For those who follow these sorts of things: the 2012 Michelin Guide for New York restaurants is being released this week, and aspiring gourmands will need to prepare their Metrocard if they hope to achieve the ultimate in dining out bragging rights.
The hard copies won't be out until tomorrow, but the beans have already been spilled on the Guide's website. Highlights include Eleven Madison Park's promotion from one star to three ("exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey")—as it happens, Danny Meyer is now trying to sell the joint—and Brooklyn Fare's jump from two to three. Other three-starrers include rich-people standbys Per Se, Le Bernadin and Jean Georges. Downtown diners have some two-starrers ("excellent cuisine, worth a detour") to choose from: Momofuku Ko, Corton and Kajitsu all the made the cut.
Altogether, only 93 restaurants in the world are given three stars by the Euro-centric Michelin guide, and seven of them are in New York. The Guide released its younger, hipper Bib Gourmand list last week, which included a restaurant known for serving foie gras-filled doughnuts, which we can guarantee you will not see at Per Se.
