Neighborhood Restaurants Swing on a Star
Pssssst. Have you heard? At long last, the Michelin Guide announced its picks for the top restaurants in Texas on Monday, Nov. 11. Considered the penultimate source for declaring restaurant greatness, the Michelin Guide has been rating restaurants since 1926, around the year many of the first homes in Highland Park were built.
Michelin announced a deal with Texas in July to have its inspectors review restaurants in Austin, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. Destination marketing agencies for participating cities each pledged $90,000 per year in addition to the state of Texas’ financial commitment of $450,000 per year for a total payment to Michelin of $2.7 million for three years of restaurant reviews.
Michelin rankings are based on five criteria:
- Quality of ingredients used
- Mastery of flavor and cooking technique
- Personality of the chef in the cuisine
- Harmony of flavors
- Consistency of food between visits
It’s worth noting that Michelin does not consider interior decor, table setting, or service quality in its assessments.
Within the readership area of People Newspapers, which includes Preston Hollow, Midway Hollow, Bluffview, University Park, Highland Park, Knox Street, and Turtle Creek, six restaurants were recognized. None received any stars. In fact, of the 15 one-star restaurants in the state, only one is in Dallas.
Five nearby restaurants were deemed recommended by Michelin. They are: Barsotti’s and Sachet in The Shops of Highland Park, and Knox Bistro, Georgie, and Mister Charles on Knox Street.
Nonna is the lone Bib Gourmand restaurant in our readership area.
Restaurants can achieve star ratings: One being high quality cooking, worth a trip; Two stars indicate excellent cuisine, worth a detour; and Three, excellent cuisine, worth a journey. If that’s confusing, remember that the Michelin Guide was originally created by the tire company to get motorists to drive more so they needed to replace their tires more frequently. Brilliant, really.
Other Michelin accolades include Bib Gourmand, which means the restaurant is a friendly establishment that serves good food at a moderate price. Finally, restaurants can receive the Michelin Recommended designation, which means the restaurant serves above average food but not at the star of Bib level.
Among restaurant professionals and armchair Michelin inspectors alike, there is considerable debate on the choices made for the first year of the awards’ presence in Texas. I’m surprised at some of the choices but I wholly support the nods of Sachet, Georgie, and Knox Bistro. Those are three of my favorite restaurants in town.
Tell us in the comments what you think about the choices and which restaurants you think were overlooked?
