OMG—the stars are out tonight. Meaning, of course, that those Michelin inspectors have wiped their lips, folded their napkins and heaved their no-doubt large posteriors up to tabulate their findings and release their stars. Here’s what it means for us here in Westchester: Bastianich and Co.—he’s a Greenwich resident and owner of Tarry Lodge, duh—scored two coveted stars for his Del Posto effort with Mario Batali. Sadly, Bastianich and Co. lost the star they once held at Babbo. Chef/OwnerDan Barber—of Blue Hill at Stone Barns—got one for Manhattan’s Blue Hill, which makes him equal to Monteverde’s Neal Ferguson—who also got one for his Allen and Delancey.
What does it all mean? Well, if you ask Pascal Remy – a Michelin inspector who wrote the whistle-blowing L’Inspecteur Se Met a Table, it just means that those restaurants were given a thumbs-up by a seriously lax and dubious authority that rarely visits the premises it rates. If you ask Bernard Loiseau, losing his single Michelin star was a good reason to kill himself. Whatever you think of the Michelin Guide, a loaded little book—we like the happy-go-lucky Slow Food Guide much better.
