that the food war is officially declared.....that's very laughable

Unfortunately we are poor in france and michelin doesn't have the money to open much more guides (reason they closed vegas)

Anyway a 3 michelin stars in france is usually better than a 3 stars outside of france (requirements are differents)

Btw pellegrino is a water not a food guide, very laughable

I simply defend that which I believe to be true based on my own fairly extensive dining around the world. I love French food/cooking, and I love the Michelin restaurants in Paris and around France. I also love the many non-Michelin restaurants in many other cities and countries outside the Michelin coverage. I don't believe Michelin 3 star always means the very best, though I concede there aren't many Michelin 3 stars that I didn't love. But that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of worthy Michelin 3 star restaurants in areas not rated by Michelin, let alone 1 and 2 star restaurants.

The reason Michelin stopped rating places like Los Angeles and Las Vegas had nothing to do with people in France. It had everything to do with the fact that people outside of France and in those locales (or who visit those locales) weren't buying the guides. The guide has an obvious bias, which would be most apparent to those who live in these cities, and that bias was contributing to insufficient demand. When you dine often enough at the restaurants that Michelin either dismisses or lauds too easily, it's easier to witness the bias--especially when you're introducing a new ratings system to a new area. Michelin didn't match up so well with the consensus of reviews of most food critics and important sources in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, either--by ignoring some great restaurants entirely or including others that weren't nearly as worthy by local accounts. That doesn't happen so easily in France/Europe. It showcased a major flaw in the Michelin consistency and methodology.

That same obvious bias is on display in this discussion IMO.

On this, I wholly disagree.

Our meals at Saison (San Francisco), Meadowood (Napa), Alinea (Chicago), Le Bernardin (NYC), Gordon Ramsay (London), Le Calandre (Rubano, Italy), and DiverXO (Madrid) were all comparably excellent to those we had at Guy Savoy, Le Meurice, and Pierre Gagnaire (Paris). French Laundry (Napa) we didn't enjoy as much due to its formality and pretension, but I doubt that would impair enjoyment from most 3 star Michelin diners. Daniel (NYC) we did think overrated, with disappointing wine service/pairing, and this year it lost its 3rd star. Lung King Heen (Hong Kong) was very good but not worthy of 3 stars IMO, based on service and creativity issues. Alain Ducasse (Paris) was disappointing to us as a 3 star in the 2000s, and it lost its 3rd star a few years after we dined there.

We will be dining at 3 star Benu and 2 star Atelier Crenn (San Francisco) next weekend, as well.

Amber (Hong Kong), Noma (Copenhagen), Geranium (Copenhagen), and Cyrus (Sonoma, now closed), are among the 2 star restaurants that we believed to be worthy of 3 stars. Hostellerie de Plaisance (St. Emilion) is a good example of a 2 star French restaurant that we believed to be more worthy of 1 star.

There are many restaurants that would earn 2-3 Michelin stars that are not in areas covered by Michelin: Central and Astrid y Gaston (Lima, Peru), Pujol, Biko, and Quintonil (Mexico City), The Test Kitchen (Cape Town), The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Francais (Franschhoek), Mikla (Istanbul) chief among them. I've dined at all of those FWIW.

I'll assume that was sarcasm. I'm laughing...but not with you:

http://www.theworlds50best.com/

Le bernardin couple of weeks ago and it was as usual good. I'll probably gave him 1 to 2 stars as it's french and it's most of the times available without reservation so it was a good "fish snack" on my way...,:p
At least they serve their full menu at their lounge unlike the "mandarin tower" one where they require a jacket in the lounge as well (forgot the names....)

Amber yes they deserved their 2 stars despite the horrible manager (ex robuchon)

I'm impressed by the list of restaurants you have been to. You have been to some great places and some less great.

I confirmed san pellegrino is a water (there is a large thead concerning this water list)

Very true
Glad that we are coming back on earth

Doesn't arguing which country has the "best" food--according to a commercial rating guide--seem a bit silly? Isn't this debate about best restaurant?

We must agree to disagree. We've been twice to Le Benardin and had spectacular tasting menus on both occasions. We easily agree with the 3 stars they have.

We didn't deal with their horrible manager. We had a tremendous truffle tasting menu in Jan 2014, my first true truffle experience from start to finish. Tremendous food and service, amazing wine pairings, and just a very polished evening mixed with an ease of service due to our own penchant to enjoy that. We absolutely preferred 2 star Amber to 3 star Caprice.

Thanks. We save a lot of money by using miles for our airline tickets (almost always) and points for our hotels stays in many (but not all) cities, so that makes it easier for us to spend more on dining. Our upcoming SF dining trip includes a free stay at the StR SF and free airline tickets (very short haul for us).