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The 76 Best Restaurants in New York City Include Westchester

The 76 Best Restaurants in New York City Include Westchester

(Bloomberg) -- Little by little, New York City is losing its place on the world’s culinary stage.

That perception was reinforced when the Michelin Guide announced its 2020 stars on Monday. The biggest news was the addition of Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown, an hour north of the city, which landed two stars. The game-changing farm-to-table restaurant from chef Dan Barber, which had been a high ranker on lists such as World’s 50 Best, finally earned a place with Michelin after the guide added the commuter county of Westchester to the New York book.

Stone Barns was one of only 10 restaurants earning new stars this year. Another highlight on the list was the well-deserved upgrade of Atomix, the inspired Korean tasting counter, to two stars from one. Last year there were four new two-star winners, with just two this year.

New York’s three-star landscape hasn’t changed since the 2018 guide; there are still only five, seemingly immovable places: Le Bernardin, Masa, Eleven Madison Park, Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, and Per Se

The 76 Best Restaurants in New York City Include Westchester

You’d be hard-pressed to find a theme other than “stagnation,” but Michelin has learned to appreciate the wine bar, as well as the adage “better late than never.” Estela, serving brilliant wine-friendly plates since it opened in 2013 and welcoming guests including President Obama, finally earned a star.

“We saw that there’s a level of consistency from chef Ignacio Mattos,” says the chief inspector of Michelin’s U.S. team, who spoke on condition of anonymity, “and it was clear to us that there’s an excellence that needs to be observed.” The guide also recognized with one star the groovy wine bar Four Horsemen in Brooklyn, which opened in 2015. 

The 76 Best Restaurants in New York City Include Westchester

The news wasn’t great for uptown diners. Marea, Central Park South’s power Italian spot, lost a star, dropping from two to one. Likewise, Cafe Boulud, from the city’s beloved French cook Daniel Boulud, lost its one star. And it definitely wasn’t good for establishments in the $2 billion Hudson Yards, which were nowhere to be seen. (Thomas Keller’s TAK Room and Momofuku’s Kawi were awarded Michelin Plates, an honorable mention and the guide’s way of saying “wah-wah.”)

This year’s New York list includes 76 starred restaurants, the same as last year. As evidence of the precariousness of the city’s dining scene, the one-starred Bar Uchu closed for “reconcepting,” though too late to be updated for the print guide.

The 76 Best Restaurants in New York City Include Westchester

Last year, Japanese cuisine ruled New York. This year that trend has abated (and perhaps decamped to Chicago). There’s still a hefty dose of restaurants whose names include the word “sushi” (six in the one-star category) but no major new ones, and Sushi Ginza Onodera lost a star; it now has just one.

What the Michelin Guide is still light on is women. Among the 76 starred restaurants, only three have women heading the kitchen: Emma Bengtsson at AquavitMelissa Rodriguez at Del Posto, and more recently Victoria Blamey, who’s taken over at Gotham Bar & Grill. “Stars are awarded for the criteria we have,” says the Michelin inspector, “they are just for the food on the plate. We don’t base awards on gender.” It’s not a compelling argument at a time when high-profile female chefs are on the rise in New York, from Missy Robbins of Lilia to Daniela Soto-Innes of Atla, who’s been recognized as the best female chef by the World’s 50 Best Restaurant awards.

Aquavit’s Bengtsson believes Michelin will have no choice but to award more women in New York. “We’re coming, all the amazing female chefs in the city,” she says. “Michelin stays true to who they are, [but] we’re a force to be reckoned with.”

The 76 Best Restaurants in New York City Include Westchester

That focus on “just the food” has also kept Michelin behind the curve on recognizing chefs from countries outside its purview (Europe, Japan). While organizations like the James Beard Foundation and the Vilcek Foundation have highlighted the contribution of cooks from other countries, Michelin has been spectacularly insular. 

“We see a number of new starred chefs coming from kitchens of previous stars,” observes the Michelin inspector, referencing the modern Italian Benno, from Per Se alum Jonathan Benno, and the excellent new American Crown Shy, whose chef James Kent worked at Eleven Madison Park. Michelin seems incapable of thinking outside its own box, unable to recognize the sensational cuisine on offer at a place like the Mexican restaurant Cosme, not to mention the Taiwanese powerhouse Win Son, which has a Bib Gourmand but deserves a star.

Asked about the idea that New York’s culinary power is at a standstill, Gwendal Poullennec, the guide’s international director, looks at the big picture. “This is the 15th edition of the New York guide. There were only 39 starred restaurants—that number has almost doubled,” he says. “In the beginning there were four two-star spots. Now there are 14.” Still, there’s a long list of glaring omissions, from the brilliant Italian cooking at Rezdora to Momofuku Ssam Bar, Lilia, Cosme, and so on. 

The guide will be available to purchase on Oct. 23. Anticipate robust sales in Westchester. 

The 76 Best Restaurants in New York City Include Westchester

The full list is below. A double asterisk denotes new placement in that category; neighborhoods are designated by Michelin.

Three Stars

Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare (Midtown West)
Eleven Madison Park (Gramercy)
Le Bernardin (Midtown West)
Masa (Midtown West)
Per Se (Midtown West)


Two Stars

The 76 Best Restaurants in New York City Include Westchester

Aquavit (Midtown East)
Atera (Tribeca)
Aska (Williamsburg)
**Atomix (Gramercy)
Blanca (Fort Greene)
**Blue Hill at Stone Barns (Westchester)
Daniel (Upper East Side)
Gabriel Kreuther (Midtown West)
Ichimura at Uchū (Lower East Side)
Jean-Georges (Upper West Side)
Jungsik (Tribeca)
Ko (East Village)
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon (Chelsea)
The Modern (Midtown West)
 

One Star

The 76 Best Restaurants in New York City Include Westchester

Agern (Midtown East)
Ai Fiori (Midtown West)
Aldea (Gramercy)
Babbo (Greenwich Village)
Bar Uchū (Lower East Side; closed)
Bâtard (Tribeca)
**Benno (Gramercy)
Blue Hill (Greenwich Village)
Bouley at Home (Gramercy)
Carbone (Greenwich Village)
Casa Enrique (Queens)
Casa Mono (Gramercy)
Caviar Russe (Midtown East)
Claro (Sunset Park)
The Clocktower (Gramercy)
Contra (Lower East Side)
Cote (Gramercy)
**Crown Shy (Financial District)
Del Posto (Chelsea)
**Estela (SoHo & Nolita)
The Finch (Fort Greene)

The 76 Best Restaurants in New York City Include Westchester

**The Four Horsemen (Williamsburg)
Gotham Bar and Grill (Greenwich Village)
Gramercy Tavern (Greenwich Village)
Hirohisa (SoHo)
Jeju Noodle Bar (Greenwich Village)
Jewel Bako (East Village)
Kajitsu (Midtown East)
Kanoyama  (East Village)
Kosaka (Greenwich Village)
L’Appart (Financial District)

The 76 Best Restaurants in New York City Include Westchester

Le Coucou (SoHo)
**Le Jardinier (Midtown East)
Marea (Midtown West)
Meadowsweet (Williamsburg)
The Musket Room (SoHo)
Nix (Greenwich Village)
Noda (Gramercy)
NoMad (Gramercy)
**Odo (Gramercy)
Okuda (Chelsea)
**Oxalis (Fort Greene & Bushwick)
Oxomoco (Williamsburg)
Peter Luger (Williamsburg)
The River Café (Downtown Brooklyn)
Satsuki (Midtown West)
Sushi Amane (Midtown East)
Sushi Ginza Onodera (Midtown West)
Sushi Inoue (Harlem)

The 76 Best Restaurants in New York City Include Westchester

Sushi Nakazawa (Greenwich Village)
Sushi Noz (Upper East Side)
Sushi Yasuda (Midtown East)
Tempura Matsui (Midtown East)
Tuome (East Village)
**Ukiyo (East Village)
Uncle Boons (SoHo)
Wallse (Greenwich Village)
ZZ’s Clam Bar (Greenwich Village)

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Justin Ocean at jocean1@bloomberg.net

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