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Oriole Soars To Two Michelin Stars After Only 7 Months [UPDATED]

And they’re not the only newcomer with stars in Chicago

Oriole made a big splash with two Michelin stars after only seven months of being open.
Nick Murway

It’s only been seven months since Oriole, Noah and Cara Sandoval’s critically-acclaimed West Loop gem, has opened. Today, they found out that they’d scored two Michelin stars, confirming what Chicago critics already knew. They were coy about the announcement. Michelin will make all their star announcements for Chicago later today, and this list will be updated.

Oriole’s 15 courses and top-notch service wowed locals. The whimsical and thoughtful presentation of dishes like a chilled Alaska king crab with Thai flavors stood out, as did pastry chef Genie Kwon’s wizardry. Kwon even packs pie for guests to take home after their meals.

Roister, Alinea Group’s boisterous, new Fulton Market restaurant also debuted this year. Despite the more casual approach—compared to Next and Alinea—they received one star. Chef Andrew Brochu beamed, as diners took to dishes like their unique fried chicken.

The two Alinea alums who founded Band of Bohemia are also celebrating. The culinary brewpub pairing house-brewed beers with small plates, also earned a star. They opened a year ago in Ravenswood. Chef Matt DuBois is excited.

GreenRiver, the craft cocktail spot in Streeterville from the Danny Meyer and the DeadRabbit team, also scored a star.

Iliana Regan’s Elizabeth, and her creative foraging cuisine in Lincoln Square, retained their star. So did North Pond in Lincoln Park. North Pond’s Bruce Sherman tied his success to the Cubs, gunning tonight for their first World Series championship in 108 years.

Meanwhile, Sepia, for the seventh year in a row, retained their star. Philip Foss and EL ideas also Tweeted out the announcement that they’ve scored a star for the fourth consecutive year. Boka also retained its star. 16” Dusek’s in Pilsen retained its star, as did Longman & Eagle in Logan Square.

Congratulations to my teams at Longman &Eagle and Dusek's for each getting one Michelin star this year. Big congrats to all the other restaurants who are on the list! Let's party!

Posted by Jared Wentworth on Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Also, the crew from Grace, and chef Curtis Duffy with pumped after notification of their three stars.

THREE STARS!!!!!!!!! So proud of our team.

Posted by Michael Muser on Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Tony Mantuano, who recently cooked for Vice President Joe Biden, also shared the news the Spiaggia retained their star:

UPDATE: Michelin guide director Michael Ellis talked to Eater about this year’s selections, including Oriole and Roister. Here’s what he said about each.

On Roister: “For us it was very clear — it was (Roister) using raw, open flames as a cooking technique. That is something you don’t see very often with star-level food. It’s extremely difficult, in our experience, to cook over open flame and come up with something that has that animal, earthy quality to it, but also something that’s very refined with technical finesse.”

On Oriole: “We’ve known Noah Sandoval for a long time. He’s young — he’s only 35 years old — but he really impressed (us) with Senza. At Senza he had, to my knowledge, the first and only gluten-free restaurant to have a star in the world of Michelin. We were sorry to see (Senza) close in early 2015 but he came out strong (with Oriole). Noah has shown all the things that he’s been experimenting with and learning — the product, the technique. I think this is what makes Chicago unique is that you have these chefs that have unique signatures — you have this product that’s in the farmland — and I really think that Noah Sandoval really impressed us.”


Watch: What Is the Michelin Guide?

Alinea

1723 North Halsted Street, , IL 60614 Visit Website

Band of Bohemia

4710 North Ravenswood Avenue, , IL 60640 (773) 271-4710 Visit Website

Oriole

661 West Walnut Street, , IL 60661 (312) 877-5899 Visit Website

North Pond

2610 North Cannon Drive, , IL 60614 (773) 477-5845 Visit Website

Sepia

123 North Jefferson Street, , IL 60661 (312) 441-1920 Visit Website

Two

1132 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60642 (312) 624-8363 Visit Website

GreenRiver

259 E Erie St Fl 18, Chicago, IL 60611 (312) 337-0101

Roister

951 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60607 (312) 789-4896

Found

1631 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201 (847) 868-8945 Visit Website

EL ideas

2419 West 14th Street, , IL 60608 (312) 226-8144 Visit Website