Didn’t have that problem with TFL/Quince back to back or Californios/Benu/Manresa back to back to back. Le Bernardin is in no way a bad meal but it pales in comparison to CT and any other 3 *** meal I had.
My dining companion who liked n/naka better said the same thing.
Read the same thing about HK but Andy Hayler, for whatever it’s worth, seems to think that NYC’s 3 star ratings are justified though.
Out of curiosity, what are your thoughts on Andy Hayler’s reviews?
If you’ve hit the top of the top, I wonder if you’ll have even more slight disappointments. Maybe you’ll have to broaden your horizons.
Michelin is stuck in the 90s. The only people who get two or three stars are Thomas Keller cover bands.
That’s interesting. This is not the first time I’ve seen this happen. The year WD-50 closed, one of my friends went to NYC and did both WD-50 and Le Bernardin on consecutive nights. She wanted to love Le Bernardin, but walked away feeling that WD-50 wowed her more.
Just a false statement. I’m interested to hear how you think Sushi Ginza Onodera (2*) or Masa (3*) are somehow “Thomas Keller cover bands.” You know that they serve sushi, the former serves it in Edomae style, and that’s a form of cuisine that obviously predates Thomas Keller or any of his restaurants? Jungsik, Smyth, Californios - Keller “cover bands?” Really? There are a lot of differences among the food, the approach, the restaurants, the chefs, etc. at many of these restaurants, that to say that they’re all somehow imitating Keller is myopic to the point of it being trollish.
I do think that Michelin is shortsighted and overall predictable in the types of restaurants it likes to award, but let’s not get carried away…
I know you’re somewhat joking, but I think these kinds of statements do a disservice to many of these restaurants, and I’m curious how many of these you’ve actually tried.
I’m not familiar with his reviews. I did a quick Google search. He obviously dines out a lot and has more experience than most, including me by a longshot. I think it’s hard to understand at a very high level so many cuisines around the world - I’d have a very difficult time giving a numerical score to restaurants, especially after just 1 visit. There are ingredients, techniques, traditions, etc. that I’m sure would not only be new to me, but also very difficult to measure on some objective numerical scale. Maybe he has that expert taste and in-depth knowledge of many cuisines that he can do so, I don’t know. On a brief viewing of his website, I’m struck by the difficulty of that endeavor.
Sorry, I forgot about Michelin’s exception for sushi.
I don’t need to hear a cover band when I don’t like the original.
Other countries do get Michelin stars too. Stateside wise, do you see Benu and a host of other SF restaurants as a TK cover band?
I’m saying that a good deal of these restaurants are sufficiently different from TFL and Per Se that they cannot be accurately called a “cover band.”
Different enough that if you were to dine at them you can perceive that right away. My meals at Saison and Californios are completely different than my meals at TFL and Per Se. That is to say, TFL and Per Se cannot accurately be seen as the “original,” such that others on the list are not “covers.” You’ll be served dishes at Saison, Jungsik, Smyth, etc that you would never be served at Keller’s restaurants.
I, too, am not a fan of TFL or Per Se but there are others on that list of 2-3* that I love.
Yes. Boring, unimaginative, unoriginal, pandering to rich gastrotourists.
Joshua Skenes is the first chef I’ve heard talk about getting out of that rut.
Agree to disagree especially in regards to Benu and Californios. How are they remotely similar to TFL other than the fact that both do a tasting menu?
They all serve a long series of fussy canapés instead of dinner.
It was original when Thomas Keller did it 20 years ago but Michelin (at least in the US) is full of shit for not giving two or three stars to any restaurant that does anything else except sushi.
My last meal at Saison was about 7 courses, not 20+.
I was served a barbecued fish head eaten with hands.
I was served grilled antelope in harissa butter and cabbages in kirsch verjus and biscuits on the side.
Not all canapés.
Furthermore, if this is the grounds for calling all others a “cover band,” then I think you’ve chosen extremely narrow grounds on which you’re drawing a comparison and making a sweeping conclusion.
Non fussy, non canapé fish dish at CTBF. Composed, not superfluous or precious. Halibut with spring vegetables.
TK wasn’t the OG, as far as I know, in serving small portions in a series of courses. He merely brought it over from Europe. Michelin, however, does tend to favor such restaurants but then these restaurants are also the ones consistently using quality ingredients and banging out thoughtful and consistently good to superb dishes course after course.
Never really read Andy Hayler’s reviews but he is from the UK and a member of Opinionated About Dining, which the top reviews are wealthy jetsetters who eat around the world at the hardest to get into places (and many of them Michelin stars), so they are scratching bucket lists faster than the normal person. OAD is founded by former music executive Steve Plotnicki who wants to build OAD to be better than the Michelin Guide for restaurants worldwide and with the pool of connections he has (along with friends who are also reviewers), it’s like a club of the elite eaters.
As to their preferences and objectivity, they are more or less the same as regular people, except with more experience. A lot of them are on other forums or social media, and some are extremely knowledgeable and likely very down to earth, but not all of them are (or appear to be). At the end of the day, great for reference points if only the pictures…but ultimately you are the true judge of your preferences. Some don’t trust Andy’s sushi reviews very much for example…especially some who have eaten around Tokyo (and Hong Kong) and look down upon say, Sushi Shikon (Yoshitake) and this one other place that Andy gave high scores to. If you ask the top Instagram sushi fiends in Japan, you’ll never see them at Yoshitake (or Shikon if in Hong Kong)…
A lot of these famous restaurants know who these people are, so it is possible to some extent they will get a better meal than the average FTC person who makes a reservation… doesn’t necessarily happen but I’d bet that is a possibility…or they make sure Sergio is cooking and presenting the dishes and that they are on the top of their game. At the end of the day it’s good for business when some key opinion leader representing influential groups has a good impression. Of course at a Michelin star establishment you would expect some uniformity (especially at the three star level where everything has to be pitch perfect as possible consistently down to the service).
For sure some scores are over inflated, and some are well deserved, but the scales are tipped towards the former a lot all over.
Anyways very interesting beverage pairing! An obscure Junmai Ginjo sake at the beginning too. I was a little excited seeing Biondi Santi 2004 though it’s a Rosso not a Brunello…never knew these could age that long, but then again it’s Biondi Santi!
I first heard about OAD on a Netflix documentary called Foodies. Interesting bunch.
I follow Margaret Lam who I believe is part of OAD (@little_meg_siu_meg on IG). I love her posts, so informative and insightful!
So Skenes actually has gotten out of that rut. Good. It’ll be interesting to see if they give him three stars.
It wasn’t new to serve quite a few small courses, but Thomas Keller was the first to abandon the main course entirely. The innovation quickly made him world-famous, which resulted in wide imitation.
Michelin’s official baldfaced lie (at least in the US) is that only the food counts toward stars.
one star = very good in its category
two stars = excellent, worth a detour
three stars = one of the best, worth a special trip
Anyone who thinks the only restaurants with food in those last two categories serve long, complicated tasting menus or sushi is an ignorant fool. Same for anyone who thinks a very good Italian restaurant must have French influences.
