Michelin stardust promises boost to Chicago economy
Chicago lost its bid to host the Olympics, Oprah Winfrey is leaving town, and even Mayor Richard M. Daley is stepping down. Yet some of the city's restaurants are collecting stars -- Michelin stars.
The restaurants to be included in the Michelin Guide Chicago 2011, the city's first Red Guide and one of only three in the U.S., are scheduled to be announced today by Jean-Luc Naret, the guide's director. Michelin said it moved the announcement forward by a day after the Yelp website reported what it said were the results.
Restaurants that win the top three-star ranking may get a 25 percent bump to business, Naret said. Chefs and executives say that will ripple into an economic boost for the city, where unemployment still sits above 10 percent.
“We will get a reputation as a must-visit for foodies,” said Laurence Geller, 62, chief executive officer of Chicago- based Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc., whose Fairmont and Intercontinental properties are close to a cluster of Michelin contenders. “The more the city gets a reputation for being a foodie city, the more tourism will come.”
Chicago joins New York and San Francisco as the only cities in North America to have a 2011 restaurant guide from Paris- based Michelin & Cie., the world's second-biggest tire maker. It produced the first Red Guide at the turn of the 20th century to encourage travel by car.
Three Stars
While each of the restaurants listed in the guide is recommended, not all are awarded one to three stars to signify excellence. Around the world, 91 restaurants have three stars, according to Michelin.
#8220;Just being named in the Michelin guide means you are top restaurant in the city,#8221; Naret said. #8220;When you receive a distinction, you definitely are not only the best in this city - - you are the best in the world.#8221;
Late yesterday, a poster on the online restaurant review site Yelp said it obtained a copy of the guide early and listed restaurants that it said received stars. Katie Brennan, a spokeswoman for Michelin, couldn't immediately be reached for comment on the leak.
Michelin sees Chicago as a place where people love to eat, Naret said. He expects 40,000 to 45,000 of the city's guides to be sold for $18.99 each.
Daley Leaves
The honor arrives as Chicago wrestles with financial troubles and the most political uncertainty in two decades. Daley, who announced in September that he wouldn't seek a seventh term, leaves the city with an estimated $654.7 million budget deficit for 2011.
The city's promoters predict that Michelin will help turn things around.
#8220;People are going to take a look at that guide and come to Chicago to fill our restaurants,#8221; said Cathy Domanico, 50, director of tourism at the Chicago Convention Tourism Bureau. #8220;We have always sold dining as a major destination driver, and this is only going to enhance our efforts.#8221;
Michelin inspectors hold candidates to a common standard, Naret said, so three stars in Chicago carries the same weight as three in Paris. Chefs covet them.
#8220;They're like golden carrots that we dangle to run faster,#8221; said Grant Achatz, chef of Alinea, which other elite Chicago chefs say may receive Michelin's highest honor. #8220;If we got less than three stars, we'll be disappointed.#8221;
Naret Dines
Naret is known to dine at the restaurants in the running for that distinction. For Alinea, that visit came on a winter night in January, with Achatz stuck at a fundraiser in the Cayman Islands.
His staff called to tell him that Naret wanted to come in. But Alinea was fully booked.
#8220;I don't care what you do, get the man a table!#8221; Achatz recalled saying.
Achatz, 36, already has experienced the boost that such attention can bring. In May, Alinea placed seventh on another prestigious list, S. Pellegrino's World's 50 Best Restaurants, and first for North America.
#8220;Our servers crashed that day,#8221; Achatz said. Since then, #8220;we've been full every night -- Japanese tourists, visitors from Denmark.#8221;
Whiskey Shot
Alinea's sales are up 17 percent this year, said Achatz, whose signature dishes include hot potato cold potato soup. Diners pull a pin holding the truffle-topped cold potato into hot soup before downing it like a whiskey shot.
Michelin added Chicago after dropping Las Vegas and Los Angeles a year ago. The Los Angeles guide's sales were disappointing, Naret said, while home foreclosures and the faltering economy drained Las Vegas's best restaurants.
#8220;You have to be able to sell the guides,#8221; Naret said, leaving open the option to return to those cities.
Michelin inspectors have been visiting Chicago's top restaurants for two years, dining anonymously and tasting every dish on the menu, Naret said.
#8220;For over 20 years, I have been saying that Chicago is by far one of the greatest food cities in the world,#8221; said Charlie Trotter, 51, who helped put Chicago on the culinary map and counts Achatz among his proteges. #8220;I can't speculate on what rating Charlie Trotter's may garner.#8221;
Other Chicago chefs are more confident. Curtis Duffy, 35, chef de cuisine of Avenues at The Peninsula Chicago, was named a #8220;legacy chef#8221; at the James Beard Foundation Awards in May. He's certain Michelin will honor him.
It's a tradition for Naret to call chefs who will receive a star rating.
#8220;I do know I'm going to obtain at least one star,#8221; Duffy said, #8220;because I received a phone call from Jean-Luc asking for my phone number.#8221;
Like top chefs across Chicago, soon he'll know for sure.