NEWS: in San Francisco, another ceiling broken

[Jenise]

This is exciting! Her restaurant is my #1 destination for my next trip to San Fran.

Chef Kaylin Lloyd is making culinary history after becoming the first Black woman chef to lead a three-MICHELIN-star restaurant. As Chef de Cuisine at San Francisco’s Californios, Lloyd has reached a milestone that marks a major achievement in the fine dining world and highlights her years of dedication to the craft.

The recognition follows Californios’ rise as the first Mexican restaurant in the world to receive MICHELIN’s highest three-star rating.

The achievement brought international attention to the restaurant’s approach to Mexican cuisine and the team behind its success.
Lloyd’s role as Chef de Cuisine places her at the center of a groundbreaking moment for both the restaurant and the wider culinary industry. Her leadership reflects the growing recognition of diverse voices shaping modern fine dining.

I'd love to go to this place as well. I'm really interested in the idea of a 3 star Mexican meal. Most good Mexican food is refined peasant cuisine, so I'm very curious about how you treat it to get the attention of the Michelin folks. In a way, it seems that all they could do is fancy it up to the point that it's no longer really Mexican food, but I'd be willing to take that chance! (And it may be that I've just never had really upscale Mexican food.)

[Jenise]

Mike, elevated Mexican fine dining has existed in Mexico, particularly Mexico City, for some time. Restaurant Pujol is probably the most well known and has two Michelin stars. Take a gander at the menu:

https://www.pujol.com.mx/en/menus

That place sounds great Jenise. I would love to try next time in Bay area, but sure reservations will be close to impossible now.

There is lots of upscale Mexican in NYC, notably Cosme and Corima. Not aiming at Michelin stars but we just had an excellent meal at Limusina
https://www.limusinanyc.com/menus/#dinner

Of course a lot of what makes a 2 or 3 star rating happen is not just the food, though that obviously has to be top level. Californios sounds great.

Of course a lot of what makes a 2 or 3 star rating happen is not just the food, though that obviously has to be top level.

One Michelin star means high-quality cooking worth a stop.
Two Michelin stars mean excellent cooking worth a detour.
Three Michelin stars mean exceptional cooking worth a special journey.

I was told on my visits to Michelin-starred restaurants that ambiance is also taken into account, especially in awarding that third star.

-Paul W.

We were on a food tour in Austria last year with Gale Gand who owned the restaurant Tru, a Michelin one-star in Chicago while she was involved. While at a very nice restaurant one night, she mentioned that as a result of that experience she looks carefully at such aspects as how the servers have their hair done, what jewelry they're wearing, and how their nails are done. Everything factors into getting that star.

Totally true. I have been at one-stars with superior cooking to two-stars, but the two-stars simply come at you on all fronts... the ingredients are rarer, the tables are roomier, the service is attentive but not forceful, the vibe is calm but not library-ish, there is space to walk around if you choose, and so on.

Of course, none of this guarantees a good time: I have been to two-stars with tacky people sitting at nearby tables, and I have been to a three-star that completely failed to impress. So it goes.

[Jenise]

There is lots of upscale Mexican in NYC, notably Cosme and Corima. Not aiming at Michelin stars but we just had an excellent meal at Limusina
https://www.limusinanyc.com/menus/#dinner

Dale, you may know that Cosme is/was by chef Danielle Soto-Innes in partnership with Enrique Olvera, he of the famed Mexico City restaurant I mentioned to Mike, Pujol. I know of Danielle because she left NY and came to my neck of the woods when she met and married Blaine Wetzel, infamously of The Willows on Lummi Island. Limusina looks great.

Of course a lot of what makes a 2 or 3 star rating happen is not just the food, though that obviously has to be top level.

One Michelin star means high-quality cooking worth a stop.
Two Michelin stars mean excellent cooking worth a detour.
Three Michelin stars mean exceptional cooking worth a special journey.

I was told on my visits to Michelin-starred restaurants that ambiance is also taken into account, especially in awarding that third star.

-Paul W.

Paul, to get a third star a restaurant must excel in three separate categories: food, setting and service. Fail to excel in any of those three and two stars becomes the ceiling. If, like me, you value food and, to a lesser degree, service over the setting, the increase in cost and hassle to secure a reservation are rarely worth the effort and expense. However, I might make an exception in this case.

[Jenise]

If, like me, you value food and, to a lesser degree, service over the setting, the increase in cost and hassle to secure a reservation are rarely worth the effort and expense.

My limited experience as well.