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Texas Getting Michelin Star Ratings in 2025


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This is awesome. Now a bunch of snooty assholes can use the system to grift extra money from people who think food must be insanely expensive to be great. Good times.  

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That article captures most of the likely contender.  For Austin, my guesses would be Barley Swine (or Odd Duck); Nixta; Franklin; Canje; and Suerte.    

Looking at the recent Michelin stars in Mexico City, they went out of the way to pick some casual regional places. I think for Tx there has to be barbecue and tacos represented. 

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it'll be hestia or dipdipdip tatsuya and we'll all have a great laugh. 

really though they'll be looking for something uniquely regional and unless they're familiar with austin i'm afraid they'll miss the mark.

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Eater Austin predicts 19 restaurants will earn a star.

https://austin.eater.com/2024/7/16/24199218/michelin-texas-austin-stars-predictions-2024

There are 21 restaurants in Chicago with a star, 24 in DC. I think expecting Austin to get 19 in year one, with a food scene that is much more homogenous and much less mature than dining in either Chicago and/or DC, is delusional.

They're predicting 8 local sushi/omakase restaurants will earn a star. And while Michelin seems to over-reward Japanese/sushi restaurants, I think Austin Omakases will be universally dinged a bit due to inability to source the freshest fish in Austin. For example, Chicago has only 2 Japanese/Omakase restaurants that earned a star, and they're similarly-located in the Central US away from access to the freshest salt-water fish. But we'll see, I guess.

I think the number of restaurants that earn starts will largely depend on how Michelin values modern barbecue restaurants. I could see anywhere from zero to five restaurants earn a star - Franklin, Interstellar, Leroy & Lewis, KG BBQ, and Distant Relatives (the last two because they may value the fusion of KG and the cultural/historical component of Distant Relatives' mission). I'd guess Franklin and Interstellar are most likely to earn a star. FWIW, Eater doesn't predict any bbq restaurant will earn a star...

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in Dallas, i'd expect Lucia and Purepecha to be in consideration for a star, maybe Petra & the Beast.

Houston will likely lead the pack.  

19 Austin restaurants getting a star is the most delusional prediction i've read in a while, and i read the Cloak Room and $9.95 regularly.

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For San Antonio, I think Signature, Bliss, Clementine, Ladino and Cured all have a chance to get a star. No way all of them get one. Maybe they'll throw in a random Tex Mex restaurant like La Fonda which would be hilarious.

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1 hour ago, Ollie Slatt said:

That article captures most of the likely contender.  For Austin, my guesses would be Barley Swine (or Odd Duck); Nixta; Franklin; Canje; and Suerte.    

Looking at the recent Michelin stars in Mexico City, they went out of the way to pick some casual regional places. I think for Tx there has to be barbecue and tacos represented. 


Franklin bbq 

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18 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

No 3 stars. 
Maybe 2-3 2stars 

12ish 1 stars

Florida had 14 1 stars in its Michelin inaugural guide a couple years ago. I think Texas gets more. I'm guessing 20-25.

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Quick and early thoughts on Dallas.

3 stars:  None

Maybe 2 stars:  Lucia, Purepecha, Tatsu

Maybe 1 star:  Uchi, Tei-An, Georgia, Monarch,  Petra & The Beast, Fearings

Green star:  Beatrice

Bib:  Revolver Taco

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my Austin guesses would be Uchi/Uchiko and maybe...Fonde San Miguel for a regional specialty? 🤔

also... that article says there's no bbq restaurant with a star... but i'm pretty sure there's actually one in Denver, which CO also just got it's first Michelin guide in the past year or so i believe. 

i've had AJ's, by far the best bbq we've found here...but lol.

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Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, irishtexan said:

There are 21 restaurants in Chicago with a star, 24 in DC. I think expecting Austin to get 19 in year one, with a food scene that is much more homogenous and much less mature than dining in either Chicago and/or DC, is delusional.

for a little more perspective, Michelin just gave its first ever rankings for Mexico, and the entire country had 18 restaurants receive stars.  two got 2 stars, and 16 got 1 star.  Pujol and Quintonil got two stars, and those are world famous.  i can't imagine any Austin (or any Texas) restaurant will get 2 stars in the debut rankings.

https://robbreport.com/food-drink/dining/el-califa-de-leon-michelin-starred-taqueria-1235628964/

the X factor here is that a taco stand in Mexico City got a star.  you would hope that a few BBQ joints (like Franklin or Cattleack in Dallas or Goldee's in Ft. Worth) will be considered, as well as some taco joints.  and that could raise the number a little bit.

Edited by Jive Turkey
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Michelin can keep its stars away from our barbecue joints as far as I'm concerned.  I don't need more dipshits showing up making the wait even longer.  As a compromise, they can star up Frankin and leave the rest alone.

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I don’t think there will be any 2 stars. That’s the realm of haute cuisine tasting menus, and those places don’t exist outside of places Michelin already review because the economics don’t make any sense. But I’m sure places will quickly pop up to chase stars. 

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As a Fort Worth resident, it’s hard to picture which restaurants could get an actual star. Perhaps Grace or Ellerbe? I would put them in the Michelin rated category, or perhaps a green star for Ellerbe, but they don’t seem on quite the level of any Michelin 1 stars I’ve had.

I’ve been wanting to try Lucia in Dallas for some time now. I should probably try harder before it becomes impossible.

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In the day in Ft Worth I would give La Familia a star. The Tex Mex was ethereal, the service impeccable, and it operated flawlessly. Alas, the owner died and the kids lazy shits and it got sold and resold. It to me was a model for any restauranteur and I sent several there to see how to do it.
I think Goldee’s and Franklin have a shot.

I think Stephan Pyles, Robert Del Grande, and the Rathbuns in their prime would have earned stars and I would expect Fearing to polish his place up a bit to try to earn one to cap his career off.

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19 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Speaking of Fonda San Miguel, when did they kill their Sunday brunch?  Was that a covid casualty?

As far as I can tell, they ended brunch with covid.  I've checked its website every now and then to see if it's made a return, and no luck.  The Sunday buffet with a michelada was one of my favorite breakfasts in town, and worth the steep price.

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9 minutes ago, South Austin said:

As far as I can tell, they ended brunch with covid.  I've checked its website every now and then to see if it's made a return, and no luck.  The Sunday buffet with a michelada was one of my favorite breakfasts in town, and worth the steep price.

Sadly, I never made it, for many reasons.  We've gone there many times for dinner but brunch eluded us.

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There are very few spots in Austin I'd consider a Michelin star worthy - not because of the food, they just don't check all the (ridiculous) boxes for a Michelin starred place. That level of service is hard to come by. I think Austin will have a fuck ton of Bib Gourmand spots, though. It feels like a city full of Bib Gourmands. 19 Bib Gourmands doesn't sound that crazy to me.

I've been to a ton of Bib Gourmand places and pretty much each time I think "this would work in Austin" or "there is better in Austin". 

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23 minutes ago, Bolero88 said:

For those that miss Sunday brunch at Fonda, try El Meson. It's fantastic. Easily my favorite buffet in Austin. Available Sunday only. 

Their website says they don't open until 4:15 on Sundays.  I see some a la carte plates under "Brunch", and they are open during lunch hours Th-Sat, so I assume those are available then.  ???

I just realized I went there for dinner several years ago.  I enjoyed it quite a bit, but it never got on my regular rotation.  Might try it again this week.

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18 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Their website says they don't open until 4:15 on Sundays.  I see some a la carte plates under "Brunch", and they are open during lunch hours Th-Sat, so I assume those are available then.  ???

I just realized I went there for dinner several years ago.  I enjoyed it quite a bit, but it never got on my regular rotation.  Might try it again this week.

HOURS

MONDAY- CLOSED
TUESDAY-THURSDAY 5:00 - 9:00 PM
FRIDAY 5:00-10:00 PM

 

SATURDAY LUNCH AND DINNER 2:00 PM -10:00 PM
SUNDAY BRUNCH BUFFET 10:00 AM- 1:30PM
SUNDAY DINNER 4:00 PM- 8:00 PM
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Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, Texzilla588 said:

I think Stephan Pyles, Robert Del Grande, and the Rathbuns in their prime would have earned stars and I would expect Fearing to polish his place up a bit to try to earn one to cap his career off.

this is probably the truest statement on this thread.  Cafe Annie, Abacus, The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Routh Street Cafe.  those were all worthy of a star.  groundbreaking Southwestern cuisine that would have matched up with Michelin criteria.

Edited by Jive Turkey
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20 minutes ago, Jive Turkey said:

this is probably the truest statement on this thread.  Cafe Annie, Abacus, The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Routh Street Cafe.  those were all worthy of a star.  groundbreaking Southwestern cuisine that would have matched up with Michelin criteria.

Feel similarly about Hudson's on the Bend back in its heyday.

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1 hour ago, dieucla98 said:

There are very few spots in Austin I'd consider a Michelin star worthy - not because of the food, they just don't check all the (ridiculous) boxes for a Michelin starred place. That level of service is hard to come by. I think Austin will have a fuck ton of Bib Gourmand spots, though. It feels like a city full of Bib Gourmands. 19 Bib Gourmands doesn't sound that crazy to me.

I've been to a ton of Bib Gourmand places and pretty much each time I think "this would work in Austin" or "there is better in Austin". 

They do not consider service in any way when giving stars. It's about the food only.

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3 hours ago, royiv said:

March in Houston was built for this. Fully expect 2 stars.

Yeah I really don't enjoy that place, but they are probably a shoo-in for one and could get two. 

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1 hour ago, ztejas said:

Feel similarly about Hudson's on the Bend back in its heyday.

Yeah, very old school, but Hudson's and Jeffery's were both terrific.  I assume Jeffery's still is, I haven't been in years.

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Eater is insane Austin is not getting 19 stars…lol

The most likely in my opinion. 

2 stars - Barley Swine, Pasta Bar

1 star - Franklin, Nixta, Odd Duck

No sushi in Austin should get a star. 

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this is probably the truest statement on this thread.  Cafe Annie, Abacus, The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Routh Street Cafe.  those were all worthy of a star.  groundbreaking Southwestern cuisine that would have matched up with Michelin criteria.

I really miss all those places and how magical those high end gamechanger joints were. I’d take my out of town vendors to places like that and they’d be blown away. They lived on the road taking clients to the same fucking steakhouse or fancy French joint all over the country and then would just have a lobster taco at mansion or those lobster shooters at abacus or the tamale custard at Routh Street and they would just die. They’d come to town just to eat at these places. They taught us all so much about how we could all elevate our common Texas foods and make them really special.
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Posted (edited)

Jeffrey's and Barley Swine should be automatic. Even though Uchi is outstanding I have a hard time seeing a CenTex sushi oriented joint getting a start for the reasons outlined.

and for fun they should give one to Billy's on Burnet since every redditor in Austin has just recently discovered it.

Edited by ftf82
Billy's
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On 7/16/2024 at 12:38 PM, deac_tracy said:

For San Antonio, I think Signature, Bliss, Clementine, Ladino and Cured all have a chance to get a star. No way all of them get one. Maybe they'll throw in a random Tex Mex restaurant like La Fonda which would be hilarious.

Mixtli is probably the surest best bet in San Antonio to get a star. 

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1 hour ago, hornbri said:

Eater is insane Austin is not getting 19 stars…lol

The most likely in my opinion. 

2 stars - Barley Swine, Pasta Bar

1 star - Franklin, Nixta, Odd Duck

No sushi in Austin should get a star. 

I'll eat my hat if either of those restaurants get two stars. Barley Swine is great, but I've never been to Pasta Bar. But neither are not doing anything that 200 other restaurants in America aren't already doing. Nowhere in Austin offers menus as sophisticated, or the level of service required to earn two stars. Two star restaurants tend to be $300+ per person tasting menus with a $100+ wine pairing. That just doesn't really exist in Austin because the people here are (traditionally) unpretentious and don't tend to value that kind of dining experience (or price) so it historically hasn't been offered. We're a taco truck (and now $17 cocktail) kinda town. But that's changing and we might see something like that in the future. 

There are EXCELLENT restaurants in Chicago (my reference point as I lived there for 10 years and ate out for pretty much every single meal) much better than Barley Swine that did not earn a star. Avec and Girl and the Goat were Bib Gourmands. Hell, Publican was just a "selected restaurant" and it's comparable to Barley Swine. 

Point being, it's REALLY fucking hard to earn just a single star and you have to be doing something truly innovative with exemplary service to get a single star, much less two. 

 

 

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On 7/16/2024 at 1:38 PM, deac_tracy said:

For San Antonio, I think Signature, Bliss, Clementine, Ladino and Cured all have a chance to get a star. No way all of them get one. Maybe they'll throw in a random Tex Mex restaurant like La Fonda which would be hilarious.

I’ve been to Bliss and Cured and don’t think either would rate a star, but it’s been a while since I’ve been to either. Il Sogno might have if it were still open.

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35 minutes ago, irishtexan said:

We're a taco truck (and now $17 cocktail) kinda town.

And along those lines....I would give anything if the star for "tacos" in this town (there's a decent chance there will be one) goes to some freaking taco truck on North Lamar that the hipsters haven't even found yet.  Just two old mexican gals making fantastic al pastor the way their family has been doing it for 50 years.  It would be glorious.

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