After an extraordinarily devastating year for New York City restaurants, the culinary world is once again looking to the stars.
Despite more than hundreds of closings, both permanent and temporary, Michelin revealed its 2021 stars for New York City and Westchester County—a little more than a week before capacity restriction are set to lift. And not much has changed. After all, the ne plus ultra of hospitality guides has been known to be rather staid—having had the same five three-starred restaurants since 2018.
Formerly of Jungsik in Seoul and New York, Chef Hoyoung of Jua serves a Korean prix-fixe menu with a … [+]
Dan Ahn
But to its credit the guide has always had some movement in the two-star and one-star categories. Not so much this year, where the 2020 and 2021 two-starred restaurants remain exactly the same. However, that much is understandable, given the challenges the industry faced: Many restaurants have been serving abbreviated menus and operating on severely condensed hours and capacity. Some have pivoted to alternative income streams (such as take-out offerings or meal kits). At the cruelest end of the spectrum, restaurants have been forced to temporarily or permanently close—including three two-starred and several one-starred establishments on this list.
So there were certainly massive limitations in terms of inspecting and reviewing according to Michelin’s usually stringent standards. One important thing to note, though, is that all the stars awarded were based on both pre-pandemic and pandemic-era visits, where inspectors had to adhere to local health and safety guidelines when they dined at places that were actually open in the past calendar year.
Don Angie is one of this year’s seven one-star additions, where husband-and-wife team Angie Rito and … [+]
Ashley Sears
Despite the stagnation seen in the other categories, there were noteworthy shifts in the one-star category, which welcomed seven new additions: Takanori Akiyama’s Tsukimi; Stefano Secchi’s Rezdôra; Chef Hoyoung’s Jua; Angie Rito’s and Scott Tacinelli’s Don Angie; Sungchul Shim’s Kochi; Shaun Hergatt’s Vestry; and Chris Cipollone’s Francie.
In other Michelin news, the region’s first Green Star—a distinction focusing on sustainability and best practices—was awarded to Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns. A much-deserved accolade, considering that Barber has long been outspoken about environmental causes.
Kochi in Midtown West is all about grilled skewers that are bold in flavor and composition.
Melissa Hom
“The Michelin Green Star highlights those establishments with an approach to sustainable gastronomy that we regard as being the most sincere, ambitious, and impactful, with initiatives adopted by entire teams, embodied by a chef and delivered through an experience that customers can enjoy,” the guide’s chief inspector and international director said via email. “To identify these chefs and establishments, our inspectors are mindful of many topics, such as, but not limited to: the products and ingredients used (seasonality, locality, production quality); the composition of the menu; the chef’s ability to raise customer awareness of his or her philosophy; initiatives to reduce and/or recycle food waste, management of the establishment’s non-food resources. These are only examples because each restaurant has its own unique way of promoting a sustainable approach and sharing these values with its community.”
To view the full list of New York and Westchester County recipients, scroll all the way down—and to view this year’s Bib Gourmands, click here.
Le Jardinier—a newcomer in last year’s list—is one of several temporarily closed one-star … [+]
Le Jardinier
Michelin Guide 2021: New York
THREE STARS (EXCEPTIONAL CUISINE, WORTH A SPECIAL JOURNEY)
TWO STARS (EXCELLENT CUISINE, WORTH A DETOUR)
Blanca (Temporarily Closed)
Blue Hill at Stone Barns (Green Star Recipient)
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon (Temporarily Closed)
The Modern (Temporarily Closed)
ONE STAR (HIGH-QUALITY COOKING, WORTH A STOP)
Don Angie (New)
Francie (New)
Jua (New)
Kochi (New)
RezdôraN (New)
Tsukimi (New)
Vestry (New)