New MICHELIN stars SHINE on new york city

Masa joins city's three-star restaurants; Ducasse's Adour, Chang's Momofuku Ko debut with two stars

New York City (Oct. 6, 2008) - Michelin today released its selection of recommended hotels and restaurants in the MICHELIN guide New York City 2009. The new edition contains more than 80 new establishments and features 617 establishments in all, a number that includes 563 restaurants - representing 50 types of cuisine - and 54 Manhattan hotels.

Among the new Michelin stars awarded this year:

·         Masa joins Jean-Georges, Le Bernardin and Per Se as a Michelin three-star selection

·         Adour, Gilt and Momofuku Ko join the ranks of Michelin two-star restaurants

·         Allen & Delancey, Alto, eighty one, Fiamma, Insieme, Kyo Ya and Public join the Michelin one-star selections

The MICHELIN guide New York City 2009 features the Bib Gourmand category, which indicates Michelin inspectors' favorites for good value. This year's Bib Gourmands include 58 restaurants that serve a menu with two dishes and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less. The restaurants awarded this distinction can be identified by a red pictogram depicting the head of Bibendum^®, the Michelin Man.

The MICHELIN guide New York City 2009 also includes 74 restaurants serving a meal (two dishes and a glass of wine or dessert) for $25 or less. In the selection, these establishments are indicated by the coins pictogram.

As a result, nearly 24 percent of the MICHELIN guide New York City selection is comprised of highly affordable restaurants. While the MICHELIN guide is known around the word for its stars, these restaurants only account for just 10 percent of the selection. With more than one million copies sold in approximately 100 countries, the MICHELIN guide has always built its success on the diversity of its selection and especially on small establishments offering a high-quality dining experience at an affordable price, of which the best are included in the "Our inspectors' favorites for good value" category. Moreover, inclusion in the MICHELIN guide is, in itself, synonymous with quality, since only the best establishments in each comfort and price category are selected.

Also new for 2009, consumers will have the option to access the North American MICHELIN guide selections on their mobile phones through a licensing agreement with mobile application provider UBI UBI. The content for all four U.S. MICHELIN guides, which include New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas, will be available by subscription beginning in October 2008. For more information, please visit www.ubiubi.mobi.

The MICHELIN guide New York City 2009 includes a total of 42 "starred" restaurants, of which four have received three Michelin stars, seven restaurants with two Michelin stars and 31 with one Michelin star. To ensure a consistent selection, the same five criteria are used for awarding Michelin stars in all countries: product quality, preparation and flavors, the cuisine's personality, value for money and consistency.

One Michelin star means a very good cuisine in its category.

Two Michelin stars [Back to Press Releases Main]