Three New Two-Starred Restaurants in Historic 10th Edition of the MICHELIN Guide New York City

NEW YORK, Sept. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Michelin today announced its highly regarded star selections and celebrated the tenth edition of the MICHELIN guide New York City.

Michael ELLIS, The International Director of the MICHELIN guide, comments: "We are very pleased today to celebrate the 10th edition of the MICHELIN guide New York City. This guide has a special meaning for us since it marked the first MICHELIN guide for any country outside of Europe and the beginning of our worldwide development. Today, Michelin publishes guides in the US for San Francisco and Chicago, 24 editions in 24 countries and four continents!"

In this new edition, three restaurants are going from one to two stars: Blanca, located in Brooklyn, where the Chef Carlo Mirachi -a culinary genius- serves quite a unique cuisine; Aquavit, a Nordic inspired restaurant in the use of flavors and ingredients. The chef Emma Bengtsson, who has solid European cooking technique, is celebrated as the first woman chef in New York gaining two stars! Also moving up from one to two stars, Ichimura, a very special Japanese restaurant where genial chef Eiji Ichimura does his own creative sushi and sashimi expressions. 

In the one-star category, there are 17 new restaurants, of which two are in Queens: Casa Enrique, a very charming Mexican restaurant with the best mole in town and M. Wells Steakhouse with its distinct French-Canadian culinary influence.

This year's edition also highlights the exciting and diverse culinary expressions our inspectors found in a variety of Brooklyn neighborhoods. Stars are no longer concentrated in a few areas. There are a number of new starred restaurants, including Delaware and Hudson, with its American menu and use of local seasonal ingredients; Meadowsweet, where Chef Polo Dobkin once again earns a star; Pok Pok Ny with its product-driven Northern Thai cuisine; Take Root, an eatery that offers a unique personal dining experience of homemade charm; La Vara that represents a creative view on tapas with Sephardic and Moorish influences; Luksus at Torst, which offers a tasting menu of Scandi-minded snacks; and The River Cafe, where owner Buzzy O'Keefe and Chef Brad Steelman and their loyal team brought this amazing spot back to its wonderful self. Commenting this evolution of the culinary scene, Michael ELLIS says: "This is an exciting development as good quality cuisine of all different styles continues to spread across the most populous borough in New York City."

This year, Michelin inspectors embraced 60 different cuisines in the guide, reflecting New York's rich history of cultural diversity. 

The MICHELIN guide New York City 2015, which listed a total of 874 restaurants, goes on sale tomorrow priced at $18.99.

Thanks to the rigorous MICHELIN guide selection process that is applied independently and consistently around 24 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 New York City 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, 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.

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

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SOURCE Michelin