Which Fort Worth Restaurants Received Recognition in Michelin’s Inaugural Texas Guide?

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Making Texas History

On November 11th, 2024, Texas hosted its first Michelin Awards Ceremony in Houston. The ceremony represents an important mile marker in the Texas dining scene as in its almost 100 years of existence, Michelin awarded its first ever selections for the coveted Michelin Star, Bib Gourmand status, Green Star, and “Michelin Recommended” restaurants for five major Texas cities: Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.

Since the announcement for Michelin to add Texas to its guide earlier this year, the restaurant scene in Texas has been buzzing, with plenty of guesses and bets on who would be named in the inaugural Texas list. Personally, I was thrilled to see they had listed Fort Worth as it’s own city instead of pulling it in as Dallas/Fort Worth. The same was done for San Antonio rather than lumping it in with Austin. A great initial step!

How Does the Michelin Guide Work?

The Michelin Guide evaluates restaurants based on a set of criteria including the quality of ingredients, skill in cooking, and consistency. Restaurants can receive one to three stars, with three stars indicating exceptional cuisine worth a special journey. There are additional statuses for Bib Gourmand and “recommended” restaurants (see below). For Texas restaurants, receiving a Michelin star will likely significantly enhance visibility, attract more diners, and establish a reputation for excellence in the culinary landscape. These awards are decided by “anonymous” Michelin workers that secretly visit and meticulously evaluate restaurants.

Michelin Stars: Michelin stars are the most prestigious award given to restaurants by the Michelin Guide, where one star signifies a very good restaurant, two stars indicate excellent cooking that is worth a detour, and three stars represent exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey. These delineations were determined in the 1920s when Michelin initially created the guide to encourage motorists to drive more (therefore using more of their tires and needing to purchase new tires more often - a funny concept that has become the most prestigious award for restaurants to earn!). Michelin Star status has a profound ability to push a chef and restaurant over the edge of fandom among diners near and far.

Michelin Green Star: Michelin Green Stars are given to restaurants that demonstrate commitment to sustainable gastronomy and environmental stewardship. It signifies a restaurant's efforts to promote organic farming, local sourcing, and eco-friendly practices in its culinary approach. It’s a culinary and environmental feat. that marries mindfulness within dining.

Bib Gourmand: Michelin's "Bib Gourmand" awards recognize restaurants that offer high-quality food at a reasonable price. These awards highlight establishments that provide a great dining experience with a focus on value, making them accessible to a wider audience. The Bib Gourmand designation is considered a mark of culinary excellence without the need for fine dining prices. The typical metric used is that a diner can have a two course meal with a glass or wine or dessert without breaking $50 (before tax and tip).

“Recommended”: Michelin's "recommended" award status indicates that a restaurant offers a quality dining experience, though it may not yet meet the highest standards for a star rating. This recognition can enhance a restaurant's visibility and attract diners seeking exceptional culinary options.

How did Fort Worth fare at the inaugural Texas Michelin Guide Award Ceremony?

Fort Worth had three restaurants recognized at the ceremony: one for the Bib Gourmand status and two under the “recommended” status.

Fort Worth and Texas BBQ sweetheart, Goldee’s Barbecue, was awarded with the Bib Gourmand award and therefore took home Fort Worth’s best award. Panther City BBQ and Birreria y Taqueria Cortez took home “Michelin Recommended” status awards. No Fort Worth restaurants were awarded a coveted Michelin Star.

As reflected in Fort Worth’s winners for the evening, this year’s guide leaned heavily on BBQ as a Texas favorite, with 27 of the 115 awarded restaurants being in the barbecue category. Fort Worth locals know the carry that quality barbecue can have and therefore we’re not surprised that two of Fort Worth’s best (both on Texas Monthly’s Texas’ Top 50 List) received recognition at the ceremony last night.

Out of all the articles released by local publications ahead of the ceremony, not one named Fort Worth’s surprise winner Birreria y Taqueria Cortez. We’re thrilled to see a locally owned and operated taqueria in the mix of those honored last night and to our readers we have just one request: Please give us a head start to give it a try before you head that way!

The coveted Brisket Elotes Cup at Panther City BBQ (Credit: Panther City BBQ Facebook)

A plate of birria tacos at Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez (Credit: Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez Facebook)


Our (Biased) Takeaways and a Quick Rant

We cannot express enough how excited we are for our local honorees Goldee’s Barbecue, Panther City BBQ, and Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez. Being awarded with recognition and the honor of the Michelin Guide is huge and y’all make us proud as Fort Worth locals.

However… We still think Fort Worth got overlooked. A quick look over the breakdown of awarded restaurants by city shows the following breakdown:

Austin:

  • 7 One Star Restaurants

  • 15 Bib Gourmand Restaurants

  • 23 Michelin Recommended Restaurants

  • 2 Michelin Green Stars

Houston:

  • 6 One Star Restaurants

  • 18 Bib Gourmand Restaurants

  • 7 Michelin Recommended Restaurants

San Antonio:

  • 1 One Star Restaurant

  • 5 Bib Gourmand Restaurants

  • 7 Michelin Recommended Restaurants

Dallas:

  • 1 One Star Restaurant

  • 6 Bib Gourmand Restaurants

  • 18 Michelin Recommended Restaurants

Fort Worth:

  • 0 One Star Restaurants

  • 1 Bib Gourmand Restaurants

  • 2 Michelin Recommended Restaurants

Please note the above title of this section before we get into it (“BIASED”)… but we believe Fort Worth was too quickly overlooked in this year’s awards. Fort Worth heavy hitters like Don Artemio, Grace, Le Margot, Caterina’s, Ellerbe Fine Foods, Bonnell’s, Lonesome Dove, Maiden, Saint-Emilion, Paris 7th, and many others (we could go on for a while…) didn’t get a seat at (any of) the tables this year. The Michelin Guide rates on set criteria across several cities in the US and abroad to choose their honorees.

The Michelin Guide rates restaurants based on 5 criteria:

  1. Product quality

  2. Mastery of cooking techniques

  3. Harmony of flavors

  4. Personality of the chef as reflected in the cuisine

  5. Consistency over time and across the entire menu

It’s easy to see why the 3 honored restaurants in Fort Worth have recevied recognition for the above criteria - particularly the barbecue spots as they’ve become known and recognized for many of these qualities. What surprises us most is that using these as a lens to evaluate other Fort Worth area restaurants, none were recognized. That being said, we’re going to go ahead and put together our own “way-to-early to call Michelin 2025 guesses” here soon - keep an eye out in the next week or two for that because we’d love to show some love to the Fort Worth spots we believed could (and should) have been on this year’s guide. For now, we’ll keep our eyes on next year’s guide.

So, What’s Next for Michelin in Fort Worth and Texas?

The great news is that when Michelin announced its arrival in Texas, the state entered into a three year deal with the guide (2024, 2025, and 2026), so what’s next is that we prepare and get ready for the 2025 Michelin Guide. Restaurants that won their awards this year have the opportunity to keep them (they don’t roll over year over year so they have to maintain standards or exceed to reach the next category up) and restaurants that feel overlook have an opportunity to make it to the ceremony next year.

We just hope that the “anonymous” Michelin works find themselves up in Cowtown just a little bit more next year. And If you’re one of those workers reading this and need some guidance, just give us a shout.

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