Michelin Guide lacks suburban restaurant stars

Take a look at the highly anticipated Chicago edition of the Michelin Guide and you'd think there weren't any good restaurants west of I-294.

Only a few suburban spots, including Rosewood in Rosemont and Reel Club in Oak Brook, garnered so much as a mention in the prestigious restaurant and hotel guide book released to the media Tuesday.

Almost as shocking is news that only one suburban restaurant Vie in Western Springs was awarded even a single coveted Michelin star.

“I am disappointed. It would have been an honor to be included,” said Michael Maddox, chef and owner of critically acclaimed Le Titi de Paris in Arlington Heights.

The restaurant has been a perennial Diamond winner from the Mobil Dining Guide and the Distinguished Restaurants of North America.

“To win awards is wonderful, but the other half is making people happy day to day; making memories with the people who come here,” Maddox said.

Chef Michael Lachowicz, of Restaurant Michael in Winnetka and formerly of Wheeling's Le Francais and Les Deux Gros in Glen Ellyn, agreed with Maddox.

His award-winning restaurant also was left out of the guide, which goes on sale Thursday.

“I think it's a bit of a slight. We're at a disadvantage because we're not in the city,” Lachowicz said. “That said, I have a full dining room every night. ... I can't spend any more of my time chasing stars.”

“Maybe they (Michelin inspectors) don't know about the concept of Chicagoland, which stretches almost as far as Milwaukee these days,” chef and Riverwoods resident Gale Gand said. Her Chicago restaurant Tru was awarded one Michelin star.

“It marked personal growth,” said Gand, who cooked at a restaurant in France 20-some years ago that received a Michelin nod. “I'm excited to be part of the legacy of the Michelin Guide.”

Rosewood owner Jim Mandas was equally excited.

“The mention of our name in such a prestigious guide, I'm honored,” he said. “Our business has picked up in the last few months. This is another piece of the puzzle.”

The 23 restaurants that received one, two or three stars represent only a fraction of the 342 restaurants in the guide.

Jean-Luc Naret, Michelin Guide director, said anonymous inspectors whittled a list of 6,000 Chicago-area restaurants down to 1,000 that they visited multiple times during the past two years.

Naret said future editions of the guide will expand the geographic reach.

“We will get to more restaurants,” he said. “Inspectors are already on the road, or they will be next week, going back to these restaurants and visiting restaurants that are not in the guide.”

The Michelin Guide started in France in 1900 to make automobile touring more enjoyable for Europe's upper crust by pointing out fine restaurants and hotels to visit on their journey.

Keeping that mission in mind, some wonder whether the Michelin Guide is as relevant to suburban diners.

“I think for the suburban diner, more folks use social media to make their decisions,” said Dave Parulo, interim president of the Woodfield Chicago Northwest Convention Bureau. “Yelp (.com) and direct reviews have a larger influence. For me as a traveler or diner, the Michelin Guide is not a decision maker, but I know for a lot of people it is.”