When Michelin announced earlier this month that its 2020 New York City guide would include Westchester County, it led some Michelin-watchers to one conclusion: The guide wanted to award one or more stars to Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown, N.Y. And that’s exactly what happened.
In the star lineup announced on Monday afternoon, Blue Hill at Stone Barns was awarded two stars; it is the only Westchester restaurant given stars on a list of 24. Blue Hill in Manhattan has one star.
The New York City list of starred restaurants includes a two-star newcomer, Atomix, for a total of 14 restaurants in that category.
In Westchester, there were eight “Bib Gourmand” good value restaurants and 15 others recognized with plate symbols for quality, including Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Inn at Pound Ridge, Michael Psilakis’s MP Taverna in Irvington, La Panetière in Rye, the venerable La Crémaillère in Banksville, Tarry Lodge from Joe Bastianich in Port Chester, and X20 Xaviars on the Hudson in Yonkers.
It’s the 15th year Michelin has published a New York City guide, and that factored into the decision to expand to Westchester, said Gwendal Poullennec, the international director of the Michelin Guides. “It’s a natural extension,” he said in a telephone interview. “We review the best places wherever they are located. We have known about Blue Hill at Stone Barns for many years.”
The chief inspector for North America, who declined to give his name, cited the expertise of the restaurant’s farm-to-table approach and the immediacy of the actual farm at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. In Westchester, the inspectors were impressed with the techniques and the high-quality ingredients, he said.
As for not extending the guide’s reach to the Hudson Valley or Long Island, in the way that the San Francisco guide has always included the wine country and some areas south of the city, Mr. Poullennec said “we do things step-by-step.” He did not elaborate.
The five top-level, three-star restaurants in New York remained unchanged: Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare (in Manhattan), Eleven Madison Park, Le Bernardin, Masa and Per Se. The one-star category welcomed eight new places: Benno, Crown Shy, Estela, Four Horsemen, Le Jardinier, Odo, Oxalis and Ukiyo.
The guide includes only two of the new Hudson Yards restaurants, TAK Room and Kawi. They were recognized for quality, but not awarded stars.
The 2020 Michelin Guide New York City will be available starting Wednesday for $18.99.
