Michelin Releases 2017 Edition of Its Famed Guide to New York's Best Restaurants

NEW YORK, Nov. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Michelin today announced its highly respected star selections for the 12^th edition of the MICHELIN Guide New York that goes on sale tomorrow. The new starred restaurants are standouts among the 857 eateries listed in this year's guide that represent all five of the city's boroughs and 63 cuisines from around the globe.

This year's selections include a new two star, Aska, which is located in Brooklyn in the shadows of the historic Williamsburg Bridge. As one of 12 Brooklyn starred restaurants on this year's list, Aska had previously attained a one star in the 2015 edition of the red guide. After renovating and relocating to a more spacious and larger kitchen that seems to further unleash the talents of Chef Frederik Berselius and his skilled team, Aska continues to deliver a contemporary cuisine with Scandinavian influences.

Proving in dramatic fashion that retaining Michelin star status is often a feat of high praise, The Modern, located in Midtown at the Museum of Modern Art, remains a Michelin two star. This highly respected New York restaurant flourished again despite closing its doors for a time this summer to undertake a complete kitchen renovation and refreshed dining room. Chef Abram Bissell and crew continued to dazzle patrons with a tantalizing contemporary fare that delicately balances top-flight ingredients at the height of freshness to create such culinary creations as tender lobster "marinated with truffles" and topped with a creamy sauce of radish and herbs.

In the ultimate three-star category, Cesar Ramirez's Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare, Daniel Humm's Eleven Madison Park, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Jean-Georges, Eric Ripert's Le Bernardin, Masa Takayama's Masa and Thomas Keller's Per Se all retained their vaunted status.

On the one-star front, 12 new eateries have gained this prized culinary distinction in the new edition of the Michelin Guide. Chelsea's La Sirena and Ushiwakamaru restaurants were awarded one stars. La Sirena represents the latest culinary venture from celebrity chef Mario Batali who has selected Chef Josh Laurano—who honed his skills at Del Posto and Babbo— to prepare a New York-style Italian menu. Ushiwakamaru was just relocated to Chelsea last year and brought veteran Chef Hideo Kuribara and his team's supreme sushi with it.

Harlem – which is now home to its first-ever Michelin starred restaurants-- welcomes Nagasaki–native and legendary sushi chef, Chef Shinichi Inoue, whose establishment, Sushi Inoue, offers four extraordinary options for omakase.

In Manhattan's Financial District, L'Appart is nestled in the sprawling French market, Le District. It is captained by Chef de Cuisine Nicolas Abello, who worked with Gerard Vie in France, Pierre Gagnaire in London and Daniel Boulud in New York, refining a constantly changing and evolving French menu.

Greenwich Village is home to three one-star newcomers: Gunter Seeger NY-- named for its head chef who is a longtime Atlanta culinary figure--offers a serious and technically uncompromising contemporary menu in a casual setting; Nix, which is the brainchild of Chef John Fraser, focuses on vegetables and thus recognizes the desire of many to eat less meat and still enjoy a memorable gourmet experience, and Sushi Zo which is named after its famous chef and owner and has created excitement among  New Yorker sushi lovers, most of whom know of the famed omakase chef only from his reputation established for many years in Los Angeles.

In Midtown East, two new stars make their debut in the new edition of the Michelin Guide. Offering a seasonal and tantalizing earthy Scandinavian fare, Agrern is the product of the Danish food entrepreneur Claus Meyer who co-founded the world famous noma restaurant, and is located in the Grand Central Terminal. Sushi Ginza Onodera is especially noteworthy in a crowd of New York sushi restaurants due in part to its unrelenting pursuit of fresh and seasonal fish, much of which is hand speared by Japanese fisherman.

Another sushi restaurant on this year's one-star list is Kanonyama, which has been a part of the East Village culinary fabric for nearly a decade. Chef Nobuyuki Shikanai has helped expand the size and focus of the restaurant with several new menu items and added an impressive omakase counter.

Lower East Side's Contra joins the one stars under the capable leadership of co-owners and head chefs Fabian von Hauske and Jeremiah Stone who have thrilled frugal high-end food enthusiasts with a six-course $67 tasting menu that has evolved recently to offer an enjoyable balance in creative contemporary concepts with high-quality taste.

Rounding out the new one-stars is Brooklyn's Faro with Chef Kevin Adey at the helm who offers a very noteworthy twice-weekly pasta menu, and a regular fare of rustic American and Italian a la carte options made to perfection.

In this 2017 edition, 77 New York restaurants received a coveted Michelin star rating; of course the mere inclusion in the MICHELIN Guide New York 2017 is an acknowledgment of excellence and quality. 

The release of the MICHELIN Guide New York 2017 comes about one week after Michelin announced its famous Bib Gourmand choices.  Starred restaurants and Bib Gourmands are only two of the categories within the MICHELIN Guide New York 2017. The book also includes a popular "Under $25" category. In fact, throughout the guide there are helpful symbols for easy reference on price ranges, overall dining comfort, wheel chair access, late night dining, breakfast and brunch service, and notable wine, beer, sake, and exceptional cocktail lists. Eateries that serve dim sum are also noted.

New York is one of four cities in the U.S. where Michelin publishes an annual guide. The others include Chicago, San Francisco and Washington D.C.

About the MICHELIN Guide

Thanks to the rigorous MICHELIN Guide selection process that is applied independently and consistently around 28 countries, the MICHELIN Guide has become an international benchmark in fine dining. The selections of all restaurants in the guide are made by Michelin's famously anonymous inspectors who dine in the areas regularly. These local inspectors are trained to scrupulously apply the same time-tested methods used by Michelin inspectors for many decades throughout the world. This ensures a uniform, international standard of excellence. As a further guarantee of complete objectivity, Michelin inspectors pay all their bills in full, and only the quality of the cuisine is evaluated. To fully assess the quality of a restaurant, the inspectors apply five criteria defined by Michelin: product quality, preparation and flavors, the chef's personality as revealed through his or her cuisine, value for money, and consistency over time and across the entire menu. These objective criteria are respected by all MICHELIN Guide inspectors, whether in Japan, the United States, China or Europe. They guarantee a consistent selection so that a star restaurant has the same value regardless of whether it is located in Paris, New York or Tokyo.

Michelin has been a pioneering force in advancing mobility through innovation and excellence in manufacturing quality.  The company patented the pneumatic, or air-filled, tire in the late 1800s.  This was a milestone moment in mobility, permitting automobile owners to travel at great length in a single journey.  Then, in an effort to prompt travelers to enjoy their newfound mobility, the company created guides and detailed maps to steer travelers on their way.  The most famous publication that developed from this is the internationally recognized MICHELIN Guide.

Here is the entire list of 77 starred selections:

New York City MICHELIN Guide 2017
Starred establishments

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SOURCE Michelin