\u201cIt\u2019s disappointing, but at the same time it\u2019s eye opening,\u201d said Adrian Burciaga, a Fort Worth restaurateur who co-founded Don Artemio in 2016.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Burciaga, who stepped away as the Mexican restaurant\u2019s co-owner in early October<\/a>, said the minimal recognition suggests Fort Worth establishments should re-examine their operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do we need to do differently?\u201d he said. \u201cDo we need to pay more attention to details in the culinary side or the service side? Maybe promote ourselves on a broader channel? It\u2019s hard to understand.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n On Tuesday night, the Michelin Guide honored 140 Texas restaurants for their culinary excellence with multiple award designations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Smoke\u2019N Ash Tex-Ethiopian Smokehouse BBQ, Panther City BBQ, Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez and Goldee\u2019s BBQ kept their recommended or Bib Gourmand status, but no new Fort Worth establishments were cited by the guidebook.\u00a0<\/p>\n Statewide, 18 Michelin stars were spread between Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Fort Worth\u2019s culinary scene is often described by area chefs as a blend of classic barbecue with Tex-Mex and international cuisine<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a little puzzled that Fort Worth was entirely left out for two years running,\u201d said Patricia Sharpe, longtime editor and food writer for Texas Monthly magazine.<\/p>\n A Michelin star recognition helps elevate the state\u2019s culinary scene on a global scale and boost tourism to participating cities<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Oct. 28 ceremony was the second in a three-year agreement<\/a> between Michelin, the Texas tourism office and the visitor\u2019s bureaus among the state\u2019s five largest cities.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The state pays $450,000 annually for marketing and promotion with each of the five cities pitching in $90,000 per year<\/a> of the agreement, which doesn\u2019t guarantee a specific number of restaurant inclusions in the guide.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kimber Foster, spokesperson for Visit Fort Worth, said the tourism agency is proud of the recognitions the city has received from Michelin, the James Beard Foundation, Texas Monthly, Eater and other \u201crenown culinary institutions and publications.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Food and beverage is the top category for visitors spending with over $800 million spent in fiscal year 2024, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe celebrate the restaurants who were recognized again by Michelin but know there are many more that deserve to be honored as well,\u201d Foster said.\u00a0<\/p>\n How are stars awarded?<\/strong><\/p>\n Restaurants receive designations based on Michelin\u2019s review of their quality of ingredients, harmony of flavors, mastery of cooking techniques, consistency across the menu and over time, and if a chef\u2019s personality shines through their cuisine. Each restaurant is inspected several times a year by different reviewers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Carly Grieff, spokesperson for Michelin, declined to share numbers or demographic information about inspectors who visited Fort Worth to maintain their anonymity and to protect the process. In general, reviewers are international, former industry professionals who share not only a deep expertise but great curiosity and open-mindedness, she said.<\/p>\n What to know about Michelin Guide inspectors<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Source: Michelin Guide<\/p>\n Burciaga said there are a \u201chandful\u201d of Fort Worth restaurants that should\u2019ve earned Michelin stars by this point. He refrained from mentioning specific names but said he was happy the four Tarrant County restaurants kept their recognitions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sharpe suspects the Michelin\u2019s inspectors might not have spent as much time in Fort Worth as they did in Dallas.<\/p>\n Sharpe personally ranks Austin, Dallas and Houston as top culinary destinations with Fort Worth and San Antonio in the state\u2019s second tier.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI would imagine that their critic is spending a bit of time in Dallas, and maybe there was just not sufficient bandwidth to do a deeper dive into Fort Worth,\u201d Sharpe said.<\/p>\n Looking beyond Michelin recognition<\/strong><\/p>\n Chef Jon Bonnell, founder of Bonnell\u2019s Fine Texas Cuisine in southwest Fort Worth, echoed the disappointment felt by many but said he\u2019s not chasing Michelin stars.\u00a0<\/p>\n He\u2019s focused on his customers, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA long time ago, I learned not to base anything that I do at the restaurant on someone I don\u2019t know,\u201d Bonnell said. \u201cOne of our French instructors in culinary school said, \u2018If you spend your whole life chasing Michelin, you will go crazy or you will go broke or you will lose your family.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Despite Michelin\u2019s snub, the city has a thriving culinary scene that only continues to flourish, Bonnell said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI remember in the \u201880s we had almost nothing. We didn\u2019t even have a fine dining scene beyond country clubs and a handful of European restaurants,\u201d he said. \u201cTo think of the number of cuisines and everything that the city has turned into \u2014 we\u2019ve got a great independent restaurant scene. It\u2019s a fantastic time to be in the restaurant business here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Burciaga advises restaurateurs and chefs to continue focusing on the best culinary experiences no matter if a Michelin inspector secretly walks through the doors.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, Fort Worth is a very supportive community to the locally owned restaurants, so we just continue to push forward doing what we do best, which is high-quality products with a high quality of service,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports<\/a>.<\/p>\n Disclosure: Mitch Whitten, chief operating officer of Visit Fort Worth, is on the board of directors at Fort Worth Report. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ZESTFEST-6.jpg\")
Chef Jon Bonnell drizzles habanero hot sauce over chicken wings during ZestFest at Will Rogers Memorial Center on May 25, 2024. (Alberto Silva Fernandez | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
![\"Creative](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758084579_646_cc-by-nd-4.0.png\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\n