Mystery Critic

So What Did Mr. Michelin Say About the SF Bay Area Dining Scene?

Review of the Michelin Raitings of the SF Bay Area Restaurants

In three simple words, Not So Great.  The city that is often ranked as the number one fine dining city in the USA got some less than satisfactory ratings from Mr. Michelin.  In fact, NONE of the highly-acclaimed San Francisco establishments received three stars.  Here are the restaurants covered in the SF Bay Area:

Three Stars

   French Laundry - Napa 

Two Stars

   Aqua - San Francisco

   Cyrus - Healdsburg

   Manresa - Los Gatos

   Michael Mina - San Francisco

One Star

   Berkeley - Chez Panisse

   Mountain View - Chez TJ

   Napa / Sonoma - Auberge du Soleil, Bistro Jeanty, Bouchon, Dry Creek Kitchen, K&L Bistro, La Toque, Terra

   San Francisco - Acquerello, Boulevard, Bushi-Tei, Dining Room at the Ritz, Fifth Floor, Fleur de Lys, Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant, Gary Danko, La Folie, Masa's, Quince, Range, Rubicon

   Sausalito - Sushi-Ran

Here's the actual press release.

If you've spent a good chunk of your adult life in the SF Bay Area, you would be saying &!#&$^%& now.  I mean, Chez Panisse gets ONE star?  Fleur de Lys gets ONE star??  And Bushi-Tei gets the same rating as La Folie???  Above all, ONE three-star restaurant in the whole area???

I've been to Paris and I've used the Michelin guide there.  I think I have an explanation for the poor ratings that the Bay Area restaurants got.  So, let me offer this, speaking to the restaurant owners who might feel that they got an unfair rating:

First of all, this is an EUROPEAN taste rating.  Notice that many superb Californian instituions are being punished for being just that - too Californian.  I'm sure that a bunch of guys, who had their last meal in some red-carpet, rosewood, Louis IXI style dining room in Paris, flew in and started looking for smell of escargots and creme brulee, and was a bit upset when their duck a la orange had shiitake mushrooms and turmeric in the sauce.

Also, Michelin's definition of "total dining experience" is drastically different from ours.  For example, no matter how great Boulevard's food taste, Mr. Michelin would have been shocked by the "rude" staff.  It's absolutely normal for waiters to chitchat with customers and laugh out loud.  That would be considered a capital crime in the Continent.  Boulevard, on this side of the earth, gets high marks for its amiable staff who work hard to make your dining experience pleasant. Go figure....

Another minor difference - The French can't exactly understand or appreciate Asian taste.  Granted that they made an effort and put two Asian restaurants on this list, they are no exactly representative of what San Francisco offers.  I'm sure the French critics won't even walk into 99% of the Asian restaurants because they don't smell French cologne on the host or they see no silverware that is not made in China.

So, for those who want to find a good restaurant according to the Europeans, Michelin guide is very useful - and rest assured that these starred restaurants will not disappoint you; however, if you just want great food, good service and a real taste of California, grab the SF Chronicles and it'd be far better than the little red guide.