San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
MICHELIN STARS SHINE UPON CALIFORNIA.
L.A. and Sacramento get stars, but the Bay Area remains the epicenter
Michelin Guide’s first-ever California edition has turned a global spotlight on Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Orange County and Santa Barbara, but the Bay Area, with all seven Michelin threestar restaurants listed in the guide hailing from the region, remains the state’s fine dining mecca.
That isn’t to say interesting things didn’t unfold in other restaurant markets. Sacramento got its long-awaited star and a handful of Southern California restaurants with cult followings also jumped onto the one- and two-star lists.
The Michelin stars were announced Monday evening during a live event orchestrated by the Visit California Tourism Bureau in Huntington Beach (Orange County). Overall, the guide consists of 69 one-star restaurants, 14 twostars and seven three-star restaurants.
San Francisco’s Atelier Crenn and Healdsburg’s Single Thread, both of which jumped from two to three-star status last year, maintained perfect ratings. The same goes for three-star Benu ($310 per person, San Francisco), the French Laundry ($325 per person, Yountville), Manresa ($275 per person, Los Gatos), Quince ($295 per person, San Francisco) and the Restaurant at Meadowood ($350 per person, St. Helena).
San Francisco’s Saison, which has had a perfect Michelin rating every year since 2014, dropped from three to two stars this year. It’s a change in rating that coincides with Saison’s transition under new chef Laurent Gras, who took over the restaurant after founder Joshua Skenes stepped away earlier this year.
Skenes is now running Angler, an upscale seafood destination on the Embarcadero. The restaurant earned its first Michelin star this year.
In the two-star realm, Campton Place made the jump from one to two stars. Val Cantu’s Californios in the Mission District kept its two stars. Baume, the small Palo Alto operation with only two employees, Christie Chemel and her chef husband, Bruno, also maintained its two stars. Local restaurants Acquerello, Coi and Lazy Bear all earned two stars, as did Oakland’s lone contribution to the book — James Syhabout’s Commis.
The newest additions to the one-star group in the region include Sorrel, a Cal-Italian restaurant in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights; Harbor House Inn in the small Mendocino County town of Elk; and Maum, an upscale Korean restaurant in Palo Alto.
Outside of the Bay Area, the Michelin Guide gave stars to some long-snubbed restaurants across the state. Southern California welcomed a large number of new one-star restaurants, including Jeremy Fox’s Rustic Canyon restaurant in Santa Monica.
In Sacramento, the Kitchen, the city’s 28-year-old dinner party-styled restaurant that
The newest additions to the one-star group in the region include Sorrel, a Cal-Italian restaurant in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights; Harbor House Inn in the small Mendocino County town of Elk; and Maum, an upscale Korean restaurant in Palo Alto.
includes a touch of theater during service, earned a Michelin star.
Aubergine at L’Auberge in Carmel, the fine dining spot led by chef Justin Cogley, earned its first star.
Michelin California ultimately came to fruition thanks to $600,000 Visit California paid Michelin to expand the guide statewide. Though there are no details as to what the funds covered — most likely meals and travel for the anonymous inspectors — the money at least sponsored the guide for one year, although Michelin is expected to return again after the little red book’s summer release.
Out of roughly 16,000 restaurants recommended by the Michelin Guide, only 14 percent have been given stars. The rating system has been in place since 1933 and is based around a long-standing format: a three star restaurant is “worth a special journey” for its “exceptional cuisine”; two stars means “excellent cuisine, worth a detour”; and one star means the place has “high quality cooking, worth a stop.”