The Whet Palette 2023 MICHELIN Guide Ceremony for New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.

Who: The MICHELIN Guide

What: Ceremony for New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.

When: November 7th, 2023

Where: Spring Studios, New York, N.Y.

On a cool and crisp Tuesday night, the MICHELIN Guide brought the heat to the Big Apple. For the first time, the awards ceremony combined three cities —New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. —for a stellar event. New One-Star restaurants debuted, plus two new Two-Star and one Three-Star restaurant. As a MICHELIN dining enthusiast, I packed my best coats and happily flew in to cover the occasion for The Whet Palette.

Several distinct spaces worked together to usher guests toward the main stage and build excitement. The first featured plenty of fun photo ops: an official Michelin signage step and repeat and a beautiful honey-I-shrunk-the-kids style set with oversized traditional MICHELIN Guide books printed with each city’s name on the cover.

Is there such a thing as a Michelin event without food? Negative. The second and third salons housed bites from 53, Dhamaka, Le Coucou, Cinco Jotas, and a perfectly paired Petrossian caviar and confectioner Lady M mille-feuille collaboration spoiled the attendees. The space included an open bar with Eira sparkling and still water, Pommery champagne, Basil Hayden cocktails, Nordes gin, Montecillo wines, Rémy Martin, wines and sake from Wine Access, and non-alcoholic offerings from Kally.

Actor and host Adam Richman led the star-studded event with humor, wit, and much candor. The awards, highlighted below, showered the chefs and restaurant teams with deserving accolades. Favorite Essential by Christophe received its first star. New York restaurants odo and Sushi Noz finally each took home Two Stars. Chicago’s Daisies received a MICHELIN Green Star, as did Dirt Candy and Family Meal at Blue Hill in New York. To conclude, every recipient of the country’s Three Stars took the stage. Flash photography filled the room and captured the excitement. Some guests prematurely started to exit, thinking perhaps the night had ended. They were wrong. The spotlight then went stage right, where artist Jared Emerson worked on a live painting. What seemed awkward initially and brought on puzzled onlookers became the night’s biggest surprise. Emerson spun the partially hidden large canvas around, and dropped the covering cloth. The painting revealed that Chicago’s Smyth and chef John B. Shields were named the newest THREE-STARRED. Congratulations! What a heartfelt finale!