Texas Now Has 15 One-Star Michelin-Rated Restaurants

• Several high-profile Texas restaurants have new bragging rights!
• The Micheline Guide has announced the inaugural class of Texas Michelin Star restaurants.
• Michelin Stars have been handed out since 1926.

My wife and I enjoy watching food competition shows on Food Network. When chefs and judges compete on the various shows, they often discuss the chefs' credentials, including that they have worked at Michelin-starred restaurants. I wondered what a Michelin-starred restaurant is and why it is named after a tire company.

Michelin Stars were first handed out in 1926

It all began with the Michelin brothers in France awarding a single star to a restaurant if they deemed them a 'fine dining establishment'. This rating continued until 1931 when it was expanded to include three stars and has remained a standard in fine dining restaurants. According to Escoffier, the Michelin Star rating system was adopted here in the US in 2005 and has since concentrated on restaurants in New York, LA, Chicago, Las Vegas, and San Francisco.

Restaurants earn their ratings based on mystery diners and their reviews.

Texas Now Has 15 One-Star Michelin-Rated Restaurants

• Barley Swine - Austin
• BCN Taste & Tradition - Houston
• CorkScrew BBQ - Spring
• Craft Omakase - Austin
• Hestia - Austin
• InterStellar BBQ - Austin
• la Barbecue - Austin
• Le Jardinier Houston - Houston
• Leroy and Lewis Barbecue - Austin
• March - Houston
• Mixtli - San Antonio
• Musaafer - Houston
• Olamaie - Austin
• Tatemo - Houston
• Tatsu Dallas - Dallas

These restaurants in Dallas, Ft. Worth, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio were mysteriously visited and have earned the state's first-ever Michelin Star. There were another 57 restaurants that made it on the Texas' 2024 Recommended Restaurants list.

Michelin Star Rating Descriptions

• One Star - high-quality cooking, worth a stop
• Two Star - excellent cooking, worth a detour
• Three Star - exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey

Criteria To Earn A Michelin Star

• quality of products
• mastery of flavor and cooking techniques
• the personality of the chef represented in the dining experience
• value for money
• consistency between inspectors' visits

In time, Texas will be well represented by Michelin-Star restaurants with more Texas chefs appearing on the food competition shows on the Food Network, and if they say any Texas Michelin-Star restaurants I may know the exact restaurant that chef worked at or represents.