who's getting a star?

Michelin Guide chooses Houston to reveal Texas' first starred restaurants

Could March be one of the first Texas restaurants to receive a Michelin star?

Photo by Julie Soefer

The countdown is on to find out which restaurants will be included in the first Texas edition of the Michelin Guide. An invite-only ceremony will be held in Houston on Monday, November 11 to reveal the selections.

First announced in July, Michelin’s guide to Texas will cover Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, and each city’s suburbs. Texas Travel and local tourism boards in each city agreed to provide marketing support — $90,000 per year for the first three years in Houston alone — to bring the guide to Texas. The restaurant announcement follows a ceremony in September that revealed the American hotels to receive Michelin keys, including three in Houston.

“We are delighted to be hosting the inaugural Michelin Guide Texas Ceremony in the vibrant city of Houston,” Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the Michelin Guides, said in a statement. “Houston is full of culinary innovation and world class hospitality, which goes hand in hand with our values at the Michelin Guide. Together with Houston First, as well as the support of Travel Texas, we look forward to an evening of celebration as we toast to the restaurants that our Inspectors have chosen to award in Texas.”

Michelin uses anonymous inspectors to evaluate restaurants on five criteria: product quality; mastery of cooking techniques; harmony of flavors; the personality of the chef as reflected in the cuisine; and consistency over time and across the entire menu. Based on that, they may recognize restaurants with one of three designations:

Michelin stars, rated at one, two, or three for restaurants that offer exceptional experiences
Bib Gourmand, described as “restaurants that offer great quality food at good prices”
Green stars for “restaurants that are leaders in sustainable gastronomy”

In addition, Michelin may also issue a lesser “recommended” designation to restaurants that are good but don’t qualify for a star rating.

Although which restaurants will receive what designation will be a mystery until November, CultureMap has learned that the guide has been sending emails to establishments requesting information for its website. Rumors about which restaurants have (and have not) received an email have been quietly circulating among restaurant industry insiders for the last month or so. CultureMap shared some options for Houston restaurants that could receive stars here.

Regardless of how many restaurants receive stars, a sense of excitement has been building. Some believe the opportunity to earn a Michelin star will help draw more culinary talent to the state. Others look forward to seeing how Texas cities compare to Michelin markets around the world, a sentiment shared by Houston First president and CEO Michael Heckman.

“The Michelin Guide’s arrival in Texas presents us with a unique opportunity to show the world the extraordinary sophistication and complexity of our state’s culinary scene. And there’s no better place to launch the Michelin Guide Texas than right here in Houston, the nation’s most diverse city,” Heckman added.

“Over the last two decades, our city has emerged as a food mecca, fostering skilled hometown chefs and restaurateurs while simultaneously drawing exceptional talent from across the globe. Houston First is excited to partner with Michelin in hosting the inaugural Michelin Guide Texas ceremony and to learn alongside our partner cities which Texas restaurants have been selected.”

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perfectly paired

2 Michelin-rated Houston restaurants teamed up for taco-fueled fundraiser

Big Brothers Big Sisters Houston Perfect Pairing Pit Room Tatemo

Courtesy of Big Brothers Big Sisters Houston

Michael Sambrooks, Emmanuel Chavez, Humberto Celis, Alexia Ramirez, Matt Harris, and Amber Kelusky.

A chef who leads a Michelin-starred restaurant teamed up with a Michelin-rated Houston barbecue joint to raise money for a local nonprofit that helps young people reach their potential.

Held Sunday, August 30, the Perfect Pairing event united Tatemó chef-owner Emmanuel Chavez with The Pit Room’s Memorial location for an epic evening of tacos, margaritas, and community. Both restaurants are included in the Michelin Guide, with Tatemó holding one star and The Pit Room holding a Bib Gourmand desgination. Michael Sambrooks, founder of The Pit Room’s parent company Sambrooks Hospitality, credits BBBS volunteer and event chair Matt Harris for the original idea behind the event.

“The idea is to have guest chefs, do something lowkey that’s more like a fun party than a big gala,” Sambrooks says. “All the proceeds go to Big Brothers Big Sisters — 100 percent of the ticket sales. We donate all the costs of the space, food, and drinks.”

Harris proposed two styles of ribeye tacos to Chavez that have become trendy in both Texas and Mexico — gaoneras and cachetadas — both wrapped in Tatemó’s signature nixtamalized corn tortillas. The Pit Room’s staff served them to diners alongside papas fritas and smoked corn elotes. Chavez’s signature tuna tostada and huitlacoche quesadilla kicked off the meal, while jackfruit tres leches with Altima caviar ended the night on a sweet note.

“Part of the event is we want people to have fun. We don’t want it to be too fussy, but the food has to be good,” Harris says. “Talking to people in the crowd last night, a lot of people were intrigued and excited because it’s a pretty high level taco. To be able to present them tableside, it just felt right.”

“We were just there with a flat top trying to bust out tacos as fast as we could,” Chavez says. “I felt like I was on Top Chef. There were 30 minutes, you have x amount of people, go.”

Harris credits Sambrooks for providing the organization with such generous support.

“What people saw on the plate was great, but the number of moving parts that it took to make that happen was not small. None of that would be possible without Michael,” Harris says. “It’s very humbling to have someone be that generous and not just open the doors but provide service, provide product, open his relationships with vendors — it doesn’t stop.”

Sambrooks explains that he’s decided to support both Communities in School and Big Brothers Big Sisters with larger events, which allows his company to have a greater impact than if it spread its contributions around more broadly.

“Restaurants always get asked for donations. You’ve got to pick who you want to work with,” Sambrooks says.

Overall, the sold-out crowd of 120 people raised over $12,000 to support Big Brothers Big Sisters mentorship programs. Seen in the crowd were Burger Bodega chef-owner Abbas Dhanani and his wife Nida; Craft Pita chef-owner Raffi Nasr and his wife Brittney, commercial real estate developer John Andell, Leaf & Grain founder Deets Hoffman, former Masterchef contestant Cesar Cano, Houston Business Journal 40 under 40 recipient Chassidy Deckhard, and Houston Chronicle food critic Bao Ong.

Courtesy of Big Brothers Big Sisters Houston

Michael Sambrooks, Emmanuel Chavez, Humberto Celis, Alexia Ramirez, Matt Harris, and Amber Kelusky.

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