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agree.....some cities do, some cities do not. California cities outside of SF Bay Area ($600,000) and Florida (Visit Florida paid $150,000; believe Visit Orlando paid another $350,000) paid for Michelin to come to their area (though no guarantee any particular or number of restaurants would receive stars). Believe an Asian country/city or two have also paid Michelin fees (Seoul, Hong Kong, and Thailand come to mind).
Right, but the world-class cities do not pay Michelin to rate their cities. Michelin comes because of the sophistication of their dining scenes. Think about the amount of stars or Bib Gourmand restaurants issued relative to each cities size. I think Michelin is about sophistication and class which turns many people off. Many of the restaurants Michelin rates are unaffordable to most people.
I always say Michelin is like flying first class versus coach. Shopping at Gucci versus Walmart. The flack Michelin gets is warranted because of that.
agree.....some cities do, some cities do not. California cities outside of SF Bay Area ($600,000) and Florida (Visit Florida paid $150,000; believe Visit Orlando paid another $350,000) paid for Michelin to come to their area (though no guarantee any particular or number of restaurants would receive stars). Believe an Asian country/city or two have also paid Michelin fees (Seoul, Hong Kong, and Thailand come to mind).
Miami paid $500,000+ over three years, but other parts of the deal have not been disclosed. My buddies at city hall have told me it's actually in the millions but do not want to/have not disclosed it to the public.
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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Took a little digging but found the Asian countries/cities that have paid Michelin. Those that do pay, including in the US, cite Michelin as a boost to tourism for their respective cities/states/countries:
Looks like Toronto became Canada’s first city to receive Michelin ratings last year, with 13 restaurants receiving stars. They paid an unspecified amount (Destination Ontario and Destination Canada):
“We did a lot of research about the impact Michelin has when it arrives in a city. We looked at places like Washington, San Francisco, Italy, Thailand. Obviously, it helps attract visitors to the city and provides a reputational boost.”
Last edited by elchevere; 01-14-2023 at 09:37 AM..
I don’t think NYC, DC, San Fran, and Chicago pay a single dime to Michelin. Maybe you can “now” lump San Fran in with those that pay because I believe California and Florida pay Michelin to cover their entire states. But NYC, DC, and Chicago don’t give Michelin money. I don’t think Paris, London, or Tokyo give money either.
Lol SF has never asked or paid Michelin for anything and SF was a recognized and established restaurant destination long before Michelin.
The rest of the state was added to the SF guide and clearly paying Michelin to review restaurants hasnt garnered any special favor because LA, the nation's 2nd biggest has ZERO Three-Star restaurants.
Implying that localities are bribing Michelin doesnt make sense because clearly it's not paying off lol.
Took a little digging but found the Asian countries/cities that have paid Michelin. Those that do pay, including in the US, cite Michelin as a boost to tourism for their respective cities/states/countries:
Looks like Toronto became Canada’s first city to receive Michelin ratings last year, with 13 restaurants receiving stars. They paid an unspecified amount (Destination Ontario and Destination Canada):
“We did a lot of research about the impact Michelin has when it arrives in a city. We looked at places like Washington, San Francisco, Italy, Thailand. Obviously, it helps attract visitors to the city and provides a reputational boost.”
From what I heard, T.O paid over $1M, which makes sense considering to expand to Montreal, they wanted $1M from the city as well.
Personally, I don’t do Michelin star restaurants in the US because they’re typically not a very good value. I was in two last year. One in London and one in Galicia Spain. The Galicia one was €130 fixed price for the extended menu. The local Albariño isn’t expensive. There is no meals tax and service is included. The one in London was £108 for the tasting menu. Again, VAT and service included. Wine was somewhat more expensive but not US mark-up.
Personally, I don’t do Michelin star restaurants in the US because they’re typically not a very good value. I was in two last year. One in London and one in Galicia Spain. The Galicia one was €130 fixed price for the extended menu. The local Albariño isn’t expensive. There is no meals tax and service is included. The one in London was £108 for the tasting menu. Again, VAT and service included. Wine was somewhat more expensive but not US mark-up.
It's good to hear about your experiences about Michelin Star restaurants overseas. I've been less than pleased with those I've been to in the U.S., for the reason you stated and because I just haven't been blown away by the food. I guess I'd be more willing to try food that doesn't wow me if it didn't cost an arm and a leg
It's good to hear about your experiences about Michelin Star restaurants overseas. I've been less than pleased with those I've been to in the U.S., for the reason you stated and because I just haven't been blown away by the food. I guess I'd be more willing to try food that doesn't wow me if it didn't cost an arm and a leg
Yep. I don't do much fine dining in the US because the value just isn't there compared to Europe. The tasting menu at Jean-Georges in Trump Tower is $268. A glass of very modest wine is around $25.00. With coffee, tax and tip, it's easily a $500 meal per person. You can eat at his bistro next to it with a $150 fixed price menu and probably get out for $300 per person but that doesn't have Michelin stars.
It's really the tax, tip, and wine markup that kills it in the US.
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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I see Carbone NYC lost their Michelin star. They opened up an outpost here in Miami (believe they have 1 or 2 others in the country).
Their menus are identical, I have been completely underwhelmed with their signature pasta dish—spicy rigatoni (shells have a nice texture but the sauce was flavorless to me (including at the original NYC restaurant), but speaking of wine what really outraged me is a bottle of Amarone starts at $400 and goes up from there. To make matters worse it was a private brand from a winery I’ve never heard of with a handwritten label and was not that good. I have had bottles of commercially produced Amarone (Masi, Cesari) for $100-150/bottle elsewhere at restaurants that were MUCH better. Talk about feeling violated.
Last edited by stanley-88888888; 01-16-2023 at 05:03 AM..
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