Michelin guide finally confirms Texas edition — should anyone care?

For years, diners statewide have asked a simple question: “Why aren’t there any Michelin-starred restaurants in Texas?” The simple answer is that guide hasn’t been rating restaurants in Texas, but that’s about to change.

On Tuesday, July 16, the Michelin Guide confirmed long-simmering rumors that it will publish a Texas edition later this year. Covering restaurants in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio, Michelin’s famously anonymous inspectors are already in the field evaluating the restaurants in all five cities for potential inclusion in the guide.

Restaurants may earn 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 don’t quite qualify for a star rating.

Having a Michelin Guide for Texas will allow tourists to have some basis of comparison between the state's restaurants and their peers in other Michelin cities and countries. In America, the guide already rates restaurants in parts of California, New York City, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and parts of Florida and Colorado.

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, but a representative for Houston First tells CultureMap the organization is paying $90,000 for each of the first three years (2024, 2025, and 2026).

“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.”

Do we need Michelin?
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?”

Diners can also look to how the guide treats restaurants in other cities for some hint as to what’s to come. For example, Le Jardinier’s sister locations in Miami and New York each hold one star, so it seems likely it will earn one here, too. On the other hand, as neither the New York or Miami locations of Italian restaurant Carbone currently hold a star, it seems unlikely the Dallas location will receive one.

The only thing that’s certain is that Michelin’s arrival will change dining in Texas. Restaurants may tweak their menus or service styles to cater to the guide’s tastes. Operators in other cities may be more likely to open a Texas outpost in hopes of earning a star. Others may reject the guide’s conventions entirely and continue to forge their own path.

If nothing else, it gives us something to argue about, especially once the state’s first star recipients are revealed later this year.