2017 Chicago MICHELIN Stars announced; Chicago gains 2 two-star restaurants

MICHELIN didn't pick the best timing to make the hugely-anticipated announcement of the restaurants that made the prestigious annual list of one, two and three-star rated restaurants. We're a little preoccupied here in Chitown considering we are just a few hours away from either becoming World Series champs and ending a 108-year drought or returning to the mantra "Wait 'til next year!" Although probably a little overshadowed with the baseball attention, this is HUGE news in the foodie world. Tru and Oriole came out as the big winners. Tru was making a jump from one start up to two while Oriole is debuting at two-star status, which is an enormous accomplishment. Read below for the full press release. And Go Cubs!

Four New Chicago Area Restaurants Receive Prestigious One Star—Chicago Now Has a Total of 26 Michelin Stars

CHICAGO, Nov. 2, 2016 – Michelin today announced its highly regarded star selections for the seventh edition of the MICHELIN Guide Chicago 2017, which will go on sale later this year in time for the holiday season and is also now available on the Michelin Restaurants app available on iTunes.

This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide to Chicago highlights a total of 298 restaurants, including 26 establishments which have been awarded Michelin stars.

Chicago’s two-star dining choices increased from three to five this year, with West Loops’ Oriole and Streeterville’s Tru restaurants joining this illustrious Michelin two-star list that includes just 25 establishments in the entire country. 

Photo credit: Oriolechicago.com

With the guidance of chef Sandoval—who moved on from his one-star Senza that he closed a year ago— Oriole is a rarity in the culinary world by virtue of having attained a two-star during its first year in business. “Despite his relative youth, the Michelin inspectors were impressed by chef Sandoval’s creativity, consistency, and ability to combine different cooking styles and products in his cuisine” commented Michael Ellis, the International Director of the Michelin Guide.

Almost antithetical to the story of Oriole’s climb to two-star status, Tru restaurant, which is located in Streeterville, has been a perennial one-star since 2011, when the first Chicago MICHELIN Guide debuted. This year, Michelin’s famously anonymous inspectors recognized a level of consistently inspired cuisine that rose to ever higher levels. Open since 2008, Tru’s co-founder and head chef, Anthony Martin, has overseen a cuisine that still feels fresh and exciting, offering a truly contemporary display of American ingredients paired with interesting flavor combinations and appealing visual presentations.

“Chef Anthony Martin proposes a fresh and contemporary style of cooking, which uses superb products and is constantly evolving; chef Martin and his team serve food that is both deep in flavor and elegant” explained Michelin director Michael Ellis. Along with Acadia, 42 Grams and Sixteen, Chicago now counts five restaurants with two Michelin stars.  

In this new 2017 guide, Grant Achatz’s Alinea offers diners a new concept in a renovated space, and has maintained its three-star ranking. Likewise, Curtis Duffy’s Grace continues with three Michelin stars, thus confirming these two Chicago restaurants as members of the very exclusive club of just over one hundred three-star restaurants in the world.                                                                                                                                   

A record 19 one-star selections are in the 2017 edition of the guide, including four newcomers. One of the more original culinary concepts can be found at Band of Bohemia, a creative eatery in Andersonville that is also a brewery. Another newcomer to Michelin’s one-star selections is the recently opened Green River in Streeterville, where Chicago native, Aaron Lirette, has created an ambitious menu of dishes that highlight regional ingredients. West Loop’s Roister also joins the one-star ranks. As the latest member of the Alinea Group and led by chef Andrew Brochu, Roister employs open-fire cooking and a technical expertise in cuisine that is both primal and delicately refined. Finally, there is another new one-star in the West Loop at Symth where the husband-and-wife cooking team of John and Karen Urie Shields have just debuted a brilliant combination of two levels at the same location. Upstairs is a spacious area that offers a formal, prix fixe and celebrates the sea and earth and downstairs one can find a modern tavern called The Loyalist that serves delicious seasonal small plates. This talented chef couple met while both worked at the legendary Charlie Trotter’s, and source much of the ingredients from a farm outside of Chicago.

The MICHELIN Guide Chicago 2017 goes on sale December 7, 2016 at a price of $18.99. 

 

About the MICHELIN Guide

Thanks to the rigorous MICHELIN Guide selection process that is applied independently and consistently around 28 countries, the MICHELIN Guide has become an international benchmark in fine dining. The selections of all restaurants in the guide are made by Michelin's famously anonymous inspectors who dine in the Chicago area regularly. These local inspectors are trained to scrupulously apply the same time-tested methods used by Michelin inspectors for many decades throughout the world. This ensures a uniform, international standard of excellence. As a further guarantee of complete objectivity, Michelin inspectors pay all their bills in full, and only the quality of the cuisine is evaluated. To fully assess the quality of a restaurant, the inspectors apply five criteria defined by Michelin: product quality, preparation and flavors, the chef's personality as revealed through his or her cuisine, value for money, and consistency over time and across the entire menu. These objective criteria are respected by all MICHELIN Guide inspectors, whether in Japan, the United States, China or Europe. They guarantee a consistent selection so that a star restaurant has the same value regardless of whether it is located in Paris, New York or Tokyo. 

Michelin has been a pioneering force in advancing mobility through innovation and excellence in manufacturing quality.  The company patented the pneumatic, or air-filled, tire in the late 1800s.  This was a milestone moment in mobility, permitting automobile owners to travel at great length in a single journey.  Then, in an effort to prompt travelers to enjoy their newfound mobility, the company created guides and detailed maps to steer travelers on their way.  The most famous publication that developed from this is the internationally recognized MICHELIN Guide. 

About Michelin North America

Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks and motorcycles. The company has earned a long-standing reputation for building innovative premium tires.  Since 1989, Michelin has received 80 J.D. Power tire customer satisfaction awards—five times the number of all other tire manufacturers combined. In addition to tires, the company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (www.michelinman.com) employs about 22,700 and operates 19 major manufacturing plants.