The Michelin guide ratings for restaurants in Los Angeles and Las Vegas were mistakenly posted on its Web site before Monday’s scheduled announcement.
Christian Delhaye, worldwide head of maps and guides for Michelin, said, “It was a mistake” that it was briefly made available on Michelin’s Web site. “It was only up for a short time.”
French chef Joel Robuchon’s Las Vegas restaurant received the only three-star rating, which is described as “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.” “One of our patrons called me,” Robuchon told the Los Angeles Times. “He looked on the Internet site and saw all the results of the guide. There were rumors circulating, but nothing official. I’m really happily stunned.”
Los Angeles area restaurants that did well in the Michelin ratings include Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in Beverly Hills, which earned a two-star rating, along with French restaurant Melisse in Santa Monica and the 10-set Japanese restaurant Urasawa in Beverly Hills.
“I am very happy about two stars,” Josiah Citrin, chef and owner of Melisse, told the Times. “This isn’t just L.A. two stars, this is two stars across the world. Americans might not know how hard it is to have even one star and how few there are.”
The guide describes a two star restaurant as one that serves “excellent cuisine, worth a detour, with specialties and wine of first class quality.”
The Michelin guide has been published by the French tire company for more than 100 years and covers 21 countries. Its three-star rating is viewed as the highest honor in dining around the world.
