Michelin STRIPS stars from three famed NYC restaurants
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Three of New York City’s most visited and trendy restaurants have been stripped of their only Michelin stars as part of an unusually aggressive annual redistribution of stars.
Michelin’s 2022 star ranking for New York was announced Thursday evening at an event at Hudson Yards in Manhattan.
Carbone, Peter Luger Steakhouse and Marea are three New York restaurants that have fallen out of favor and been left unrecognized by the French tire manufacturer and publisher of influential restaurant guides.
Another restaurant that lost its star was ZZ’s Clam Bar, with no vegetarian options.
Dirt Candy, on the other hand, was a vegetarian restaurant that received its first Michelin star.
The 17 restaurants that received a first star have nearly double the number of vegetarian main courses than the nine eateries that lost theirs.
On average, the number of vegetarian main courses offered in the restaurants that lost their single star was 1.4, while in the restaurants that got a first star it was 2.3.
The South Indian restaurant Semma also received a star. Unlike any restaurant that has lost its star, Semma offers a wide variety of vegetarian dishes.
Owner Roni Mazumdar told Bloomberg that he believes the gesture will support the next generation of chefs to express themselves through food more connected to their heritage.
Overall, the number of restaurants with at least one star has risen to 73, compared to 68 last year.
The Michelin Guide’s 2022 New York Awards were presented this year by actor Neil Patrick Harris at the Park Restaurant in Hudson Yards
New York Times food critic Pete Wells said in a review of Carbone in August that “most people who have been there since [re]open in may ate outside at wobbly patio tables’
Fish restaurant Marea had two Michelin stars just three years ago, now it’s back to zero
The Michelin Guide’s New York Awards were presented this year by actor Neil Patrick Harris at the Park Restaurant.
“New York’s culinary landscape is definitely back on its feet, getting bigger and bigger,” Michelin Guides director Gwendal Poullennec said at the event.
Carbone is a Greenwich Village hangout that has been popular with celebrities and high-status individuals since it opened in 2013.
It received its first Michelin star the same year it opened.
Founded by chefs Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi, the restaurant is known for its spicy rigatoni and interior that resembles Goodfellas’ set.
Many NYC restaurants had to reconfigure during the pandemic. That could be Carbone’s downfall. Food critic Pete Wells of the New York Times said in a review in August that “most people who have been there since the [re]open in May have eaten outside at wobbly patio tables.’
Another restaurant that has lost its star, Marea is a seafood restaurant just south of Central Park.
It’s run by the Altamarea Group, which is owned by former Wall Street CEO Ahmass Fakahany, who describes the restaurant as being for those “not chasing luxury, but living it.”
Fakahany’s Altamarea Group lost another star at Ai Fiori restaurant.
Marea has suffered a fairly constant loss of prestige in recent years. Although the restaurant received a second Michelin star in 2010, it lost it ten years later in 2020. Now it is at zero.
Before the losses, Anthony Bourdain told the Daily Beast in 2017 that Marea was one of his favorite places to eat in the city.
Fish restaurant Marea on Central Park South lost its Michelin star during an event on Thursday
Actresses Natalie Dormer and Jennifer Lawrence have been spotted at Marea in Central Park South on two separate occasions
Peter Luger is a famous Brooklyn steakhouse that is located under the Williamsburg Bridge and has been around since 1987.
The restaurant, known for its porterhouse steak, creamy spinach and German potatoes, does not accept credit cards.
The restaurant is best known for its porterhouse steak, but in 2019 critic Wells described it as unevenly cooked and far from the best cut of meat in New York City
Awards along the walls at Peter Luger Steakhouse in Brookyln
Peter Luger steakhouse, seen from the Williamsburg Bridge exit, received a scathing, zero-star review in 2019 in The New York Times
In recent decades it has been criticized for its rude waiters and unwelcoming attitude towards guests. The steak has also been criticized.
The restaurant was famously gutted a few years ago in a seething New York Times zero-star review. In a brutal attack on the establishment, Times food critic Pete Wells said, “The Department of Motor Vehicles is a block party compared to the line at Peter Luger.”
New Yorkers rejoiced at his critique and took to Twitter in droves to say they’ve long held the same opinion about the restaurant.
The explanations for the demise vary, but some say it was compounded by the departure of Wolfgang Zweiner, the long-serving head waiter who left in 2004.
During the realignment of the Michelin star, another eight restaurants lost their one star. They include: Wallsé, Meadowsweet, L’Appart and the Clocktower, ZZ’s Clam Bar and Altamarea’s Ai Fiori.
In contrast, 17 restaurants received their first star.
The History of the Brooklyn Restaurant Known for ‘New York’s Best Steak’
Luger was opened in 1887 by Peter Luger, a German immigrant. Originally Carl Luger’s Café, Billiards and Bowling Alley, it was a favorite in the predominantly German neighborhood, according to the restaurant’s website.
Peter Luger was the owner, but his cousin, Carl, ran the kitchen and that’s where it gets its name.
While the restaurant was popular, it grew thanks to the help of the Forman family, who ran a manufacturing company across the street.
“Forman Family made everything from silverware to trays to stamped metal gifts. The production site, at 185 Broadway, served as a sales office, and what better place for Sol Forman to host potential customers than the famous restaurant across the street? Sol was known to eat two steaks a day – three when the stock markets came through,” the restaurant’s website boasts.
The restaurant opened in the 1880s and was renovated in 1920 by the Forman . family
When Peter Luger died, the restaurant fell into disrepair.
Sol Forman took over the restaurant after the death of Peter Luger
Forman was the only person who showed up to buy it at auction and win it just for the price of the land. He brought it to life, and when the Williamsburg Bridge opened in 1903, its success multiplied with wealthier Manhattanites coming across the East River in search of a good steak.
The restaurant has claimed the title of New York’s best steakhouse since the 1980s.
It has one Michelin star and a steady stream of tourists and new residents who queue outside for a table most evenings.
It is known for its rude service – until recently it was impossible to book online and even an answer on the phone is rare.
Cash is the only accepted form of payment (except for the house Peter Luger credit card).
While it’s known for its porterhouse steak and burger at lunchtime, the restaurant is notorious for its overpriced sides, such as a $16.95 tomato and onion-and-bacon plate for $6.95 a slice.
Peter Luger’s famous side of bacon that costs $6.95 a slice?
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