Category: Restaurants Which Have Earned Michelin Honors

Michelin honors signify elite culinary excellence, awarded by anonymous inspectors to restaurants offering exceptional food based on quality, technique, personality, and consistency.

2026 James Beard Foundation: "Best Chef - Texas" SemifinalistBarbecueJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMichelin: One StarRestaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsTexasUnited States

La Barbecue – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Every summer, a predictable ritual takes place. After hibernating comfortably since the previous autumn, men attired in aprons emblazoned with the slogan “kiss the cook” will selflessly volunteer to “cook” a meal. This, of course, means grilling, a decidedly masculine affectation and the only type of cooking most men can be entrusted to do. When this ritual is completed and guests are sated, lavish praise and thanks are heaped upon the “chef.” In truth, the only aspects of this ritual for which men are typically responsible is getting the grill lit, placing the meats on the grill and turning them (after our female better halves warn us that the meats are burning). Normally all the preparatory work—buying the food; preparing the salad, vegetables and desserts; preparing the meat for cooking; organizing plates and cutlery; preparing the plates—is done by our wives and girlfriends. Ditto for the post-dining rituals—clearing the table, doing the dishes and putting everything away. Insouciant clods that men are, we can’t figure out why our ladies are upset when we asked how they enjoyed their “night off.” Men love to play with fire.  Those who get really good at it–and have a lot of patience–may eventually graduate…

2022 James Beard Foundation Award for "Emerging Chef"MexicanMichelin: Bib GourmandRating: N/R (Not Rated)Restaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsTacosTexasUnited States

Nixta Taqueria – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Man cannot live on barbecue alone–not even in Austin, Texas where the world’s very best barbecue is to be found.  To limit one’s self to barbecue–as transformative as it may be–is to deprive yourself of some of the best Mexican food and best fried chicken in the known world.  Though the primary purpose of my week-long visit to the City of the Violet Crown was to visit Michelin starred barbecue restaurants, to have done so have been “going deep,”  exploring just one segment of the Central Texas culinary Utopia.  “Going wide” meant exploring options beyond barbecue–options such as some of the aforementioned Mexican food joints for which Austin is renowned. At the very top of my list was Nixta Taqueria which was ranked tenth among the 50 best tacos in Texas.  That compilation was put together by Texas Monthly’s “Taco Editor” Jose Ralat who “traversed the state from the Rio Grande Valley to the Panhandle to find the most superb tacos and taquerias.”  Along the way, he discovered that “More than ever, chefs, cooks, and taqueros—often Mexican immigrants or first-generation Mexican Americans—are crafting nostalgic dishes from their blended cultures and incorporating native Texan ingredients.”  He calls the movement “New Tejano.”…

2025 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Texas" SemifinalistBarbecueJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMichelin: One StarRating: N/R (Not Rated)Restaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsTexasUnited States

LeRoy And Lewis Barbecue – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

What can you say about a wife who practically pushes her husband out the door so he can gallavant through the Lone Star State in pursuit of barbecue?  That’s precisely what my Kim did.  She didn’t do so out of malice or because she’s tired of me.  Far from it.  We’ve been together for four decades.  There’s no one whose company I enjoy more and it’s mutual.  Throughout my Air Force career, we were stationed far away from family and had only ourselves to rely on.  We’ve grown together both figuratively and literally (mostly me).  While I would love for my Kim to be by my side every moment of every day, she knows I sometimes need to explore culinary horizons by myself, advance scouting for when I can take her with me. Mysandrists might decry the Austin weather as divine retribution for me traveling without my bride and our debonair dachsund, The Dude.  An uncommon cold spell has limited my outdoor activity to getting in the car and driving to one of the anointed restaurants on my list.  On February 8, the high temperature in Austin was 88.  Since my arrival, the high temperature has been in the low…

BarbecueMichelin: One StarRestaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsTexasUnited States

InterStellar BBQ – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

With more than 2,500 purveyors of bodacious barbecue in the Lone Star State, Texas Monthly Magazine has increased the likelihood of smoked meat aficionados locating and enjoying the very best.  That’s largely because of Daniel Vaughn, the magazine’s “Barbecue Editor.”  Vaughn has traveled the world sampling smoked meats at over 1,800 barbecue joints, most of which are in Texas.  Texans making pilgrimages in pursuit of barbecue carry with them Vaughn’s tome The Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue.  They also take along Texas Monthly’s “The 50 Best Texas Barbecue Joints.” Vaughn’s Texas Monthly compilation, last published in 2021, will be updated in 2025.  These are the barbecue bibles to which believers are called. There’s only two jobs I’ve ever coveted and both are under the employ of Texas Monthly.  One is Daniel Vaughn’s aforementioned “Barbecue Editor” position.  The other is “Taco Editor,” a position held by Jose Ralat.  In a state covering 268,596 square miles, the chances of meeting either one of them aren’t very high.  Much less likely is the opportunity to dine in close proximity to one of these culinary giants.  It was sheer serendipity that the man, the myth, the legend himself, Daniel Vaughn would…

2024 James Beard Foundation (JBF) Outstanding Restaurant Finalist2024 James Beard Foundation (JBF) Outstanding Restaurant Semifinalist2025 James Beard Foundation Outstanding Hospitality FinalistJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMexicanMichelin: One StarRating: N/R (Not Rated)Restaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsTexasUnited States

Mixtli – San Antonio, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

A quote attributed to Marcel Marceau, the French mime famous for his sad-faced clown, aptly describes my attempts at describing a meal at Mixtli: “Do not the most moving moments of our lives find us without words”  (not that being without words has ever stopped me). Life’s events often include moments which move you deeply and stir your very soul. My inaugural dining experience at Mixtli was not so profound and cathartic as to move me to drastically change my life, but it certainly prompted a stirring awakening as I experienced what was conceivably the best restaurant meal I’ve ever had. Several of the other effusive reviews I’ve written are mere hyperbole in comparison to what I’d like to say about Mixtli if I was skilled enough to do so. Mixtli is simply the best restaurant in which I’ve dined (yes, even better than Topolobampo).  It’s so far superior to other restaurants I previously thought were outstanding that I scaled down my ratings for many of them.  Mixtli is so much more than  a restaurant that serves a great meal.  It’s a restaurant that will give you a memorable and thoroughly enjoyable dining experience.  From start to finish, you’ll be…

2023 James Beard Foundation - "Best Chef - Texas" Semifinalist2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Texas" Semifinalist2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef-Texas" Finalist2026James Beard Foundation - "Outstanding Chef" SemifinalistBarbecueJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMichelin: Bib GourmandRating: N/R (Not Rated)Restaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsTexasUnited States

Burnt Bean – Seguin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Legend has it that shortly after the horrendous mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas,  Burnt Bean pitmaster and co-owner Ernest Servantes was asked to serve barbecue to law enforcement officials in Uvalde.  According to sources, Servantes, himself an Uvalde native, refused to serve anything to the milksops whose cowardly inaction resulted in the fatal shooting of 19 students and 2 teachers, and the injuring of 17 others.  Servantes wasn’t around when my new friend and dining companion Melinda Martinez and I finally completed our time in the purgatory of a queue that snaked to the end of the block.  We asked one of the restaurant’s servers, but he was unable to either confirm or refute the story.  At any regard, it’s a good story that endeared me to a pitmaster whose reputation places him in a heroic pantheon. There are several certifiable, irrefutable truths about Servantes and his partner Dave Kirkland that transcend legend.  In 2022, less than two years after its launch (during the Cabrona Virus), Burnt Bean garnered the number four spot in Texas Monthly’s 50 Best Barbecue joints.  Cognoscenti consider “best in Texas” synonymous with best in the universe.  Fourth best means it’s on the Mount Rushmore of…

AmericanCaliforniaDog FriendlyMichelin: Selected RestaurantRating: N/R (Not Rated)Restaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsUnited States

Workshop Kitchen + Bar – Palm Springs, California

Gil Garduno9:04 AM

“Good restaurant design is about achieving equilibrium between the food, service and design – in effect telling a complete story.” ~ David Rockwell, American Architect Andy Rooney, the curmudgeonly commentator on television’s 60 Minutes didn’t like food that’s “too carefully arranged;” declaring “it makes me think that the chef is spending too much time arranging and not enough time cooking,” adding “If I wanted a picture I’d buy a painting.”  Those of us who write about food not only notice, we enjoy eye-pleasing artful plating, especially when everything is where it should be for optimum harmony, balance and appearance.  We like plate syzygy. The balance of color, texture and appearance gives us pause to reflect on how great everything looks before our taste buds confirm what our eyes already know.  Admittedly not all of us pay much attention to restaurant design (form, function and space utilization) though we do appreciate “ambiance” which isn’t exactly the same thing.  “What’s the difference?,” you ask.  Design as a whole is a reflection of the owner, the menu and all operational aspects of the restaurant.  Ambiance is a subset of design, encompassing five critical experiential elements: light quality, noise level, space and scale, touch (tactile elements such as…

CaliforniaFine DiningMichelin PlateRating: N/R (Not Rated)Restaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsUnited States

Nine-Ten Restaurant and Bar – La Jolla, California

Gil Garduno12:08 PM

My baby sister Anita paid me the ultimate compliment, not as a brother, but as a savvy restaurant essayist. When we ran into her at the Nine-Ten Restaurant and Bar in picturesque La Jolla, she told me “I knew you’d find this place,” acknowledgement that she recognizes my prowess in finding the very best restaurants everywhere I travel. Born nine years apart with four siblings in between, Anita and I are anomalies in our family in that we’re passionate gastronomes in a brood which suffers the same dull palate deficiency which afflicts many Americans who prefer chain restaurants. Unbeknownst to us, Anita, her hunky husband Andy and their precocious, beautiful Emily were staying in La Jolla’s Grande Colonial Hotel, just a few miles from our rental home. Leave it to Anita to stay in the hotel housing the Nine-Ten Restaurant and Bar which was accorded the 2013 Gold Medallion Award as California’s best hotel restaurant in the fine dining category. Our other siblings would have been just as happy staying in a hotel adjacent to the Olive Garden. 2013 marks the Grande Colonial centennial anniversary as the oldest hotel in La Jolla. The opulent grand damme, within strolling distance of…

CaliforniaMichelin: Bib GourmandPizzaRating: N/R (Not Rated)Restaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsUnited States

Pizzeria Mozza – Newport Beach, California

Gil Garduno11:25 AM

“Breadmaking is one of those almost hypnotic businesses, like a dance from some ancient ceremony. It leaves you filled with one of the world’s sweetest smells –there is no chiropractic treatment, no Yoga exercise, no hour of meditation in a music throbbing chapel that will leave you emptier of bad thoughts than this homely ceremony of making bread.” ~M.F.K. Fisher, The Art of Eating For those of us geriatrically advanced enough to have had moms who actually baked bread in their ovens, the singular joy of those incredible yeasty bouquets wafting toward us is a treasured memory, one we relive when we visit old-fashioned bakeries. The sense of smell, more than any of our other senses, influences our ability to recall past events and experience. It’s very well established that fragrance is one of the most potent mediums for conjuring up a memory and for tugging at the heart strings.   At most pizzerias, it’s the aroma of garlic and sauce simmering on the stove that greet you, sometimes even before you walk in.  Step into Pizzeria Mozza in Newport Beach, California and your sense of smell might go into overdrive as your nose seeks out the incomparable fragrance of baking bread.…

Fine DiningIllinoisMichelin: Bib GourmandRating: ExceptionalRestaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsUnited States

The Purple Pig – Chicago, Illinois

Gil Garduno4:52 PM

Poet Carl Sandburg bestowed the nickname “hog butcher for the world” upon the great city of Chicago at a time when the city was the epicenter for meatpacking in the United States. Companies such as Oscar Mayer, Swift and Armour operated large plants in the city, employing hundreds of residents. Unfortunately, Chicago’s streets became frequently overcrowded with pigs and cattle being herded through the streets to the plants. Ultimately the largest companies banded together in 1865 to build the Union Stock Yards next to the railroad tracks. Henceforth animals were ferried to the plants by train instead of through city streets. The 1970 closure of the Union Stockyards brought an end to the time when Chicago was nicknamed the “hog butcher for the world.” Perhaps if Sandburg were alive today, he might be inspired to write about the rebirth of the presence of the pig in Chicago. More specifically, he might write about one particular Purple Pig, a restaurant recognized by Bon Appetit as one of America’s top ten best new restaurants in 2010. In his inimitable fashion, Sandburg could explain the genesis of the restaurant’s name being from a legend that if a pig drinks red wine, it will…

IllinoisMexicanMichelin: One StarRating: ExtraordinaryRestaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsUnited States

TOPOLOBAMPO – Chicago, Illinois

Gil Garduno4:26 AM

A quote attributed to Marcel Marceau, the French mime famous for his sad-faced clown, aptly describes my attempts at describing a meal at Topolobampo: “Do not the most moving moments of our lives find us without words.” Life’s vicissitudes often include moments which move you deeply and stir your very soul. Our inaugural dining experience at Topolobampo was not so profound and cathartic as to move us to drastically change our lives, but it certainly prompted a stirring awakening as we experienced what was conceivably the best restaurant meal we’ve ever had. Perhaps more impressively, a second visit affirmed that opinion with an equally stunning array of unsurpassed delights. Several of the other effusive reviews I’ve written are mere hyperbole in comparison to what I’d like to say about Topolobampo if I was skilled enough to do so. Topolobampo is simply the best restaurant in which we’ve dined, so far superior to other restaurants I previously thought were outstanding that I scaled down my ratings for many of them. The sister restaurant of Frontera Grill, “Topolo” shares its front door and bar with its sibling, but is even more classy and elegant, more than a notch above. On the day…