SAN ANTONIO — It only made sense that a user with the name BeanNCheezRUs would stir up the conversation.
Ahead of Michelin revealing its first-ever Texas Restaurant Guide next week – giving its stamp of approval to premiere Lone Star State eateries it deems worthy of a Michelin Star – the subreddit r/sanantonio pondered who in the Alamo City might be anointed the prestigious honor.
The question posed by BeanNCheezRUs on Friday morning was a simple one: "Which San Antonio restaurant would you give a star to?"
The post has since garnered more than 200 comments, ranging from silly suggestions to serious prognostication.
"Fred's Fish Fry," suggested user WooleeBullee, perhaps knowing full well that Michelin's reputation for spotlighting fine dining means it won't be looking too hard at the quick-serving seafood joint. Still, WooleeBullee offered the point that "it's what anyone who has ever been to or lived in SA thinks about when they think of SA food."
Other beloved low-cost options offered up by Reddit users included Palapas, Bill Miller and Pollos Asados Los Norteños. Michelin's tastemakers may surprise by honoring one of those beloved San Antonio spots, but they tend to be drawn to luxurious, higher-priced fare—places where the lights are dimmed and meals are curated as experiences.
One of the most-mentioned San Antonio eateries in the Reddit thread that could very well be bestowed a Michelin Star next week fits that bill: Southtown's Mixtli, which says its menu "travels from place to place offering a tour in Mexican gastronomy." A Texas Monthly food writer recently gave Mixtli five out of five stars, reporting its head chefs "make magic in their tiny kitchen." (The cited cost per patron: $165.)
Reddit users say it's a slam-dunk for a star... or multiple. User rez_at_dorsia thinks it's "the only restaurant that even has a shot at Michelin guide."
Other users didn't think so, offering up reputable San Antonio restaurants like Leche de Tigre, Clementine, Mon Chou Chou and Bliss. Dangerous_Ear_2722, meanwhile, was honest about the question at hand: "We've been over this already, my abuelas (sic) house."
The 2024 Michelin Restaurant Texas Guide will be unveiled Monday in Houston.
What is the Michelin Restaurant Guide?
The history of the guide goes back to 1889, its website says, when the French tire company created it in order to encourage travel and tourism, "thereby boosting car and tyre sales." For 98 years it has recognized what are, in its testers' eyes, the best fine dining establishments in the world.
A restaurant can get up to three stars, three representing the most delectable of dining experiences. The judges, by Michelin's own description, are "famously anonymous, full-time employees who are former restaurant and hospitality professionals."
It wasn't until 2005 that Michelin revealed its first North American Guide, recognizing the best restaurants that New York has to offer. Chicago, Washington, California, Atlanta, and other U.S. states and cities have since gotten the treatment. More than 1,500 restaurants in the country have a star, but just 13 have three Michelin Stars.
This will be the first time Texas has gotten a Michelin Restaurant Guide of its own.
The guide – and the oft-mysterious efforts involved to determine which restaurants will be highlighted – has not been without scrutiny, according to a New York Times article. Restaurants that received stars have often felt the pressure to maintain them, while critics have pointed out the guide favors "elaborate, multicourse menus" that "have historically relied on long hours of low-paid (sometimes unpaid) labor, raising questions about the human cost of fine dining."
To that end, Reddit user iwegian says Texas' barbecue restaurants' chances of scoring a star face odds as long as their menus of meats.
"I think if the meal actually requires the use of napkins (e.g. BBQ), there's zero chance of the restaurant getting a star," they wrote.
