Restaurant inspectors do not look at the interior decor, table setting, or service quality when awarding stars - these are instead indicated by the number of ‘covers’ it receives, represented by the fork and spoon symbol
Of all the Michelin starred restaurants I’ve been to in Hong Kong and Macau, they all have terrible service by America’s standards. This is true for even 3 star restaurants. Heck, half of the servers I’ve encountered there didn’t even know about the ingredients that were on the plate.
Warrior: I think Michelin does a better job than you all are suggesting, and I do think it is almost all about the food. What downscale restaurant do folks think should have gotten a Michelin star but didn’t because of its service or decor? For the most part, I think the differences between Michelin’s view of the food world and this board’s are that Michelin is focused on careful and meticulous execution whereas this board is focused on instinctive deliciousness. The reason there aren’t a lot of Michelin-starred ethnic restaurants (Mexican, Korean, Thai, etc.) is that there aren’t a lot of ethnic restaurants that obsess over how every little morsel is cooked and that use only the best ingredients. That said, I’m sure inspectors are at least subconsciously influenced by soft factors like service and decor.
I don’t think it’s the difference between Michelin’s view of the food world and this board. I think it’s the difference between Michelin’s view of the food world vs cuisines outside the sphere of French/Japanese tasting menus and techniques. Their ideas of execution of a cuisine should conform to that cuisines’ context. Ideas about what constitutes execution are not universal. But you often see a cuisine that becomes almost unrecognizable to enter the guide. It’s become essentially a French restaurant vaguely using “ethnic” ingredients. It becomes problematic when you go to an Asian country like Singapore that prizes it’s street food scene, and the most highly prized restaurants are called Zen, Les Amis, and Odette. Why is Michelin even there?
I don’t know if Michelin should change it’s DNA, though. It is what it is. And they have a niche. But I wish they’d own up to reviewing restaurants through a French lens and bias, rather than trying to convince the public of an even more disturbing outcome that thru impartiality it just happened French/Japanese are the best restaurants worth going to, and it just happened they just couldn’t find many good Korean or Chinese or Mexican places up to standard in a very Mexican/Asian-dominated city. You can easily spot the analogy to what’s happening in Hollywood about hiring and its relevance to conversations about culture/race going on in 2021, but that’s another topic.
Edit: just want to say that if a Mexican restaurant paid rent in a nice neighborhood, renovated the interior with the help of a designer straight out of AD, attracted the affluent Western clientele, expanded their menu to a full tasting with the price to match, and played the media game, then yes these “ethnic” restaurants will have obsessed over how every little morsel is cooked and only use the best ingredients. That’s why talented white chefs who have fine dining background and colonize Asian cuisine as their own and open said fine dining restaurant can earn stars.
The guide has its quirks but I can assure you that there’s not a single Chinese restaurant in the city that should get a star. Not even Bistro Na by a long shot.
is it possible the inspectors didn’t know about kaneyoshi? besides a mention in the la times about their takeout, nothing has been written up about their dine-in.
If I think of Michelin as a guide, instead of some sort of award competition, I find it quite useful. Recently we were in Loire Valley, and in the absence of FTC for Loire Valley, relying on Michelin was very helpful and generally accurate. On the other hand, in LA I have no use for it whatsoever.
If that’s the case, then the inspectors sure aren’t doing their homework! It’s not like sushi lovers in-the-know have been silent about Kaneyoshi, which is deserving of a star if anyplace is. The inspectors need to be perusing FTC and similar on-line discussions and reviews, not just the LA Times.
The inspectors do a pretty good job of finding new places. I’m often surprised at how many of their new listings are off the Yelp / Eater / etc. foodie radar.
