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