New York - The Michelin Guide's latest roster of top New York City restaurants says Brooklyn and Queens are hot, but Daniel Boulud has lost a little sizzle.
For the past three years, the same seven restaurants have held a virtual lock on the organisation's coveted three-star rating:
Daniel
Per Se
Masa
Le Bernardin
Eleven Madison Park
Jean Georges
Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare.
But this year, only six maintained the honour for the guide's 10th edition, which goes on sale on Wednesday.
Daniel, Boulud's flagship Upper East Side restaurant, was bumped down to two stars.
“We obviously prefer to give stars than to take them away. Unfortunately, over numerous meals this year at Daniel he just wasn't firing on all cylinders to maintain a third star,” Michael Ellis, director of the Michelin guides, said by telephone on Tuesday.
“There's not one thing that I could point out. There was just not that consistency over the meals.”
Michelin guides, which cover 24 countries, are considered among the premier ratings of the restaurant world. Based on the experiences of anonymous inspectors, the guides award ratings of one, two or three stars using criteria including quality of ingredients, mastery of technique, how the chef's personality is expressed in the food, and consistency.
A total of 874 restaurants spanning 60 cuisines are included in the 2015 edition of the New York City guide; 73 of them got star ratings.
Ellis said some of the most exciting cooking in New York is happening outside Manhattan. Twenty of the restaurants included in the guide added stars (including some that earned their first star). Of those, 11 were outside Manhattan, including eight in Brooklyn. “This shows the exciting, vibrant cooking scene that is in the outer boroughs,” he said.
Brooklyn has a total of 10 starred restaurants, including several new additions: California American-inspired Delaware and Hudson; Polo Dobkin's Meadowsweet; Andy Ricker's Pok Pok Ny; Take Root; La Vera; and Lucksus at Torst. Queens has four: Casa Enrique, Danny Brown Wine Bar and Kitchen, M. Wells Steakhouse and Zabb Elee.
In addition to Daniel, the city has eight other two-star restaurants: Matthew Lightner's seasonally focused Atera; Soto, Sotohiro Kosugi's sushi bar; David Chang's tasting menu-driven Momofuku Ko; Marea, Michael White's ode to high-end Italian seafood; Jungsik, which features contemporary Korean cuisine by Jungsik Yim; Carlos Mirachi's Blanca; Emma Bengtsson's Nordic-inspired Aquavit; and Eiji Ichimura's sushi at Ichimura.
New York is one of three American cities that have Michelin guides to their restaurants. The others are Chicago and the San Francisco. AFP reports that Michelin guides to San Francisco and Chicago are to be published later this year.
Sapa-AP
Michelin awards stars to 14 British restaurants
Michelin awarded new stars to 14 restaurants in Britain - a slim haul for a country whose food scene is developing so rapidly. The total of 167 stars is paltry and just four establishments have the top ranking.
The London winners are:
Gymkhana Indian restaurant in Mayfair;
Kitchen Table, a Fitzrovia venue backed by Gymkhana chef Karam Sethi;
Barrafina tapas bar in Soho;
chef Jason Atherton's Social Eating House;
era, which replaced Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's;
and chef Isaac McHale's Clove Club in Shoreditch.
There were no new two- or three- star establishments included in Thursday's announcement. Rebecca Burr, who edits the Britain and Ireland guide, said she and her inspectors are watching a few chefs closely and some came close to promotion this year.
“It's not the names that people would expect,” she said. “There's a younger generation of chefs that could go past some of the more-established chefs.”
She praised McHale, a chef who emerged from a group of friends called the Young Turks to open Clove Club. This edgy restaurant lacks tablecloths and formality. McHale serves stripped-down dishes that owe more to contemporary European cooking than to traditional gastronomy.
“Clove Club has set the bar for modern dining,” Burr said. “Isaac McHale is of our generation and his restaurant is proof of the fact that informality doesn't mean a lack of knowledge.”
The winners outside London included two restaurants in Scotland: Isle of Eriska in Eriska; and Three Chimneys & the House Over-By on the Isle of Skye. And two in Wales: Ynyshir Hall in Machynlleth and the Crown at Whitebrook, in Monmouth.
The others that gained a star were: Star Inn, Harome; Cross at Kenilworth; Outlaw's Fish Kitchen, Port Isaac; and Treby Arms in Sparkwell. Nobu and Nobu Berkeley Street in London both lost their stars.
Many people had expected awards for Manchester, a city that has been without stars since 1974. Chef Simon Rogan, who gained a star for Fera, in London, was snubbed at the French, in Manchester; Aiden Byrne at Manchester House also missed out. The chefs were the subject of a television series, “Restaurant Wars”.
Michelin awarded the Bib Gourmand for affordable quality to 26 more restaurants, including nine in London: Indian Essence (Bromley); Barnyard (Bloomsbury); Rotorino (Dalston); Roots at N1 (Barnsbury); Yipin China (Islington); Bibo (Putney); Earl Spencer (Southfields); Polpetto (Soho); Palomar (Soho). The award recognizes venues that serve good food at no more than 28 pounds ($45.65) for three courses.
There are four three-star restaurants, 21 with two stars and 142 with one. The three stars go to Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, the Fat Duck, Gordon Ramsay and the Waterside Inn.
Three stars mean exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey; two are for excellent cooking, worth a detour; one denotes a very good restaurant in its category.
Michelin & Cie, Europe's largest tyremaker, produced its first guide in 1900. It was free of charge until 1920 and was intended for chauffeurs. The volume contained practical information, including street maps and tips on repairing tires. The company is based in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Richard Vines, Washington Post/Bloomberg News