Michelin: Stars or Black Hole?
The Guide just dropped stars for the US' Big Three Cities... Michelin's divide with critics & the public left many wondering whether Michelin needs a retread...
Last Monday, the folks over at Michelin Guide announced the stars for their U.S. Big Three. Now grouped together, New York, Chicago, and Washington DC represent the guide’s marquis markets. (Of note, newcomers, eg Florida and Texas, paid for their inspectors and California is a special relationship.)
In the Big Three, we are offered a more traditional model of the star system. Absent from these awards are clickbait like taco stands and barbecue shacks. In their stead, voyeurs receive a plateful of standards.
Glancing at the well worn names atop the roster, one must question whether senility is creeping into Bibendum’s brain. Despite changes elsewhere, the Michelin Guide’s three stars remain a monument to turn-of-the-century staples.
A schism divides the Michelin Guide from newer restaurants, critics, and guest expectations. Does the Red Book need a retread?
A Restricted Club?
Michelin might swing among the stars, but increasingly the Guide’s rubbery head seems to be in the clouds. An dogged adherence to dated fine dining templates appears to be the prerequisite for recognition.
At the three star level, the Old Guard still maintains a firm grip on the sceptre. Le Bernadin, Per Se, Masa, EMP, Smyth, Alinea, Inn at Little Washington–and, now Jungsik-—reign. On average these restaurants have held three star ratings for 10 years each; the vast majority received their superlative the first year that the Guide launched in their respective market (‘05 NYC, ‘11 CHI, ‘17 DC).
Last week, NYC’s Jungsik was elevated to three stars, but the inspectors chose to keep fellow Korean eatery Atomix at the two star level. Meanwhile, the World’s 50 Best Restaurants ranks Atomix at No.6 and a cursory search delivers hundreds of fawning articles about Junghiun and Ellia Park’s flagship in pixel and print.
The Atomix snub looks less like an outlier and more like an indicator of the widening gap between Michelin and critical consensus.
Airing the Dirty Laundry
Consider the Guide’s infatuation with Chef Thomas Keller. The pioneer of New American is a darling of the Guide, helming a duo of three star icons (French Laundry, Per Se) along with a one star (Surf Club).