Michelin Releases Its Famed Guide to San Francisco's Best Restaurants

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In the latest edition of the highly anticipated MICHELIN Guide San Francisco Bay Area & Wine Country 2013, 42 restaurants have been awarded Michelin stars.  Both restaurants that achieved three Michelin stars in 2012–The French Laundry and The Restaurant at Meadowood–maintained this honor.  Three Michelin stars is considered the utmost international recognition in the culinary world, and is reserved for those restaurants that serve "exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey."

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121017/CL94550 ) 

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20040818/MICHELIN )

This year's guide sees six restaurants awarded two Michelin stars.  Atelier Crenn has been promoted from one to two stars and five establishments maintained their standing from the previous edition.

Thirty-four restaurants earned one Michelin star, a significant culinary accomplishment that can be defined as "a very good restaurant in its category." The three newcomers to the category are All Spice, SPQR and Keiko a Nob Hill.         

Inclusion in the MICHELIN Guide is an acknowledgment of culinary excellence and quality.  A total of 539 restaurants are included in the selection which covers San Francisco, the East Bay, Wine Country, Marin, South Bay and the Peninsula.  Michelin inspectors embraced 47 different cuisines this year, reflecting the tremendous diversity found across the region.

The release of the MICHELIN Guide San Francisco Bay Area & Wine Country comes one week after Michelin announced that 70 restaurants earned the distinction of Bib Gourmand.  These establishments offer two courses plus a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less (excluding tax and gratuity) and are known as the Michelin inspectors' favorites for good value.  The MICHELIN Guide 2013 editions include two new symbols: one highlighting notable beer lists and the other indicating restaurants with a dim sum offering.

In the U.S., San Francisco is one of three cities where Michelin publishes an annual guide.  The MICHELIN Guide New York City 2013 went on sale earlier this month and the MICHELIN Guide Chicago 2013 will be released Nov. 13, 2012.

The seventh edition of the MICHELIN Guide San Francisco Bay Area & Wine Country goes on sale Wednesday, Oct. 24, at $18.99.

Michelin has done as much to enhance mobility as any company in the world.  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.

Thanks to the rigorous MICHELIN Guide selection process that is applied independently and consistently around 23 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 all around the Bay Area 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.

To find out more about the MICHELIN Guide, the MICHELIN Guide inspectors and the history of the MICHELIN Guide, visit www.michelinguide.com.

Here is a full list of the MICHELIN Guide San Francisco Bay Area & Wine Country 2013 stars.

SOURCE Michelin