Big Culinary News: DC to Get Its Own Michelin Guide

Good news, District foodies: the world-famous reviewer Michelin is creating a guide just for Washington, D.C., making it just the fourth U.S. city to get one and one of 29 in the world.

The Michelin Guide is arguably the most prestigious restaurant review organization in the world, and the stars it awards are the most coveted in the culinary world. Michelin announced today that its anonymous inspectors will begin sampling food in the District in preparation for the first Michelin Guide Washington, D.C., which will be published in the fall, according to a statement.

It will be the 29th edition of the international Michelin Guides collection, and the first to cover a city in the Mid-Atlantic region in the United States. The other three cities with their own Michelin guides are New York, Chicago and San Francisco.

"I am excited to announce that the MICHELIN Guide will be a part of the extraordinary and eclectic food scene in America’s great capital," Michael Ellis, international director of the MICHELIN guides, said in the statement. "Washington is one of the great cosmopolitan cities in the world, with a unique and storied past that includes, among so many other things, a rich culinary tradition that continues to evolve in exciting new directions."

The first edition of the guide will include only restaurants within the geographical confines of the District, but subsequent editions will include the greater metropolitan area.

"Meticulous in maintaining their confidentiality, Michelin inspectors from the United States and other countries have been selecting restaurants in the District for several months," Michelin stated. "As always, they make dining reservations anonymously, pay for all their meals, ensuring that they are treated the same as any other customer."

Washington is the fourth city to be added to the international guide list this year, joining Seoul, South Korea; Singapore; and Shanghai, China.