It’s a first. The Michelin Guide will be launching a regional edition of the famous guide for the whole state of California. The announcement was made on Tuesday, March 5 in Sacramento. The state’s Michelin Guide will feature cities such as Los Angeles, Monterey, Orange County, Sacramento, San Diego and Santa Barbara.
Since 2006, the Michelin Man brand has been publishing a guide for the San Francisco Bay and its region only. This statewide California edition marks the return of the famous gastronomic guide to Los Angeles, where Michelin was present in 2008 and 2009 before suspending the city’s edition in the midst of the recession. The guide’s departure did not go unnoticed. The director at the time, Jean-Luc Naret, told Esquire in 2010 that Angelinos were “not real foodies.” “They are not too interested in eating well but just in who goes to which restaurant and where they sit,” he continued.
This launch of this state guide makes it possible to “recognize California’s unique blend of laid-back sophistication and its leading role as a culinary powerhouse,” the Michelin Guide said in a statement. The selection of starred restaurants will be unveiled in “early June” at an event in Huntington Beach, a few days after the announcement of Bib Gourmands awarded to restaurants that serve quality dishes at affordable prices.
Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., and the San Francisco Bay Area are the United States cities that currently have devoted Michelin guides. In addition to Los Angeles, Las Vegas also had a Michelin Guide that was suspended in 2008 (the last editions published of each were the 2009 editions).
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