Chefs dream of getting one. Patrons want to dine at one. The coveted thing they all worship: Michelin stars.
Launched in the early 1900s by the Michelin Tire Co. to give European travelers ideas of where to dine, the Michelin restaurant guide has grown to become the gastronomic bible of the restaurant world. Anonymous reviewers rate restaurants around the world and award them one, two, or three stars.
One star means worth the stop, very good in quality, cuisine prepared to a high standard. Two stars is a restaurant worth a detour, excellent in quality, skillfully crafter cuisine. Three stars means a restaurant worth a special journey, exceptional in quality, precisely executed cuisine.
European chefs live and die by the Michelin star rating. Even in the U.S., a Michelin star can launch the reputation of a restaurant and catapult a chef to another dining level.
California has its share of Michelin-starred restaurants. Some, like Thomas Keller’s famous The French Laundry in Napa Valley’s Yountville, has been awarded three stars for 12 years in a row. The French Laundry is on my bucket list, but I have dined at the one-star Bouchon Bistro in Yountville and also the one-star Auberge du Soleil up the road in Rutherford. Both offered memorable dining experiences.
20 Worth Watching
Now, finally, a California Michelin guide covering all areas of the state has been introduced, and it includes 20 Orange County restaurants.
Two of those, Taco Maria in the OC Mix and Hana Re at The Lab Anti-Mall, both in Costa Mesa, each received one star.
Five others were given a Bib Gourmand designation—Bib is the nickname of the Michelin man—which highlights “restaurants that serve high-quality meals which include two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less.”
Those restaurants are Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen in Orange, Garlic & Chives in Garden Grove, Hiro Nori Ramen in Irvine, LSXO in Huntington Beach, and Mix Mix Kitchen Bar in Santa Ana. In March, I named Mix Mix Chef Ross Pangilinan as the Business Journal’s Chef of the Year for 2019.
Thirteen others earned “The Plate” designation, meaning “Fresh ingredients, carefully prepared, a good meal.” Among them: Marche Moderne, Bluefin, and The Ranch.
Strong Stars Align
Chef Craig Strong spent nine years as executive chef of Studio at the Montage in Laguna Beach before starting his own restaurant, Ocean at Main in Laguna Beach, last fall. Prior to that, he served as chef de cuisine at what is now The Langham at Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena, which earned Michelin star recognition for two consecutive years in 2008 and 2009 under his helm.
Had Michelin come to town during Strong’s rein at Montage, he would have easily garnered stars.
“When I worked in Europe, that is all people talked about,” said Strong. “The Michelin Guide is the gold standard for European people. When it eventually came to the U.S., it was huge. The rating system is so intense, it is very difficult to get stars. To even be mentioned at all is a tremendous honor, but to earn a star is a life-long dream of most chefs.”
Strong said he doesn’t believe in “chasing stars,” although “I think you should do great work for every guest. That’s what the spirit of hospitality is about.
If you are passionate about what you do, you do it for everybody every time, all the time. Then the stars fall where they may.”
