The first-ever Michelin Guide for Washington selected a dozen
restaurants for its coveted stars on Thursday in recognition of the US
capital’s vibrant dining scene and chefs’ use of local foods.
The
little red book awarded two stars to Spanish-born chef Jose Andres’
Minibar, chef Aaron Silverman’s Pineapple & Pearls and Patrick
O’Connell’s French-cuisine Inn at Little Washington outside the city. No
D.C. restaurant received the top honour of three stars. Further
shedding its image as a city of stodgy steakhouses for power-lunchers,
Washington becomes the fourth US city with Michelin-rated restaurants,
after New York, Chicago and San Francisco. Michelin guides cover 28
countries worldwide. “Over the last five years the
culinary offering has significantly developed in the city, driven by
chefs who have travelled, have trained abroad and have enriched their
cuisine on their return by incorporating new techniques, new flavours
and new seasonings,” Michael Ellis, the international director of the
Michelin guides, said in a statement. The “Mid-Atlantic cuisine” developed by chefs using regional produce has amplified the upturn, he said. Two one-star restaurants - The Dabney and Rose’s Luxury - were singled out for their championing of regional cooking. The
other one-star restaurants are Blue Duck Tavern, Kinship, Plume, Tail
Up Goat, Italian restaurants Masseria and Fiola, and Japanese restaurant
Sushi Taro. “It’s a very important milestone for the
city’s chefs,” Washington Post food writer Maura Judkis said about the
new Washington Guide. “In the last eight years, the culinary scene has
completely changed, and a large number of innovative restaurants here
have won prizes. Getting a Michelin star is something else.” José
Andres, whose “Minibar” restaurant won two stars, said the
early-morning call from Michelin culminated a dream he had had since he
pored over menus posted in the doors of Michelin-starred restaurants as a
boy in Barcelona. “For me, being a chef, having a star, how can I tell you? It
was a feeling missing in my life. Quite frankly, I’m thrilled,” he told
Reuters. He said Washington had benefited from its
growing number of excellent chiefs and high standards. Local produce,
seafood from the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia’s vineyards, regional cheeses
as good as those in Europe and home-grown distilleries added to the mix,
he said. “It takes a village. We have a lot of things
that make the perfect formula for making Washington a super-exciting
food city,” Andres said. The French Michelin tire company
introduced the little red book in 1900 to encourage people to take road
trips. Its star system began in the 1920s. Michelin
deployed its anonymous critics in Washington last fall. Restaurants are
rated on such factors as creativity, personality, the quality of
ingredients, value, and consistency.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS) France 24
