A Star Is Born

More Michelin Mutterings

Entrance to the recently Michelin-starred Taquería El Califa de León. Photo by kaart_1 on Mapillary.

Last November, I wrote about the pretentious Michelin stars migrating their way southwestward to Latin America. Well, Michelin has successfully checked Mexico off of their bucket list, and managed to hand out a variety of 1- and 2-star awards to 18 eating establishments in this culinary giant of a country. We can all rest easier now knowing that if we want to brag to our friends about having eaten in a Michelin star restaurant, we can do so and combine the whole thing with a beach vacation so that at the very least we can feel that we’ve actually accomplished something worthwhile.

OK, I kid those Michelin stars because I love them (not really). For the sake of completeness if nothing else, I feel duty-bound to offer this footnote to that November article.

Having not actually eaten in any Michelin star restaurants (I’ve eaten a few Famous Star hamburgers 🍔, but I think that is unrelated) within or without Mexico, I can’t offer any insight into my sense of the appropriateness of the stars given or withheld. I’m sure all the starred establishments are excellent, Mexican cuisine generally sitting well on the side of excellence in my opinion. And I’m happy to see these places recognized by the international food critics who are out there dutifully criticizing international food so that the rest of us don’t have to. Here, then, is a summary, by state - please print and laminate this:

Mexico City (which, of course, has the most - and is the only city with restaurants that scored 2 stars)

• Pujol (2 stars)

• Quintonil (2 stars)

(All the rest are 1 star)

• Em

• Esquina Común

• Rosetta

• Sud 777

• Taquería El Califa de León

Baja California

• Animalón (Valle de Guadalupe)

• Conchas de Piedra (Valle de Guadalupe)

• Damiana (Valle de Guadalupe)

Baja California Sur

• Cocina de Autor Los Cabos (Cabo San Lucas)

Quintana Roo

• Cocina de Autor Riviera Maya (Playa del Carmen)

• HA’ (Playa del Carmen)

• Le Chique (Puerto Morelos)

Nuevo León

• KOLI Cocina de Origen (Monterrey)

• Pangea (San Pedro Garza García)

Oaxaca

• Levadura de Olla Restaurante (City of Oaxaca)

• Los Danzantes Oaxaca (City of Oaxaca)

In addition to all of these “regular” stars, Michelin awarded “green” stars to 6 restaurants in Mexico. Green Michelin stars are awarded to restaurants that exhibit eco-friendly or otherwise sustainable culinary practices, and also serve up requisitely delicious grub. For the full list, with close-up photos of food and/or folded napkins, visit the Michelin Mexico guide here.

One restaurant that deserves a bit more attention is Taquería El Califa de León. This is a tiny 10-foot by 10-foot taquería in the artsy and under-appreciated San Rafael neighborhood of Mexico City. They serve only 4 types of beef tacos, and 2 types of salsa: red and green. That’s the extent of their “menu”. Locals have sworn by this place for decades - now they’ll be lucky to get a plate of tacos on a Saturday night. C’est la vie.