Find out which restaurants in Chicago made the Michelin 2013 list for top honors.
It is a parsimonious list, awarding a total of 16 stars to the crowded Chicago restaurant universe, restaurant critic Michael Nagrant explains for the Sun-Times. By comparison, Michelin has awarded 34 stars in San Francisco and 52 stars in New York City.
It is a diverse Chicago list nonetheless, including modern gastronomy temples like Grant Achatz’ three-star Alinea and the now two-star L20 (which regained a star after losing one last year). It also includes places that conservative old diners love like Spiaggia (maintaining its one star) and Sixteen (earning its first star). It includes hipster temples like Longman & Eagle (one star) and Schwa (one star), and forward-thinking regional Mexican places like Mexique — one of the list’s bigger surprises — garnering its first star, and Topolobampo (one star).
But based on the buzz and protesting clamor of Twitter-crazy Chicagoans and buzzing foodies, the list of Michelin 2013 starred Chicago restaurants may not be a “best” list, Nagrant says.
What do you think? Did they nail it or not?
