DALLAS — There’s no one who knows the food scene in and around Dallas quite as well as D Magazine Food Critic Brian Reinhart.
“I go to about two hundred restaurants a year,” said Reinhart.
So we met him at one of his top Dallas restaurant picks, Brass Ram in Deep Ellum, to get his thoughts about the Michelin Guide coming to Texas.
“My first thought was there's going to be a whole lot of arguments and drama and people debating who should be on there, who should not be on there, what got snubbed, what they messed up, what they missed,” Reinhart said. “And honestly, it's going to be tremendously fun.”
For those un-initiated – the Michelin Stars are considered the most prestigious awards in the culinary world. Restaurants that secure a 1, 2, or 3-star rating are touted as the best of the best.
Incoming Texas restaurant selections will be judged based on the five criteria established by the Michelin system:
- Quality products
- Harmony of flavors
- Mastery of cooking techniques
- Voice and personality of the chef as displayed via the cuisine
- Consistency between visits and throughout the menu
Anonymous judges have already started dining in Dallas and Fort Worth, as well as Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. And it’s pay to play.
“The state of Texas Travel Office is paying half the entire cost of being in Michelin for us,” said Visit Dallas CEO. “So the other half was divided five times and each of us is paying $90,000 to be part of the Michelin Guide.”
The benefits are a global stamp of quality, and customers willing to pay more for the experience.
“It's a huge draw both for culinary tourists and talent chefs,” said Reinhart.
Something Brass Ram General Manager Mitsy Holis is very excited about.
“I think that it's an opportunity for us to shine a light into the Dallas food market as to what we really bring to the table,” Holis said.
Restaurants in both Dallas and Fort Worth proper will be eligible for Michelin Stars, but much of the suburbs will not.
“They are visiting Dallas and immediately surrounding areas might include other parts of Dallas County might include parts of the countryside,” Reinhart said. “But Collin County is not included in the guide. It probably means Denton County isn't going to be either.”
As we wait for the first ceremony later this year, everyone’s got predictions on what restaurants might join the coveted list.
“Restaurants like Tei-An, Downtown, and Tatsu in Deep Ellum are some of the easy favorites to be Michelin-recognized,” Reinhart said.
And now we’re all anxiously awaiting the results.