Three of New York City’s busiest and hippest restaurants have been stripped of their only Michelin stars as part of an unusually aggressive annual star reallocation.
Michelin’s 2022 star ranking for New York was announced Thursday night 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 gone unappreciated by French tire makers and publishers of influential restaurant guides.
Another restaurant that lost its star was ZZ’s Clam Bar with no vegetarian options.
In contrast, Dirt Candy was a vegetarian restaurant that received its first Michelin star.
The 17 restaurants that earned a first star have almost twice as many vegetarian entrees as the nine restaurants that lost theirs.
On average, the restaurants that lost their single star offered 1.4 vegetarian entrees, while the restaurants that received a first star offered 2.3.
The South Indian restaurant Semma was also awarded a star. Unlike any restaurant that has lost its star, Semma offers a wide range of vegetarian dishes.
One of its owners, Roni Mazumdar, told Bloomberg he believes the gesture will help the next generation of chefs express themselves through food more connected to their heritage.
Overall, the number of restaurants with at least one star has risen from 68 in the previous year to 73.
The Michelin Guide’s 2022 New York Awards were hosted by actor Neil Patrick Harris at the Park Restaurant in Hudson Yards this year
Food critic Pete Wells of the New York Times said of Carbone in an August review that “most people have been there since [re]Opened in May, eaten al fresco at rickety patio tables
The fish restaurant Marea had two Michelin stars three years ago, but now it’s back to zero
The Michelin Guide’s New York Awards were hosted by actor Neil Patrick Harris at the Park Restaurant this year.
“New York’s culinary landscape is definitely back on its feet and getting bigger and bigger,” said Michelin Guides director Gwendal Poullennec during the event.
Carbone is a Greenwich Village meeting place favored by celebrities and high-profile individuals since it opened in 2013.
It was awarded its first Michelin star the same year it opened.
Five NYC restaurants retain their three Michelin stars
The five NYC restaurants that had three stars in 2021 all kept them in 2022. They are:
1. Massa
2. Le Bernardin
3. In itself
4. Chef’s Table at the Brooklyn Fare
5. Eleven Madison Park
Founded by chefs Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi, the restaurant is famous for its spicy rigatoni and interior design that may have been reminiscent of the Goodfellas set.
Many NYC restaurants have had to reconfigure during the pandemic. That could have contributed to the downfall of Carbone. Food critic Pete Wells of The New York Times said in an August review that “most people who’ve been there since [re]opened in May ate al fresco at rickety patio tables.’
Another restaurant that lost its star, Marea is a seafood restaurant just south of Central Park.
It’s run by Altamarea Group, which is owned by former Wall Street exec Ahmass Fakahany, who describes the restaurant as something for people who “don’t chase luxury, they live it.”
Fakahany’s Altamarea group lost another star at their Ai Fiori restaurant.
Marea has suffered a fairly constant loss of prestige over the past few years. Although the restaurant was awarded a second Michelin star in 2010, it lost it a decade later in 2020. It’s now dropped to zero.
Before the losses, Anthony Bourdain told the Daily Beast in 2017 that Marea was one of his favorite spots in town.
Seafood restaurant Marea in Central Park South lost its Michelin star during an event Thursday
Actresses Natalie Dormer and Jennifer Lawrence arrive at Marea on Central Park South on two separate occasions
Peter Luger is a famous Brooklyn steakhouse located under the Williamsburg Bridge and has been open since 1987.
The restaurant, known for its porterhouse steak, creamed spinach, and German potatoes, is known to not accept credit cards.
The restaurant is best known for its porterhouse steak, but in 2019 critic Wells described it as unevenly cooked and nowhere near the best cut of meat in New York City
Awards line the walls at the Peter Luger Steakhouse in Brookyln
Viewed from the exit of the Williamsburg Bridge, the Peter Luger Steakhouse received a scathing zero-star rating from The New York Times in 2019
In recent decades it has come under criticism for its rude waiters and inhospitable attitude towards guests. The steak was also criticized.
The restaurant was famously gutted in a seething zero-star review from The New York Times a few years ago. In a brutal attack on the establishment, Times food critic Pete Wells said: “The Department of Motor Vehicles is a bloc party compared to the line at Peter Luger.”
New Yorkers delighted in his criticism, and tweeted in droves that they had felt the same way about the restaurant for a long time.
Explanations for its downfall vary, but some say it was made worse by the departure of Wolfgang Zweiner, the longtime head waiter, who left in 2004.
A further eight restaurants also lost their one star during the Michelin star reshuffle. These include: Wallsé, Meadowsweet, L’Appart and the Clocktower, ZZ’s Clam Bar and Altamarea’s Ai Fiori.
On the other hand, 17 restaurants received their first star.
The story of the Brooklyn restaurant known for “New York’s best steak.”
Luger was opened in 1887 by Peter Luger, a German immigrant. It was originally Carl Luger’s Café, Billiards and Bowling Alley and was a favorite among the mostly German neighborhood, according to the restaurant’s website.
Peter Luger was the owner, but his nephew Carl ran the kitchen, hence his name.
Although the restaurant was popular, it skyrocketed thanks to the help of the Forman family, who ran a manufacturing company across the street.
“The Forman family made everything from cutlery to trays to stamped metal gift items. The manufacturing facility at 185 Broadway served as the sales headquarters, and where better for Sol Forman to meet potential clients than at the famous restaurant across the street? Sol was known to eat two steaks a day — three after mass,” boasts the restaurant’s website.
The restaurant opened in the 1880s and was remodeled by the Forman family in the 1920s
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 to show up to buy it at auction, winning it for the price of the property alone. He revived it, and when the Williamsburg Bridge opened in 1903, its success multiplied as wealthier Manhattanites came 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 a Michelin star and a steady stream of tourists and new residents queuing outside to get a table most evenings.
It’s notorious for its rude service — until recently, making a reservation online was impossible, and even an answer over the phone is rare.
Only cash is accepted as a means of payment (with the exception of the hotel’s Peter Luger credit card).
While it’s known for its lunchtime porterhouse steak and burgers, the restaurant is notorious for its overpriced side dishes, like a $16.95 plate of tomatoes, onions, and bacon for $6.95 each.
Peter Luger’s famous side of bacon, which costs $6.95 each
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