The Harder They Come

Palm Beach Sheds the Emperor's New Clothes

Sometimes, the sound of a bubble bursting can be as elusive as the echo of one hand clapping; at other moments, the volume is deafening.

This week, the Michelin Guide announced its long-awaited ratings for restaurants in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. The inspectors did not come here because the area is a hotbed of culinary excellence: They were paid to do so. According to Michelin’s chief inspector (who remains anonymous, as they all do), Discover the Palm Beaches contributed $180,000 to a pool of more than $1 million to bring the Guide to their turf.

This is not unusual—in fact, it’s standard practice for all restaurant markets outside of France, and it has raised questions about ethical standards. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Visit California paid Michelin $600,000 in 2019 to expand beyond the Bay Area to the rest of the state. Thailand pays more than $880,000 to sponsor the Guide each year, and Michelin ventured into Korea after the Korean Tourism Board coughed up $1.8 million for a multi-year deal. The Miami Herald initially stated that Visit Florida, the state’s tourism and marketing agency, struck a $1.5 million deal in 2021 for the Guide to come to the state; the money came from organizations representing three metro areas (Visit Orlando, Visit Tampa and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor’s Bureau).

So what did Palm Beach get for their $180,000? Not much. In fact, they were very nearly skunked. Exactly one restaurant in each county received a single star, with a smattering of recommendations and several Bib Gourmand awards (signifying good food at reasonable prices). Yes, you can pay Michelin to come to your town, but they won’t hand out stars for cash. Representatives from the tourist agencies are putting the best face on the results, proclaiming how proud they are and how this milestone will bring exciting new chefs to the area.

What happened to all the exciting chefs we were already supposed to have, the wizards who have been touted for years by the local media? I’m just as guilty here as anyone else, since I spent decades reviewing restaurants in Palm Beach County and went into contortions trying to find something nice to say about them. None of them made it into the Guide, including celebrity chef Daniel Boulud, whose Palm Beach restaurant is generally acknowledged to be the best around.

The answer is simple: Most of these restaurants are more or less the same, although obviously there are differences between one category of cuisine and another. However, if you took the menus of all the Italian restaurants in the area and put them side by side, you’d discover that they’re identical—nearly word for word. The same goes for most other categories. All the gastropubs aren’t identical, but they have many of the same dishes: the ubiquitous tuna tartare, cauliflower steak, pork belly, octopus, charred Brussels sprouts, etc. When it comes to restaurants, many of the establishments and publications are in the same lifeboat. Without the depiction of an exciting local dining scene, both are in serious trouble.

Ah, but I hear you saying that the Michelin Guide is skewed, that they prefer French restaurants above all others. While this was true many years ago, it is no longer the case. Of the 107 Paris restaurants that hold a single star, only one is described by Michelin as French and six are termed Classic (presumably French-inspired). The majority are either Japanese (6), Creative (31), or Modern (63). The situation is similar at the two and three-star level. For a long time, Michelin insisted that food quality was the only criteria in the ratings, but service obviously plays a part, as does consistency (probably one of the reasons Broward and Palm Beach did so poorly).

The one restaurant in Broward to gain a star was the Chef’s Counter at MAAS in the Four Seasons Fort Lauderdale, along with Konro in West Palm Beach. I haven’t dined at either place, so I can’t venture an opinion, but the Konro website is interesting. The kitchen is helmed by Chef Jacob Bickelhaupt; his wife Nadia is the sommelier in the dining room. Diners are served a 10-14 course set menu; there are no alcohol options other than the beverage pairing. Guests must arrive by 6:45 p.m., and the doors are locked at 6:40. No substitutions or dietary restrictions are allowed, photography is forbidden, phones are prohibited, and no strong fragrances must be applied to the body beforehand.

The price of the set menu at Kouro is $440 per person. The beverage pairing adds $295, with $195 for the non-alcoholic version. The restaurant’s signature dish is A5 Wagyu, seared over charcoal and served with twelve-year-old soy sauce, but this isn’t included in the tab: two ounces will cost an additional $125 per person. In all, the cost for two with wine and wagyu is $1,720; with tax and 20% gratuity, the total comes to $2,258, which must be paid in advance. By comparison, the Chef’s Counter menus at MAAS are a steal at $195 and $375. A5 Wagyu comes with the latter, and you can also order from a wine list.

Why would the Broward and Palm Beach tourist boards put themselves in such a potentially embarrassing position? They apparently believed that more local restaurants deserved Michelin stars. If they had dined in cities such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Paris or Tokyo, they would have known better. Prior to the Michelin announcement, two prominent South Florida chefs were proclaiming how proud they were that the Guide was coming, and speculating about how much it would do for the local industry. Neither of them rated a mention in the Guide, and it would be interesting to find out how they feel about it now.

“Recognition in the MICHELIN Guide is a well-deserved honor for our local restaurants and chefs, and we are proud to support them,” said Milton Segarra, president and CEO of Discover The Palm Beaches, Palm Beach County’s official tourism marketing organization. “Discover The Palm Beaches is committed to promoting its premier collection of offerings throughout Palm Beach County, and this further solidifies and magnifies our exceptional culinary scene and provides travelers an additional enticement to visit our destination.”

We all create our own reality.