{"id":452922,"date":"2025-12-17T09:35:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T09:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/452922\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T09:35:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T09:35:19","slug":"why-fort-worth-keeps-missing-michelin-guide-recognition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/452922\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Fort Worth Keeps Missing Michelin Guide Recognition"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Oct. 28, the second Texas Michelin Awards<\/a>\u00a0ceremony unfolded in Houston. Emcee Java Ingram rattled off winner after winner from Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas. And when the hourlong production wrapped, Fort Worth was left with a familiar question: \u201cWhat about us?\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t for lack of participation. Last year, Fort Worth joined hands \u2014 and pocketbooks \u2014 with other Texas cities to help lure Michelin south, betting that the world\u2019s most famous dining guide would finally give local chefs their international due. Over the past decade, Fort Worth\u2019s dining landscape has evolved rapidly, with longtime fine-dining stalwarts like Grace and Paris 7th standing alongside ambitious newcomers such as Don Artemio and Hatsuyuki Hand Roll Bar. The assumption was that once Michelin experienced our city\u2019s cuisine, it would find at least a few stars worth awarding.<\/p>\n

In that inaugural year, things looked hopeful: Goldee\u2019s BBQ earned a Bib Gourmand, and Panther City BBQ, Cortez Birrieria y Taqueria, and Smoke \u2019N Ash in Arlington were listed as \u201cRecommended.\u201d Many in Fort Worth quietly expected that momentum to carry into 2025. But as the awards were handed out this year, Fort Worth once again walked away starless \u2014 though it\u2019s worth noting that every Fort Worth restaurant recognized in 2024 held its distinction in 2025, no small feat for any restaurant.<\/p>\n

But the question lingers: Are Fort Worth restaurants simply not good enough for Michelin stars?\u00a0<\/p>\n

As with last year\u2019s rollout, Michelin\u2019s anonymous inspectors spent months dining across the five Texas cities that invested financially: Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Fort Worth. But Michelin has been clear: This isn\u2019t pay to play. Selections are based purely on food quality, consistency, and the company\u2019s five-point criteria, not money. Just because we paid them to come here, in other words, doesn\u2019t automatically mean they\u2019re going to bestow stars on our restaurants.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But even some smaller awards would have been nice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there should have been a few Bib Gourmands,\u201d says Mark Hitri, executive chef and co-owner of Paris 7th<\/a>, a beloved French restaurant near the Cultural District. \u201cThere are definitely restaurants that are worth the trip.\u201d Not as life-changing as stars but still significant in the Michelin universe, Bib Gourmands are meant to honor value restaurants with exceptional food.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hitri also shares a lesson from a mentor: \u201cA restaurant can only be as good as its diners allow,\u201d a reminder that Michelin and local audiences may not always reward the same things.<\/p>\n

Fort Worth\u2019s restaurant culture has long valued individuality over formality \u2014 a trait both its chefs and diners embrace. Yet Michelin often favors tightly structured, technique-forward dining, the sort found in cities with dense clusters of tasting-menu restaurants.<\/p>\n

Local food writer Josie Singleton says the guide has done well spotlighting certain Fort Worth stories: \u201cBirreria y Taqueria Cortez<\/a> is the American dream come true, one birria taco and one consom\u00e9-soaked napkin at a time,\u201d she says. \u201cSimilar stories are found at Panther City BBQ and Goldee\u2019s Bar-B-Q.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, she argues, Fort Worth\u2019s depth goes well beyond tacos and barbecue. \u201cThere are a few spots that also tell a story and deliver an exceptional experience worthy of a Michelin nod.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like many others in Fort Worth\u2019s culinary circles, she points to Don Artemio<\/a> as an example. \u201cTo start, Don Artemio literally seeps in story,\u201d she says. \u201cThe dishes elevate Mexican cuisine to a level not seen since Lanny Lancarte opened Lanny\u2019s Alta Cocina Mexicana.\u201d Its endlessly creative use of traditional Mexican ingredients, from nopalitos to cabrito, she says, illustrates how our city\u2019s palate is evolving.<\/p>\n

Another contender, she says, is Hatsuyuki Hand Roll Bar<\/a>, a West 7th spot that specializes in Japanese hand rolls. \u201cThe ingredients are beyond fresh,\u201d she says. \u201cThe service is as exceptional and as consistent as the food.\u201d To Singletary, it\u2019s the perfect example of a Fort Worth restaurant going far, far, far beyond steak, tacos, and barbecue, which were once our city\u2019s culinary calling cards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fort Worth\u2019s financial participation in Texas\u2019 three-year agreement with Michelin remains a point of discussion. Alex Catterton, Director of Content and Public Relations for Visit Fort Worth, confirmed 2025 marks the second year of the agreement but isn\u2019t sure what the future holds. \u201cThere haven\u2019t been any talks about the future yet,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Catterton says the investment has paid dividends in awareness: \u201cIt has helped in terms of getting Fort Worth\u2019s name on the national scene.\u201d She also notes that Fort Worth now boasts three Michelin-recognized hotels, including Bowie House, the only North Texas property with a Two Key designation. \u201cWe are proud of our culinary scene but know there are many more that deserve to be honored as well,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chef Graham Elliot<\/a>, a Michelin-starred chef from Chicago who now lives and works in Fort Worth, believes the city is closer than many think. \u201cWhen it comes to technical skill, attention to detail, and taking care of guests, the chefs and restaurants in Fort Worth are absolutely on the same level as other major cities,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Elliot, the next step is sharpening the city\u2019s identity. \u201cWe need to ditch the \u2018D-\u2019 and highlight the \u2018FW,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cNobody can deny the level of food, beverage, and service this city delivers. Now the shift needs to be putting the microscope not on the bigger cities but on the incredible talent growing right here.\u201d<\/p>\n

His advice to chefs is simple: \u201cFind your own voice and create a genuine reason for people to come experience what you do,\u201d he says. \u201cEvery chef and restaurateur has a story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe Fort Worth\u2019s restaurants don\u2019t fit the guide\u2019s longtime mold. Or maybe, as several chefs suggest, the city\u2019s story just needs to be told more loudly.<\/p>\n

Either way, Fort Worth\u2019s best chefs will keep doing what they do: cooking with heart, honoring their stories, and proving that the measure of a restaurant isn\u2019t a star, but the people who fill the seats.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t really change anything after the last round, and we\u2019re not gonna change anything this round,\u201d says Hitri from Paris 7th. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna keep doing what we do. If Michelin recognizes us, then very nice. If not, we\u2019ll still keep doing what we do.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Oct. 28, the second Texas Michelin Awards\u00a0ceremony unfolded in Houston. Emcee Java Ingram rattled off winner after…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":452923,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,27144,18120,2105,207780,70083,7371,7372,18123,207779,988,358,7453,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-452922","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-chefs","10":"tag-cuisine","11":"tag-food-and-drink","12":"tag-foodie-awards","13":"tag-foodie-news","14":"tag-fort-worth","15":"tag-fortworth","16":"tag-malcolm-mayhew","17":"tag-michelin-stars","18":"tag-restaurants","19":"tag-texas","20":"tag-top-story","21":"tag-tx","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-united-states-of-america","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","26":"tag-us","27":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115734231584834120","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452922\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}