Michelin Releases 2014 Edition Of Its Famed Guide To New York City's Best Restaurants

NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Michelin today announced its highly respected selection for the ninth edition of the MICHELIN Guide New York City that goes on sale tomorrow. The new selection reflects the tremendous variety and diversity of the New York culinary scene, recognized for its excellence and quality.

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This selection awarded one new restaurant a two-star designation, TriBeCa's Jungsik. This Korean restaurant, moving up from its one-star designation last year, offers its own distinctive reflection on that region's cuisine, further highlighting the unmatched breadth of New York's diverse international dining scene. New York now proudly boasts five two-star restaurants —atera, Jungsik, Marea, Momofuku Ko and Soto.

In this new edition 55 restaurants were awarded the one-star distinction versus 52 a year ago. Of those, nine restaurants earned their first star this year, including Aska, Babbo, Carbone, Caviar Russe, Ichimura, Le Restaurant, Lincoln, the Musket Room and Telepan. Aska in Brooklyn represents the fourth Michelin-starred restaurant in that borough. One of the more exciting selections, The Musket Room, specializes in an enthusiastic and contemporary take on New Zealand fare.

Inspectors noted that chefs continue to be more creative and more ambitious. In addition, at the very top of  the gastronomic scene, all seven New York restaurants with three stars in the 2013 edition—Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare, Daniel, Eleven Madison Park, Jean-Georges, Le Bernardin, Masa and Per Se—retained that distinction in the 2014 edition. A Michelin three-star rating is considered the ultimate international recognition in the culinary world, with just over 100 restaurants in the world currently holding this prized distinction.

This year, 67 New York restaurants received a coveted Michelin star rating, the most awarded since the famous French restaurant guide was first published for the city in 2005.  Still, the mere inclusion in the MICHELIN Guide New York City 2014 is an acknowledgment of excellence and quality.  A total of 930 restaurants are included in the guide, which spans all five boroughs in the city.  This year, Michelin inspectorsembraced 61 different cuisines in the guide, reflecting New York's rich history of cultural diversity.

The release of the MICHELIN Guide New York City 2014 comes 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 City 2014. 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, wheelchair access, late night dining, breakfast and brunch service, and notable wine, beer, sake, and cocktail lists. Eateries that serve dim sum are also listed.

New York is one of three cities in the U.S. where Michelin publishes an annual guide. Later this year, the MICHELIN GuideSan Francisco Bay Area & Wine Country 2014, and the MICHELIN Guide Chicago 2014 will also go on sale.

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 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.

New York City MICHELIN Guide 2014
Starred establishments

Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey

Excellent cuisine, worth a detour

A very good restaurant in its category

SOURCE Michelin