The first Michelin Guide Texas selection has this month been revealed, featuring culinary gems in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. The inaugural list featured 15 new One Stars and 2 new Green Stars in the Lone Star state.
Restaurants earning themselves one star status include chef/owner Bryce Gilmore's Barley Swine, a contemporary, casual dining spot with a distinctly Southwestern palette of flavours that draws from Mexican and Southern traditions. Craft Omakase in Rosedale, led by chefs Charlie Wang and Nguyen Nguyen, takes home a star, with its creative menu of intricate nigiri and mainly fish-based Japanese dishes. Houston restaurant March takes a star, offering diners a culinary exploration of the Mediterranean, studiously delving into individual regions one by one, from the Maghreb in Northwest Africa to Murcia and Andalusia in Southern Spain, to Greece, with a tasting menu and beverage program inspired by each cuisine in turn.
In Austin, two more venues achieving one star status are InterStellar BBQ, where pitmaster John Bates's low and slow post oak barbecue takes centre stage; and la Barbecue, founded by the late LeAnn Mueller and now run by her wife, Ali Clem.
Other venues earning one star status include Hestia, LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue, Olamaie; all found in Austin. Dallas now boasts a one star restaurant in Japanese spot Tatsu, found in the renovated Continental Gin Building. Whilst Houston features five one star restaurants - BCN Taste & Tradition, French spot Le Jardinier Houston, the aforementioned March, Musaafer with it's impressive Indian menu, and Mexican restaurant Tatemó, led by chef Emmanuel Chavez.
The last two venues to make up the list of 15 one star restaurants are found in San Antonio, with Mexican spot Mixtli, led by chefs Diego Galicia and Rico Torres at the helm; and the hugely popular barbecue sensation CorkScrew BBQ.
Find out more about the full list, plus the two Green Star restaurants - Dai Due and Emmer & Rye, both found in Austin - over on the Michelin Guide website.