All of the state’s food media goes crazy.
Buckle up, Texas, we are (finally!) getting a Michelin Guide. The French tire company and prestigious food authority confirmed via press release on Tuesday that Texas will be the newest location featured in its longtime travel guides.
According to the officials, Texas is the newest recipient of the dining honor. Pointing to Tex-Mex, barbecue, seafood and steaks, Michelin reps called Texas an easy choice. In the release, Michelin’s international director Gwendal Poullennec said, “Texas is a perfect fit for the MICHELIN Guide, based on the experiences of our anonymous Inspectors.”
The newest guide is set to be released later this year, with restaurants in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston featured.
Michelin is secretive about its process, so it’s not clear if reviewers have already been to Texas, are being sent to Texas, or something in between. When the guide is officially released, expect (even) more tourists and longer reservation times at popular restaurants.
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Though originating in France, Michelin Guides were first adopted by the U.S. in 2005, with New York City the first to be honored with a guide. In time, major cities across the country have been granted their own guides, with Chicago and Washington D.C. joining the ranks. More recent recipients have included Atlanta, Georgia and the entirety of Florida. Houston, and Texas as a whole, had been left out, despite our varied and award-winning restaurants.
Texas has long heard whispers of Michelin reps coming to town, with rumors circulating for years. It’s not like the state is lacking in culinary prowess. In the past few years, Houston has been home to dozens of James Beard Award winners and nominees, and even some of the best chefs in the country. The state has even been praised by social media stars like Keith Lee and Mr. Chime Time.
In a 2022 story for Chron.com, a Michelin representative noted that guides are awarded due to several factors, including “consumer demand, marketing strategy and sales potential.” However, the prestigious awards have largely followed the almighty dollar in its reach across America. The Miami Herald previously reported that local tourism boards in Florida pledged to pay Michelin up to $1.5 million over three years to entice reviewers to the state.
There was a recent CityCast Houston episode about why the Michelin Guide had not come to Houston yet, if you want to dig into the background a little. The DMN adds on.
The French company announced July 16, 2024 that it inked a deal to release a Michelin Guide for Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. The news comes after years of speculation that Michelin was considering a move into Texas.
This partnership with Michelin — one of the biggest in the United States — was made with six groups: the visitors’ bureaus in Texas’ five biggest cities, plus Travel Texas, a state-funded entity located within the office of the governor’s economic development and tourism office. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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It was Texas’ time, said Dean Fearing. He is commonly referred to as one of the godfathers of Southwestern cuisine. He owns Fearing’s in the Ritz-Carlton in Uptown Dallas, and he’s been a chef in Texas since 1979.
“It is very important for Dallas,” he said. “Finally: We’re going to be able to compete with New York, San Francisco, Chicago and all the other cities that have Michelin.”
He called the news “huge.”
Visit Dallas, one of the entities that partnered with Michelin in North Texas, names “culinary influence” as one of the “five core pillars” of the city. In short, dining is one of Dallasites’ favorite pastimes.
“Culinary tourism and food have always been an important part of who we are as a destination,” said Craig Davis, president and CEO of Visit Dallas, via email.
He’s proud of the partnership between Michelin, Travel Texas and the four other Texas CVBs. The seven entities have been in talks for years.
“This guide provides Dallas visibility on a truly global stage,” Davis said.
The Michelin Guide Texas is expected to be released later in 2024.
Given the vast geography between the five Texas cities, Michelin inspectors have been eating in our restaurants for months, if not longer.
That’s exciting news by most accounts. It’s also worrisome.
“We’re all scared to death,” Fearing said.
Michelin is secretive about its review processes, and it isn’t clear how much of the Michelin Guide Texas is already written. Chefs at some of Dallas-Fort Worth’s best restaurants are already fearing the worst: What if they’ve already been reviewed? Is it too late?
“We’ve gotta be on, because who knows when they will come in?” Fearing said.
That story also notes the amount of money that Florida and other places have paid to get a Guide to their locations. So does this CultureMap story, which considers whether or not this is all worth the fuss.
Bringing the guide to Texas comes at a cost, but we don’t know what it is. For example, Florida paid $150,000 to launch its guide, while California paid $600,000 and Colorado paid $135,000. Michelin declined to comment on what fee, if any, statewide tourism board Travel Texas and local tourism boards in the five cities paid to bring the guide here.
“Contract terms are confidential. Travel Texas is working with Michelin on marketing and promotional efforts only. The agreement enables collaborative work to promote the area’s culinary offerings,” Michelin’s Carly Grieff writes in an email. “The Michelin Guide Texas project came to life thanks to the quality of the state’s culinary scene. The whole credit of this exciting project is the talent of Texas’ restaurant teams who embody culinary innovation. Without them and their exceptional work, it would have been impossible for the Michelin Guide to have the ambition of proposing a first selection of Texas restaurants in 2024.”
As rumors of Michelin’s arrival swirled, a debate has been taking place about whether it will be welcomed. Robb Report explored the topic in a 2023 article.
Aaron Bludorn, the chef-owner of three Houston-area restaurants who held one star as the executive of New York’s Cafe Boulud, told the magazine he wasn’t excited about it. “I grew tired of Michelin,” Bludorn told the magazine. “[There’s] freedom given without Michelin being here.”
“I don’t really see an argument as to why they shouldn’t come,” Dallas chef Casey La Rue said in the article. “Currently, the only reason to travel to Texas, from an outsider’s perspective, would be for barbecue. No one looks at the state or any of the major cities for anything other than that … If we had Michelin stars, then we would be able to get more recognition and [be] more legitimized.”
Others may wonder whether Michelin is relevant for a city with a diverse dining scene that caters to a wide range of price points. Will Michelin get Houston?
Typically, the guide’s highest two and three-star ratings tend to go to very expensive tasting menu establishments. In Houston, that would only include Mediterranean-inspired restaurant March and omakase counters like Neo and Hidden Omakase.
For example, will Tatemó, which has already received national recognition from Food & Wine and the James Beard Awards, earn at least one star for chef Emmanuel Chavez’s innovate, masa-based menu of Mexican cuisine? Or will its humble setting in a Spring Branch strip center and lack of an alcoholic beverage program relegate it to Bib Gourmand or Recommended status?
Will the inspectors make their way along Hillcroft and Long Point and Bellaire to search out Bib-worthy eats at places like Himalaya, Aga’s, Tacos Doña Lena, and Crawfish and Noodles? Or will educated diners citywide be scratching their heads and complaining about all of the places the guide “snubbed?”
I’m a devout casual-dining kind of guy, so this will likely be little more than a curiosity to me. That said, we certainly have a worthy food scene here, and Lord knows after Beryl it could use a jolt of good energy. Here’s hoping this gives the entire industry here a nice boost. Eater Austin, the San Antonio Report, the Dallas Observer, the Austin Chronicle, and the Houston Press all have more.
Here’s my prediction: Willow’s BBQ (soon to open in the East End) will be the Houston entry…
You heard it hear first.
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