Is there a difference between a Michelin star, Bib, and recommendation? Yes, but all are good for Philly restaurants
Thirty-four Philadelphia restaurants took home Michelin Guide honors at Tuesday’s ceremony, from stars and Bib Gourmands to recommendations. What’s the difference?
Tuesday night had Philly seeing stars — three, to be exact.
Three Philadelphia restaurants won coveted Michelin stars at the Northeast Cities award ceremony at the Kimmel Center, the city’s first after announcing in May that the prestigious restaurant rating system was finally going to include Philly.
The ceremony also honored restaurants from New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Boston, which also made its Michelin debut as the gastronomic guide has expanded rapidly around the United States in recent years. Anonymous Michelin inspectors were dispatched to Philly months ago to scout, dining in secret and often visiting the same places repeatedly to ensure consistency.
And while Michelin tends to be synonymous with stars (and, yeah, tires), there are other ways to earn recognition. Thirty-one other Philly restaurants — including three cheesesteak shops — earned Michelin honors below the star level. These included 10 Bib Gourmands and 21 recommendations.
What’s the difference between a Michelin star, a Bib, and a recommendation? And who won top honors? We explain.
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- The city is excited about the Michelin Guide coming to scope out Philadelphia restaurants. So are the chefs.
- The Michelin restaurant guide is finally coming to Philadelphia
What is a Michelin star?
A Michelin star is the most prestigious honor a restaurant can earn from the Michelin Guide and typically recognizes fine dining restaurants.
Restaurants do not apply to be inspected, nor can they be nominated. Anonymous inspectors visit restaurants repeatedly throughout the year — often on different days and at different times — and rate them on the following criteria, according to the guide’s website:
Quality of ingredients
Harmony of flavors
Mastery of culinary techniques
Consistency across menu and time
How a chef’s personality is reflected in the food
Restaurants can earn up to three Michelin stars. One star is a restaurant that is “worth a stop,” according to the guide, for top-quality ingredients. Two stars is a “worth a detour,” while a three-star restaurant is “worth a journey” for cooking that feels like art. Three-star ratings are rare. Only New York City’s Sushi Sho hit the star maximum on Tuesday.
Stars are awarded annually, and restaurants can gain or lose Michelin stars over time, kind of like experience points in a video game. They can also be a big boost for business: Chefs told Eater that one Michelin Star is worth a 20% jump in sales, while other chefs have reported three stars can increase them up to 100%.
Which Philly restaurants earned Michelin stars?
Provenance, Her Place Supper Club, and Friday Saturday Sunday all earned one Michelin star at Tuesday night’s ceremony.
Chefs Chad and Hanna Williams took over Friday Saturday Sunday in 2016, transforming the old Rittenhouse Square restaurant into a James-Beard Award winning tasting experience that mixes Caribbean, Asian, and soul food references. “The long, narrow, lively, and warmly run restaurant is up a steep flight of stairs — and those stairs will seem even steeper when it’s time to leave," Michelin said of the restaurant, which plans to expand. “Expect an atmosphere as spirited and enjoyable as the food.”
Her Place Supper Club is another multicourse menu, only this one was born from the dinner parties chef Amanda Shulman threw in her college apartment while a student at the University of Pennsylvania. Shulman is known for explaining the inspiration and makeup of each dish as it’s set in front of diners, which Michelin wrote contributes to a “a real communal feel.”
Chef Nich Bazik’s Provenance is the youngest Philly restaurant to receive top honors, open for a year in August. Bazik oversees an elaborate, seasonal 20- to 25-dish tasting menu that combines French and Korean flavors often inspired by his wife, Bazik said at Tuesday’s ceremony. Provenance is a “high-wire, high-stakes performance defined by precision,” Michelin wrote.
What is a Bib Gourmand?
The Bib Gourmand celebrates restaurants “that serve exceptional food at great value,” according to the Michelin Guide’s website. It was first announced in 1997 as a more budget-friendly companion to the stars.
Previous honorees range from Katz’s — the iconic no-frills Jewish deli on Manhattan’s Lower East Side — and a counter-service-only sandwich stand in Atlanta, to small taquerias, dim sum restaurants, and the occasional hole-in-the-wall.
Like Michelin-starred restaurants, Bib Gourmand awardees can use the designation in their marketing. In some cases, the honor has saved restaurants from closing.
Which Philly restaurants earned a Bib Gourmand?
Ten Philly restaurants took home a Bib Gourmand on Tuesday night. Naturally, three of them were cheesesteak shops. Here’s the full list:
Angelo’s Pizzeria
Dalessandro’s Steaks
Del Rossi’s
Dizengoff
El Chingón
Famous 4th Street Deli
Fiorella
Pizzeria Beddia
Sally
Royal Sushi & Izakaya
What is a Michelin-recommended restaurant?
Michelin-recommended restaurants are simply “establishments serving good food,” according to the guide’s website. They are judged on the same five signature criteria as starred restaurants.
“A restaurant in the Recommended selection is the sign of a chef using quality ingredients that are well cooked; simply a good meal,” said Michael Ellis, the former international director of Michelin Guide books, in the post. “It means that the inspectors have found the food to be above average, but not quite at star or Bib level.”
In other words, shoot for the stars and hopefully fall among the recs.
Like restaurants with a Bib Gourmand, those that earned recommendations can also use the notation as a marketing tool. Admittedly, the designation used to be a bigger deal before 2020, when Michelin digitized the guide. Before, recommendations were listed in bound red travel guides that the tire company first used as a sneaky promotion to nudge people to take more road trips (and thus, buy more tires).
Recommended restaurants are not precluded from earning stars later on. In fact, insiders think of it as a watchlist for establishments that might get a star in the future.
Which restaurants did Michelin recommend in Philly?
Michelin recommended 21 restaurants in Philly. They are:
Ambra
Forsythia
High Street
Hiroki
Honeysuckle
Illata
Kalaya
Laser Wolf
Laurel
Little Water
Mish Mish
My Loup
Pietramala
River Twice
Roxanne
Southwark
Suraya
Vedge
Vernick Food & Drink
Vetri Cucina
Zahav
Were there any other awards to take home?
Yes. Aside from earning a recommendation, chef Ian Graye’s vegan Northern Liberties BYOB Pietramala also earned a Green Star for demonstrating a commitment to sustainability.
There is no specific formula for awarding a Green Star, according to the Michelin Guide website, though criteria such as environmental footprint, the use of seasonal produce, resource management, and how food waste is treated are considered.
“Chef Ian Graye seeks out foragers and small local suppliers for plants, herbs and fruits and also does his own fermenting and preserving,“ read the blurb included in the Michelin Guide for Pietramala. “His menu offers a selection of around 10 dishes designed for sharing — around three per person should more than suffice when ordering — and his cooking comes with a slight Italian accent.”