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The 2016 Michelin Guide for Chicago is out and the famously anonymous inspectors don't have a lot of good news for the Windy City: Only two restaurants, Parachute and Dusek's, have entered into the single starred ranks, and just one venue, Ryan McCaskey's Acadia, has been elevated to the two-starred club. The guide's inspectors award worthy venues with either one star ("a very good restaurant in its category"), two stars ("excellent cuisine, worth a detour"), or three stars ("exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey").
Like this year's New York guide, no new restaurants were promoted to three stars. Curtis Duffy's Grace and Grant Achatz's Alinea remain the city's only two members of that exclusive category. Five culinary establishments in the San Francisco Bay Area hold that honor, compared with NYC's six.
Parachute, the Korean-American hotspot in Avondale, was widely considered to be a strong candidate for a star, especially after it was left of this year's Bib Gourmand cheap eats list, often an indication a venue is being promoted. But Fat Rice, the critically-acclaimed Macanese venue in Logan Square, was snubbed from the starred ranks again. And Next by Grant Achatz and David Beran, the permanent pop-up restaurant that changes its menu entirely every four months (and which receives a four star review by the Chicago Tribune's Phil Vettel about as frequently), was denied a star for yet another year.
The avant-garde Moto retained its star following the death of Homaru Cantu in April.
Three restaurants – Takashi, The Lobby, and Senza – lost their stars, meaning that Chicago lost as many sparklers as it gained on this year's list. Chicago currently has just 17 restaurants in the one-starred category, and three in the two-starred category.
Here's the full list for 2016:
Three Stars:
Two Stars:
- Acadia (upgraded)
- 42 Grams
- Sixteen
One Star:
- Blackbird
- Boka
- Dusek's (new)
- EL Ideas
- Elizabeth
- Everest
- Goosefoot
- Longman & Eagle
- Moto
- NAHA
- North Pond
- Parachute (new)
- Schwa
- Sepia
- Spiagga
- Topolobampo
- Tru