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Philly and Boston are similar. They were awful in 1970 for restaurant selection. 50 years later, they both have a pretty good dining scene but not to the level of NYC or the Bay Area. Those restaurants are fueled by expense report dining. There’s just more of that in NYC and the two major California population centers so it supports more high end dining.
I think you're right here, but I'd argue that the fact that Philly's restaurateurs have to depend on the locals makes the dining scene here more exciting and interesting. Houston, which flies under the radar but probably has the most diverse restaurant collection in the country, ditto.
You also left out Chicago. And I'd rank Philly a notch above Boston, though Boston has gotten better, too, as you say.
So is Philadelphia getting a restaurant guide as well? ISTR Philadelphia has had a Michelin Green Guide for several years now.
The "French Quarter" in Philadelphia, IIRC, is centered on the intersection of 17th and Sansom streets, where one finds the Sofitel hotel. Air France also operates Le Meridien hotel in the former YMCA in the 1400 block of Arch Street, opposite the Municipal Services Building.
I've also heard this city called "the most French city in America."
Edited to add: Even after the Michelin Guide to Philadelphia restaurants appears, I stand by my prior comments about ranking US cities by Michelin-starred restaurants, namely, that too few cities have restaurants inspected by Michelin to make it a really meaningful comparison of American cities.
I agree about the guide not being useful for comparisons among cities given the limited coverage of only some cities, and even among those cities some places have the guide covering a large part of the metropolitan area while others cover a small, compact part of it.
I think what it's good for though is finding probably pretty good to great restaurants in an area if the guide is operating in that area. I've seldom been to a restaurant that was mediocre or worse provided the guide rating was within the last few years.
Philadelphia, in my opinion, has some really wonderful restaurants, and I think that has a bit to do with perhaps the affordability of spaces in Philadelphia while still having pretty decent foot traffic and visitors coming in. This has made what I feel seems to be more experimental without being too precious restaurants. I don't think it's by sheer coincidence that Stephen Starr, Morimoto, Ellen Yin, etc. come out of Philadelphia.
Last edited by OyCrumbler; 06-06-2023 at 12:57 PM..
Outstanding Chef: Rob Rubba, Oyster Oyster, Washington, D.C.
Outstanding Restaurant: Friday Saturday Sunday, Philadelphia, PA
Best New Restaurant: Kann, Portland, OR
Outstanding Restaurateur: Ellen Yin, High Street Hospitality Group (Fork, a.kitchen + bar, High Street, and others), Philadelphia, PA
I was kinda disillusioned learning that judges selecting James Beard award winners do not need to ever set foot in the restaurant to select winners.
How on Earth can you declare that this Restaurant is better than that one or this chef over that one if you don't have 1st hand experience.
To be clear, I like the James Beard Award because it is not limited to a few cities like Michelin.
I also liked how their updated nomination process made the award more inclusive. Previously, only past awardees could nominate contenders so it was originally a good old Boys club of a certain demographic nominating each other.
I still think it is one of the better Restaurant rankings, but I just think that all the judges should be required to eat at all the restaurants they are judging.
Shout out to Houston Chef BJ Painter for taking home the Best Chef in Texas award. Houston won a national category last year, so I knew neither of its 2 national category nominees were going to win this year.
I think you're right here, but I'd argue that the fact that Philly's restaurateurs have to depend on the locals makes the dining scene here more exciting and interesting. Houston, which flies under the radar but probably has the most diverse restaurant collection in the country, ditto.
You also left out Chicago. And I'd rank Philly a notch above Boston, though Boston has gotten better, too, as you say.
The food in Boston has improved a lot in a very short period of time, probably more recently than Philly. I used to have Philly well above Boston, now just slightly. It's closing that gap swiftly. The variety, creativity, and atmosphere has improved, and I think competition is a bit stiffer now in Boston. Prices are still too high and once you drop below a certain tier the liquor license cap and stringent license basically nullifies the 'casual' 'street eats' scene to where it been for a while...
Whereas Philly runs the spectrum. One of my absolute favorite places to eat.
Philadelphia, in my opinion, has some really wonderful restaurants, and I think that has a bit to do with perhaps the affordability of spaces in Philadelphia while still having pretty decent foot traffic and visitors coming in. This has made what I feel seems to be more experimental without being too precious restaurants. I don't think it's by sheer coincidence that Stephen Starr, Morimoto, Ellen Yin, etc. come out of Philadelphia.
I was kinda disillusioned learning that judges selecting James Beard award winners do not need to ever set foot in the restaurant to select winners.
How on Earth can you declare that this Restaurant is better than that one or this chef over that one if you don't have 1st hand experience.
To be clear, I like the James Beard Award because it is not limited to a few cities like Michelin.
I also liked how their updated nomination process made the award more inclusive. Previously, only past awardees could nominate contenders so it was originally a good old Boys club of a certain demographic nominating each other.
I still think it is one of the better Restaurant rankings, but I just think that all the judges should be required to eat at all the restaurants they are judging.
Shout out to Houston Chef BJ Painter for taking home the Best Chef in Texas award. Houston won a national category last year, so I knew neither of its 2 national category nominees were going to win this year.
That is interesting, but given that the judges come from all over the country and that restaurants in hundreds of cities are eligible for awards, I think it would be impractical for the Beard Foundation to require judges visit all the restaurants in order to judge them.
Now, if they hired inspectors à la Michelin to do this...well, then, we might have an American version of the Guide Michelin.
But reading this, a question came to mind:
Whatever happened to the crowdsourced Zagat Survey?
That is interesting, but given that the judges come from all over the country and that restaurants in hundreds of cities are eligible for awards, I think it would be impractical for the Beard Foundation to require judges visit all the restaurants in order to judge them.
Now, if they hired inspectors à la Michelin to do this...well, then, we might have an American version of the Guide Michelin.
But reading this, a question came to mind:
Whatever happened to the crowdsourced Zagat Survey?
I don't mean visiting all the restaurants in the country. I am talking about the judges who select winners from the handful of finalist.
How it works is restaurants and chefs are recommended. Then the committee chops down the list to 20 in each category.
Keep in mind the committee is divided into regions. Committee members are split into scouters and tasters and they only work their region. The judges then meet and score each semifinalist on a number of criteria determined by the subcommittee. The top 5 in each region becomes the finalists.
Judges and subcommittee members dine at nominees, participate in discussions to share their dining experiences, then vote for winners. The top scoring nominee per category is announced as the winner. But even after being whittled down to 5 per category, the judges voting on the 5 are not required to eat at all 5.
I guess it is sort of fair in that each restaurant gets at least 3 visits and the scores the restaurants gets are only from the committee members who visit the restaurant, but I think 5 restaurants are not that many for a subcommittee to visit. They could go individually and they have months to decide.
I've been to a few places this year that belong in the next Bib Gourmand rating--we'll see
anywho,
California Michelin Bib Gourmand Restaurants, 2022
Los Angeles Area: 63
Chengdu Taste, Alhambra
Ipoh Kopitiam, Alhambra [NEW]
Jiang Nan Spring, Alhambra
Lunasia Dim Sum House, Alhambra
Sichuan Impression Alhambra
LaoXi Noodle House, Arcadia
Rocio’s Mexican Kitchen, Bell Gardens
Kazan, Beverly Hills
Ramen & Tsukemen TAO, Buena Park [NEW]
Amor y Tacos Cerritos
Burritos La Palma, El Monte
Adana Restaurant, Glendale
Baran’s 2239, Hermosa Beach
Coni’Seafood, Inglewood
Manhattan Beach Post, Manhattan Beach
Fable & Spirit, Newport Beach
Fishwives, Pasadena
Union, Pasadena
Mariscos Jalisco, Pomona
Longo Seafood, Rosemead
Sea Harbour, Rosemead
Mian, San Gabriel
Heritage Barbecue, San Juan Capistrano
Colapasta, Santa Monica
TÅ«mbi, Santa Monica
Dai Ho, Temple City
CHAAK Kitchen, Tustin
Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen, Fullerton
Phở 79, Garden Grove
Hiro Nori Craft Ramen, Irvine
All Day Baby, Los Angeles [NEW]
Animal, Los Angeles
Badmaash, Los Angeles
Bee Taqueria, Los Angeles
Caboco, Los Angeles [NEW]
Chifa, Los Angeles
Dha Rae Oak, Los Angeles
Father’s Office, Los Angeles
Flavors from Afar, Los Angeles [NEW]
Holbox, Los Angeles
Jitlada, Los Angeles
Jon & Vinny’s, Los Angeles
Kismet, Los Angeles
La Azteca, Los Angeles
Lalibela, Los Angeles [NEW]
Langer’s, Los Angeles
Maccheroni Republic, Los Angeles
Meals by Genet, Los Angeles
Moo’s Craft Barbecue, Los Angeles [NEW]
Pijja Palace, Los Angeles [NEW]
Pine & Crane, Los Angeles
Pizzana, Los Angeles,
Pizzeria Bianco, Los Angeles [NEW]
Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles
Rossoblu, Los Angeles
Saffy’s, Los Angeles [NEW]
Son of a Gun, Los Angeles
The Factory Kitchen, Los Angeles
Tsubaki, Los Angeles
WoodSpoon, Los Angeles
Luscious Dumplings, Monrovia
Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen, Orange
Chulita, Venice [NEW]
Bay Area: 58
Spinning Bones, Alameda
China Village, Albany
Mentone, Aptos
Comal, Berkeley
Great China, Berkeley
Ippuku, Berkeley
Orchard City Kitchen, Campbell
Pig in a Pickle Corte Madera
New Dumpling, El Cerrito
Village Sake, Fairfax
Glen Ellen Star, Glen Ellen
Los Carnalitos, Hayward
Chalkboard, Healdsburg
Range Life, Livermore
The Bywater, Los Gatos
Playa, Mill Valley
FOB Kitchen, Oakland
Horn Barbecue, Oakland
Jo’s Modern Thai, Oakland [NEW]
MAMA Oakland, Oakland
Millennium, Oakland
Soba Ichi, Oakland
Tacos Oscar, Oakland
TaquerÃa El Paisa, Oakland
Teni East Kitchen, Oakland
Wood Tavern, Oakland
iTalico, Palo Alto
Stockhome, Petaluma
Insalata’s, San Anselmo
1601 Bar & Kitchen, San Francisco
A16, San Francisco
Anchor Oyster Bar, San Francisco
Del Popolo, San Francisco
Dumpling Home, San Francisco
Flores San Francisco
Good Good Culture Club, San Francisco [NEW]
Hilda and Jesse, San Francisco [NEW]
Izakaya Rintaro, San Francisco
Nari, San Francisco
Nopalito, San Francisco
Okane, San Francisco
Outerlands, San Francisco
Sichuan Home, San Francisco
Sociale, San Francisco
Trestle, San Francisco
Yank Sing, San Francisco
Z & Y, San Francisco
Luna Mexican Kitchen, San Jose
Top Hatters Kitchen, San Leandro
Pausa, San Mateo
Sushi Ran, Sausalito
Khom Loi, Sebastopol
Ramen Gaijin, Sebastopol
El Molino Central, Sonoma
FolkTable, Sonoma
Valley, Sonoma
Ciccio, Yountville
La Calenda, Yountville
San Diego Area: 9
Dija Mara, Oceanside
Callie, San Diego
Cesarina, San Diego
Ciccia Osteria, San Diego
Cucina Urbana, San Diego
Kettner Exchange, San Diego
LOLA 55, San Diego
Morning Glory, San Diego
Solare, San Diego
Central Coast: 7
Yafa, Carmel-by-the-Sea
Bettina, Santa Barbara
Corazon Cocina, Santa Barbara
Loquita, Santa Barbara
Mesa Verde, Santa Barbara
Sama Sama Kitchen, Santa Barbara
peasants FEAST, Solvang [NEW]
Michelin Guide will add Atlanta and the State of Colorado to the American list of cities with a Michelin Guide this year. Excited to see how Denver city proper and Atlanta city proper match up with the heavy weights NYC/SF/DC/Chicago when the results are released.
Will Atlanta and Denver be in the group with NYC/SF/DC/Chicago or will it be in the group with LA/Miami/Tampa/San Diego?
Here is the 2022 update for each city proper across America. I didn't include cities with less than 5 Michelin star restaurants in their city limits. The order didn't change, but DC and Chicago did close the gap with San Francisco due to a couple restaurants in San Francisco closing.
City Proper Ranking By Michelin Star Restaurants
1. NYC = 72 restaurants with stars (300.46 sq miles)
2. San Francisco = 28 restaurants with stars (46.9 sq miles)
3. DC = 23 restaurants with stars (61.4 sq miles)
4. Chicago = 22 restaurants with stars (227.73 sq miles)
5. Los Angeles = 15 restaurants with stars (469.49 sq miles)
Michelin Guide will add Atlanta and the State of Colorado to the American list of cities with a Michelin Guide this year. Excited to see how Denver city proper and Atlanta city proper match up with the heavy weights NYC/SF/DC/Chicago when the results are released.
Will Atlanta and Denver be in the group with NYC/SF/DC/Chicago or will it be in the group with LA/Miami/Tampa/San Diego?
They will be with LA/Miami/Tampa/San Diego.
Denver/Colorado before other notable food cities seems random, but good for Colorado either way.
Last edited by cpomp; 07-17-2023 at 12:46 PM..
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