Alison McLean
Audio By Carbonatix
Last year, the restaurant world was beside itself talking up the inaugural Michelin Guide list of Texas’ best restaurants. There were explanatory stories, think pieces, prognostications and live streams of the event. And afterward, local media offered plenty of commentary about the winners and losers.
This year? Ho hum. The most noteworthy stories of late are Dean Fearing’s invite hiding in his spam folder, and the El Califia de León — the first and only starred taqueria in the world — abruptly shuttering its Dallas pop-up after concerns about “operational shortcomings.”
The relative lack of buzz this year doesn’t mean there’s nothing to look forward to. Last year, Tatsu nabbed Dallas’ lone Michelin star, while seven other area restaurants got Bib Gourmand awards: Cattleack Barbeque (Farmers Branch), Gemma, Goldee’s Barbecue (Fort Worth), Lucia, Mot Hai Ba, Ngon Vietnamese Kitchen and Nonna.
Another 20 area restaurants are listed in the Guide as Michelin Recommended Restaurants.
The Weight of Tasting Menus
What can we expect to change this year? If you ask restaurateurs, they’ve done very little to appeal to the army of Michelin inspectors. In a recent story in the Dallas Morning News, Dean Fearing admitted to promoting the tasting menu at Fearing’s a little more because Michelin likes tasting menus. But other restaurants, such as Rye, Monarch and Mister Charles, roughly said the same thing: we’ll keep doing what we do, and if Michelin recognizes us, great.
Fearing’s note about tasting menus is accurate, and we’re seeing the trend appear more regularly at restaurants we adore. Chef Richard Vana of The Heritage Table in Frisco has started a five- to seven-course tasting menu that walks diners through his interpretations of Texas cuisine with a focus on whole animal philosophy.
Quarter Acre is also leaning into an approachable tasting menu. Chef Toby Archibald has added it to the daily menu with no need for reservations. When we spent a night at Quarter Acre for Archibald’s collaboration with chef Misti Norris, the team told us that over half of each night’s guests are opting for the set price menu ($125 for six courses and a handful of snacks, which strikes us as a stellar deal). These improvements at his three-year-old restaurant are just the kind of thing that Michelin inspectors seem to appreciate, and we wouldn’t be surprised if Quarter Acre earns more than just a Michelin recommendation this year.
Last year, we felt one of the biggest gaps in Michelin’s first look at Texas was the lack of any Green Stars, which were to recognize restaurants with a focus on sustainability and responsible sourcing. Michelin has quietly done away with Green Stars, removing the search criteria from their guide. The criteria for Green Stars relied on restaurants’ self-reporting of sustainability progress, which wasn’t verified by Michelin.
Budget Friendly?
Bib Gourmand awards will remain, though, for restaurants that meet Michelin’s skewed ideas of “budget-friendly” dining. In the U.S., “budget-friendly” means a three-course meal for $40. Barbecue spots Cattleack Barbecue and Goldie’s each received Bib awards last year, but with beef prices at all-time highs, we’re left to wonder just what “affordable” means.
We’d also love it if Michelin’s inspectors developed a better feel for what Texas restaurants do well, instead of what may be popular.
Blind Spots
We are also left to wonder about the dearth of Mexican restaurants in the guide, with a snub to Dallas gems like Ayahuasca Cantina, Purépecha and Resident Taqueria. The problem didn’t stop at Dallas; only two of San Antonio’s 12 Guide-listed restaurants are Mexican.
Between our Top 100 Restaurants and our annual Best Of Dallas issue, we’ve been singing the praises of Dallas’ dining all-stars for years. Texas does more than steak and barbecue, and we hope Michelin’s next update to its eponymous guide highlights more of the culinary treasures that Dallas has to offer.
