Michelin Elevates Chicago's Smyth Restaurant to Two Stars
Chicago now has a total of 25 Michelin Guide stars thanks to its two three-star restaurants, four two-star establishments and 19 one-star eateries. There were no additional three-stars added to the 2018 city guide when it was introduced Friday afternoon, so the biggest news was the elevation of Smyth, located in Chicago's West Loop district, to the two-star category.
Smyth is owned by the husband-and-wife team of John Shields and Karen Urie Shields and is located upstairs from their partner restaurant, The Loyalist. Michael Ellis, international director of the Michelin Guide, cited them for having worked in the best restaurants across the country, adding, "But what they built in their own kitchen is even more remarkable."
Smyth joins Acadia, Oriole and Sixteen as two-star establishments, with the city's two three-star restaurants, Alinea and Grace, keeping their hold on the top perch. Two restaurants, Elske and Entente, joined the 17 one-star holdovers from last year's guide. The Michelin inspectors also gave 54 restaurants — eight of them new to the list — its popular Bib Gourmand award for providing quality food at reasonable prices. In the Michelin hierarchy, three stars represent "exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey," while two stars denote "excellent cuisine, worth a detour" and one star means "high quality cooking, worth a stop."
Michelin annually publishes three other American city guides in addition to Chicago. The Washington, DC winners were announced earlier this week, while the New York list will be released Oct. 30. The announcement of the San Francisco region's starred restaurants was delayed due to the area's wildfire crisis, but will be rescheduled for the end of the month. The 2018 Michelin Guide for Chicago goes on sale Oct. 26 at a suggested retail price of $18.99.
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