That happened to me on my first bite into a Filet-O-Fish, too. I can just see the Michelin one-star entry for Micky-D now…
McDonald’s: Purveyor of consistently consistent Scottish cuisine. (Those Michelinos loooove consistency in a restaurant.)
I don’t think the person who made this list has much experience with Michelin. I agree with all of Sgee’s comments. I’d say there’s virtually zero chance that Shunji would get two stars and zero chance that Night + Market Song would get one star.
Personally, I think Michelin-star ratings are predictable. There is heavy emphasis on execution and ingredient quality; much more so than on this board. The question is much more “is it objectively excellent?” than “is it delicious?”
If Mesa Grill can get a Michelin star…
If Tim Ho Wan can get a Michelin star…
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Kin Khao and Somtum Der have stars. Night Market would almost certainly get a star.
Bulgarini FTW.
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This Mori place is talked about a lot by foodie people outside of the foodie media, but I’ve never seen a single food critic ever review it, or mention it…except once in a Wednesday lunch chat Johnathan Gold said something about just not finding it that exciting or something even though he disagreed with many others on it.
But it’s not just Gold, it seems that literally no one, not even any food bloggers or other amateur food investigators have written about it.
What is it that the place does so well? And why is it seemingly blacklisted from being talked about in the food media?
It would be literally insane for them not to given that… Hell, if Pok Pok has a star in PDX and NYC, then based on my LA Pok Pok experience Isaan Station deserves a star for sure as well. You could make arguments for a hell of a lot of Thai places actually… hah
What are you talking about?.. They are super liberal with 1 star in SF, as Matt pointed out in the article by linking the list:
State Bird Provisions, Kin Khao, Aziza, Al’s Place, SPQR, The Village Pub… these places are not exactly stuffy uber Frenchie white tablecloth places with elaborate as fuck plating. Bestia, Chi Spacca, Animal, etc… produce food at least on par with those places.
I do agree with you about this, super annoying. Californios only got a single star because of the low price of their tasting menu I believe personally. I ate there and at Quince in February, and would have said Californios was making the better food (by a very slight margin mind you; both are operating at a ridiculously high level). I also agree that it’s a shame Quince is so French…would be much better if it was allowed to get stars being purely Italian.
Is Acquellero similarly French-leaning Italian?
I don’t think Langer’s could manage a star, too much of a one trick pony, maybe a bib gourmand, idk. But I wholeheartedly believe Gjusta could get a star. The food quality and consistency is exactly what Michelin looks for. Well above when I’ve had at many 1 star places honestly. If The Village Pub in SF area gets a star, no reason at all Gjusta couldn’t get one.
Serious question for me would be what makes Taco Maria not a 2 star place? Lately the consistency and quality of the food there is up to par with what 2 star food I’ve eaten in SF. If it’s disqualified because too few courses, not elaborate enough, etc… fine, but the quality and consistency are 2 star level, and I am being completely serious in that assessment.
I also suspect that Orsa & Winston deserves far more stars, as it’s literally the only place doing a 20+ course tasting menu similar to the 3 stars in SF. I will be dining there end of December finally so will get back officially then, but I had 26 courses at their Yakitori-Ya pop up, and the food was ridiculously good. Unfussy perhaps, and maybe too simple…but felt like the kind of place that would certainly get at least 2 stars, and the 20+ super omakase feels like a potential 3 star experience to me.
On the discarded list…curious why Providence has been knocked to a single star? Have they significantly declined lately?
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SPQR, Acquerello, and Quince are all Frenchy enough that Italians might complain about it.
Aziza’s plating is fussy. It’s Cal-French with only an occasional hint of the old Moroccan flavors, same deal as All Spice. Mourad has a split personality, the a la carte and tasting menus are Aziza-style fussy Frenchy, but the family-style meals are relatively casual and Moroccan.
There are a few one-star places on the SF 2016 list that are more casual than in years past but the places with two and three stars run the gamut from A to B.
Does Michelin legitimately hate Italian?.. I just realize Perbacco, La Ciccia, Flour+Water, Cotogna, Delfina, etc… don’t have stars. That seems crazy. If Khin Khao has a star, surely all of those places deserve stars…wtf??
That is so weird that Mourad is the one with the family style stuff hah
The famous basteeya is still only at Aziza though isn’t it?
How do you access the family menu at Mourad btw? I don’t see it on their website.
Scroll down to “LA’ACHA moroccan family style dining served with sides and sauces.”
The basteeya is on there as well. $22 for a lonely little eggroll-ish thing on a big plate with a few smears, dollops, and bits.
How much lamb do you get for $165? Is that the best one of them? I wonder what the duck is like. or even the snapper oddly enough. Chermoula is a wonderful thing.
So far I’ve only had the lamb. Ordered it for three and took half home so it would have served six as promised. I think it was about three pounds of meat. $165 / 6 = $27.50, not much as upscale SF restaurants go.
Heard anything about the duck or snapper at all?
The duck with dates sounds quite pleasant, and rather reasonable at only $95.
The platter does not come with anything though, and all the sides are an extra $36 basically right?
As it says on the menu, the sides are included. The lamb we had came with beans, couscous, kale, and potatoes.
I haven’t heard about any of the others except the chicken, which a friend said was more than enough for two.
How weird, why does it list the sides as each priced at $9? Is that just for extra?
Some of the sides are also available a la carte.