The eyes of Texas and the gourmet world were on Houston on November 11, 2024, as the Michelin Guide for the first time bestowed upon Texas restaurants its coveted stars and other awards at a lavish ceremony at the 713 Music Hall at POST Houston. OutSmart was in the house covering the evening’s festivities. 

The sense of excitement was palpable, as every restaurant invited to attend knew that they were in the running for up to 3 stars or a Bib Gourmand award for places of good quality and value, a Green Star for restaurants leading the way in sustainable practices, or a “Recommended” recognition for places that serve excellent food but are not quite star worthy. Michelin relies on 5 criteria to evaluate restaurants: quality of ingredients, flavor and cooking techniques, the chef’s personality, consistency, and value for money. One star signifies a very good restaurant worth stopping at, two stars indicate excellent cooking worth a detour, and three stars represent exceptional cuisine warranting a special journey.

Only about 150 restaurants in the world have received 3 stars, with 13 in the US. As is typical for regions receiving stars for the first time, no Texas restaurant received more than 1 star, with 15 taking home the evening’s highest honor.

Houston Area Restaurants Receiving 1 Star:

• BCN
• Le Jardiniere
• March
• Musaafer
• Tatemó 
• Corkscrew Barbecue

Houston Area Bib Gourmand Winners:

• Belly of the Beast
• Blood Bros BBQ
• Ema
• Killen’s
• Killen’s BBQ
• Mala Sichuan Bistro
• Nam Giao
• Nancy’s Hustle
• nobie’s
• Pinkerton’s BBQ
• The Pit Room
• Rosemeyer Bar-B-Q
• Rosie Cannonball
• Street to Kitchen
• Tejas Chocolate
• Theodore Rex
• Truth BBQ

Houston Area Recommended Restaurants:

• Baso
• Bludorn
• Brisket & Rice
• Candente
• Hidden Omakase
• Late August
• Pappas Bros. Steakhouse

Barbecue received surprising attention, with nearly a third of all the total awards of the evening going to barbecue establishments. Many watchers were disappointed in how little attention was paid to many of the other cuisines that make Texas special, such as Tex Mex, Cajun (TexCajun and VietCajun included), and soul food. Most of the awards for ethnic restaurants were showered on European or Asian cuisines with virtually nothing for Indian, Middle Eastern, and non-Mexican cuisines of Latin America. This helps explain how Austin perplexingly came away with 47 total awards to Houston’s 30 (out of 117 total awards in the State).   

The night featured many other shocks. Tyson Cole of Uchi fame; Houston’s most famous Mexican chef, Hugo Ortega; and sushi chef Manabu Horiuchi of Katami and Kata Robata fame were shut out completely. New Yorker turned Houstonian superchef Aaron Bludorn managed only a single Bib Gourmand for Bludorn. Houston’s Coltivare and Chef David Skinner’s remarkable homage to Choctaw cuisine in Kemah, Ishtia, which was recently rated one of the 14 best restaurants in the entire country by Eater, were inexplicably overlooked. And the entire DFW Metroplex managed only one lonely star.

Michelin’s foray into Texas has come at a cost: $90,000 per year for 3 years from the cities of Houston, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio.  A lot of money, but one seen as worth it to a state intent on increasing tourism and a city that calls itself the “Culinary and Cultural Capital of the South.” Within minutes of the announcement of awards, starred restaurants saw sizable increases in reservations, and lines at Corkscrew BBQ, always formidable before, reportedly stretched for hours.

“The Texas culinary scene has proven to be an exhilarating one, with multicultural influences, homegrown ingredients and talent that is rich in ambition,” said the dapper International Director of the Michelin Guide Gwendal Poullennec, who was in attendance at the award ceremony. And for the foreseeable future, the world will be able view the Texas dining scene through the Michelin prism.