Will Milne
Left to right: Goldee's Bar-B-Q owners Lane Milne, Nuphon Inthanousay, Jalen Heard, Dylan Taylor, and Jonny White
Three restaurants in Fort Worth and one in Arlington were honored Monday night at what was certainly one of the most important culinary events to ever take place in the state: the inaugural Texas Michelin Guide ceremony.
Fort Worth’s Goldee’s Bar-B-Q, Panther City Barbecue, and Birrieria Y Taqueria Cortez, along with Smoke ‘N Ash BBQ in Arlington, were recognized by the French tire company that also happens to produce the most widely known and respected restaurant guide in the world.
Goldee’s Bar-B-Q, ranked by Texas Monthly as the No. 1 barbecue joint in the state, received Michelin’s Bib Gourmand award, the latest prize for the Kennedale-area ‘cue joint owned by a group of lifelong friends. Bib Gourmand awards are meant to honor value restaurants with exceptional food.
Panther City Barbecue, Smoke N’ Ash and Birrieria Y Taqueria Cortez were among the dozen or so Texas restaurants bestowed with a “Recommended” nod by Michelin, which some consider to be the next best thing to earning a Michelin star, the coveted end-all award in the culinary world.
Restaurants listed or ranked by Michelin often experience a major uptick in sales, while diners who follow the guides consider them essential tools for mapping out vacations and trips. Hoping to attract more international visitors to their respective cities, visitors’ bureaus in five Texas cities - Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio - paid a reported amount of $900,000 to bring Michelin to Texas; Michelin’s so-called inspectors, the people who rank the restaurants, began surveying Texas eateries earlier this year.
Smoke’N Ash BBQ
No Fort Worth restaurant was awarded a star on Michelin’s punctilious 1-to-3-star rating system and no Texas restaurant received two or three stars.
During the ceremony Monday night, broadcast live from Houston, Panther City BBQ owners Chris Magallanes and Ernest Morales were front and center on stage while their restaurant was being recognized during the “Recommended” award. It was a cool moment, seeing these two longtime friends who built their ‘cue business from the ground up, starting out with a trailer before graduating to a brick-and-mortar that has helped turn Fort Worth into a barbecue destination.
While many predicted Goldee’s and Panther City would receive some sort of recognition, it was a nice surprise to see Smoke N’ Ash and Cortez honored. Smoke N’ Ash is an innovative, husband-wife barbecue restaurant that combines Ethiopian cuisine with smoked meats, while Cortez is a monstrously popular mom-and-pop taqueria for which critical acclaim has been somewhat elusive (we were early champions).
Unsurprisingly, Houston and Austin dominated the ceremony. Several Austin restaurants received the coveted one star rating, including Barley Swine, Craft Omakase, Hestia, InterStellar BBQ, Olamaie, LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue, and la Barbecue. In Houston, BCN Taste & Tradition, March, Le Jardinier, Musaafer, and Tatemó were awarded one star.
Dallas’ Tatsu also received a single star, as did Corkscrew BBQ in Spring and Mixtli in San Antonio.
Austin and Houston restaurants were also all over the “Recommended” restaurants, and a pair of Austin eateries Dai Due and Emmer & Rye, were given Green stars, awarded to restaurants whose sustainability efforts match the quality of the food.
Fort Worth's inclusion in the first-ever Texas Michelin Guide will last at least three years, says Mitch Whitten, Chief Operating Officer of Visit Fort Worth, which partnered with Texas Tourism to bring Michelin to the city.
For a full list of winners, click here.
