Thursday, November 15, 2007

Michelin Arrives Early in LA And Vegas

Michelin Three Star Joel Robuchon Las VegasMichelin's first ever restaurant guides for Los Angeles and Las Vegas were accidentally leaked on their website a week early. Apparently, this is the first time such a leak has happened in Michelin's 100 year history; they have also confirmed the authenticity of the leaked list. LA gourmets may feel a little miffed with no restaurant getting three stars; however, Las Vegas now has one certified three-star restaurant, Joël Robuchon. Surprisingly, Thomas Keller's Las Vegas restaurant didn't get a star.

While the guides become officially available on Nov 20th, here's an early look at those which earned the coveted Michelin stars :

LA Michelin Three Stars (signifying exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey) :

None.

LA Michelin Two Stars (means an excellent cuisine, worth a detour) :

Mélisse, Santa Monica
Spago, Beverly Hills
Urasawa, Beverly Hills

LA Michelin One Star (meaning a very good restaurant in its category) :

Asanebo, Studio City
Cut, Beverly Hills
Joe's, Venice
La Botte, Santa Monica
Matsuhisa, Beverly Hills
Mori Sushi, West Los Angeles
Ortolan, Los Angeles
Patina, Los Angeles
Providence, Los Angeles
Ritz-Carlton Huntington Dining Room, Pasadena
Saddle Peak Lodge, Calabasas
Sona, West Hollywood
Trattoria Tre Venezie, Pasadena
Valentino, Santa Monica
Water Grill, Los Angeles

Las Vegas Michelin Three Stars

Joël Robuchon, MGM-Grand

Las Vegas Michelin Two Stars

Alex, Wynn Resort
Guy Savoy, Caeser's Palace
Picasso, Bellagio

Las Vegas Michelin One Star

Alizé, Palms Casino Resort
Andre's, Downtown
Aureole, Mandalay Bay
Bradley Ogden, Caeser's Palace
DB Brasserie, Wynn
L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, MGM-Grand
Le Cirque, Bellagio
Mesa Grill, Caeser's Palace
Michael Mina, Bellagio
Mix, Mandalay Bay
Nobu, Hard Rock Resort
Wing Lei, Wynn Resort

For the latest Michelin ratings of San Francisco Bay Area & Wine Country restaurants, see my earlier post.

Trivia buffs, here are some other Michelin facts: Taillevent, the Paris restaurant that has held three Michelin stars for 34 years, lost one of the stars this year. France has 26 three-star restaurants, by far the highest of any country. The guides and maps division represents about 1 percent of revenue for France-based Michelin, the world's biggest tiremaker.

After Europe and recently the USA, Michelin Guides is headed eastwards; watch this space!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Michelin is such an institution in France! They were many drama movies about the ratings, chefs are even rumored to commit suicide if they lose their stars. Seriously.

Anonymous said...

I've only heard about one restaurant who are listed on Michelin's, but I can't recall it name - sorry.

Right now I'm actually in the US, but upstate NY, so I'll have to eat what they serve anyway :-)

Btw: Thanks for your greetings and big support on my Best European Blog Award!

Anonymous said...

@zhu: Yes, I have heard that myself. I like the fact that they use anonymous inspectors and are usually pretty thorough.

@rennyba: Enjoy your US trip! And you are welcome. :-)

Lakshmi said...

We shd have a professional food guide like this in india ..The existing ones are just paid advertorials

Anonymous said...

@backpakker: Completely agree! The Times of India guide is a good beginning, but you cannot depend upon it. Also, they don't compare apples to apples, so all you can do with it is find addresses.

Limesh said...

I agree that Michelin are a treat to visit and we did visit a coupld of them at Napa and Sonoma.I am pretty much a foodie.Once bored with the ordinary the quest is for extraordinary.

http://www.aubergedusoleil.com/html/restaurant.shtml

http://www.reddnapavalley.com/

If you stay in Mumbai then going to Leela "Stella" would be equivalent to a Michelin starred restaurant though they have lost thier sommilier recently and the choice by glass is almost nil.But Chef Max is still at his best.