It's the day so many in the restaurant business have been waiting for.
On Monday night in Houston, the Michelin Guide announced which restaurants have earned coveted Michelin Stars in their initial guide to Texas restaurants.
If you've slept through the restaurant news this summer, here's the short version: Michelin's restaurant inspectors started scouring the state earlier this year to determine the best dining destinations that Dallas, Ft. Worth, Austin, Houston and San Antonio have to offer. Earning just one star in Michelin's guide can boost a restaurant's credibility to astronomical levels, and two or three stars signify truly transcendent meals being created.
Beyond the star-worthy restaurants, the Michelin inspectors have some other awards to hand out. Bib Gourmands are awarded for “simple yet skillful cooking,” which is Michelin's way of heaping praise on more affordable restaurants.
A Green Star is bestowed to restaurants that honor sustainability and eco-friendly practices, while '"Recommended" restaurants may not be star-worthy, but the Guide wants to give a shout out to still-solid destinations.
The Observer's food editor Lauren Daniels was present at the Houston event, and food critic Chris Wolfgang added some live commentary as the awards were announced, with a focus on which Dallas and Fort Worth restaurants gained recognition.
6:25 p.m.
Lauren Daniels has made it to the 713 Music Hall in Houston for this evening's ceremonies. She reports that restauranteurs and chefs are mingling with Michelin folks and food media from across the state. The event is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and should end by 8:30 p.m. 6:58 p.m.
The event should be getting underway shortly; music has started on the livestream for those watching remotely, like me. Our editor, Lauren Daniels, will have a full recap of the event tomorrow, and I'll add comments here as the event moves along.
7:03 p.m.
Dallas' own Java Ingram takes the stage, and will emcee tonight's event. In the spirit of Veteran's Day, Ingam stops to recognize veterans in the audience.
7:07 p.m.
Texas' First Lady Cecilia Abbott is in the audience, and Houston's mayor John Whitmire takes the stage to say a few words. A pre-recorded message from the astronauts on board the International Space Station is played congratulating the winners in advance. With Houston's NASA ties, it's a nice touch.
7:18 p.m.
Gwendal Poullennec, Michelin Guide's executive director, takes the stage along side Java Ingram. Poullennec gives a brief history of the guide, then talks about the inspectors who do the legwork of identifying the best restaurants. And with that bit of learning, we're about to find which restaurants made the cut.
7:22 p.m.
We start with Michelin Special Awards. First up is the Exception Cocktails Award, recognizing mixologists who wowed the inspectors during their visits. Julian Shaffer of Rye in Dallas wins the award, and his smile stretches ear to ear as he takes the stage to receive the award. Rye (and neighboring bar Apothecary) have a stellar cocktail program, and it's great to see Dallas get recognized right out of the gate. "This is unreal," Shaffer says after donning the Michelin chef's coat presented to each winner.
7:26 p.m.
Silvano Brescianini, president of (Franziacorta), takes the stage to present the Sommelier Award for wine excellence. Steven McDonald, sommelier of Pappas Brothers Steakhouse in Houston, wins the award. While McDonald works at Pappas Brothers in Houston, Dallasites can partake at the Pappas Brothers Steakhouse location in Dallas, as well. We're calling this one a win, too.
7:42 p.m
Now we're moving into Michelin Recommended Restaurants — establishments that may not get a star, but will nevertheless appear in the Guide. The winners are announced en masse, and in alphabetical order. In Dallas and Fort Worth, the winners are:
Barsotti's
Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez (Fort Worth)
Mister Charles
Crown Block
El Carlos Elegante
Fearing's
Georgie
Harvest (McKinney)
Knox Bistro
Mercat Bistro
Monarch
Panther City Barbecue (Fort Worth)
Quarter Acre
Rye
Sachet
Stillwells
Stock & Barrel
Smoke N Ash BBQ (Arlington)
Tei-An
Written By The Seasons
Obviously, we'll have more thoughts later, but we don't have much disagreement with the Dallas area restaurants that made the list.
7:52 p.m.
Now we're moving on to Bib Gourmand Awards, restaurants that offer great food at great value. Again, alphabetical announcements.
Cattleack Barbeque (Farmers Branch)
Gemma
Goldee's Barbecue (Fort Worth)
Lucia
Mot Hai Ba
Ngon Vietnamese Kitchen
Nonna
We expected barbecue restaurants to be heavily represented in Bib Gourmand awards, and the full list across Texas doesn't disappoint. Julian Barsotti gets a second entry in the Guide with Nonna, having previously been mentioned for Barsotti's. We're a bit surprised to see Lucia show up here; we thought they might have an outside shot at a star. Nice to see Mot Hai Ba and Ngon Vietnamese get recognized by the Guide, and barbecue gets some love with Cattleack and Goldee's inclusion.
Bun Cha Hanoi from Ngon Vietnamese Kitchen, which was recognized with a Bib Gourmand Award by the Michelin Guide.
Alison McLean
7:59 p.m.
Michelin Green Stars, awarded for sustainability combined with culinary excellence, are next up. The winners list is getting shorter it seems, and each restaurant is getting recognized individually. And we may have our first snubs from a Dallas perspective. We thought Petra And The Beast would earn a Green Star for Chef Misti Norris' commitment to everything the award stands for. Heritage Table in Frisco operates in the same vein. Alas, both were left off.
8:07 p.m.
And now, we're into the star awards. Poullennec is back on stage, noting the rarity of earning a Star. The one-star winners state-wide are as follows:
Barley Swine, Chef Bryce Gilmore, Austin
BCN Taste & Tradition, Chef Luis Roger, Houston
Craft Omakase, Chefs Charlie Wang and Nguyen Nguyen, Austin
Hestia, Chef Kevin Fink, Austin
Le Jardinier Houston, Chefs Felipe Botero & Alain Verzeroli, Houston
March, Chef Felipe Riccio, Houston
Mixtli, Chefs Diego Galicia & Rico Torres, Austin
Musaafer, Chef Mayank Istwal, Houston
Olamaie, Chef Michael Fojtasek, Austin
Tatemó, Chef Emmanuel Chavez, Houston
Tatsu, Chef Tatsuya Sekiguchi, Dallas
CorkScrew BBQ, Chef Will Buckman, Spring
Interstellar BBQ, Chef John Bates, Austin
La Barbecue, Chef Alison Clem, Austin
Leroy & Lewis BBQ, Chefs Evan Leroy & Sawyer Lewis, Austin
Hiroko (left) and Tatsuya Sekiguchi moved to Texas from New York in 2019. They saw an opportunity in Dallas. Their timing is nothing short of impeccable.
Alison McLean
We love that chef Tatsuya Sekiguchi (accompanied by his wife, Hiroko) came on stage wearing a massive cowboy hat — he's truly accepted Texas as his home.
8:39 p.m.
And we're wrapping up. No two or three-star restaurants are in Texas on this first pass, but frankly, we aren't surprised. What does surprise us is the number of barbecue restaurants earning Michelin Stars, with Austin's Interstellar BBQ, La Barbecue, Leroy & Lewis Barbecue, as well as CorkScrew BBQ in Spring all getting recognized. We wondered, given the Guide's apparent preference for French techniques and fine dining, if Texas' true flavors would translate to recognition, and it seems they have.
From a Dallas perspective, 19 restaurants are recognized by the Guide, with an additional seven restaurants receiving Bib Gourmand awards.
We are somewhat shocked that Dallas only ended up with one Michelin star, but Tatsu is a worthy recipient. Just 15 restaurants state-wide earned a star, so Tatsu is definitely in some exclusive company. Austin garners eight restaurants with a star, Houston checks in with six and Spring gets one.
