Five Colorado restaurants earn Michelin stars
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The Michelin Guide Ceremony at Mission Ballroom in Denver's RiNo Art District on Sept. 12. Photo: Esteban L. Hernandez/Axios
Five Colorado restaurants — including three in Denver — earned a coveted Michelin star in its first guide for Colorado released Tuesday night.
Why it matters: The guide's inaugural picks firmly establish Denver, Boulder and its luxury mountain towns as premier dining destinations in the American West.
- The stars are given to top restaurants serving some of the best dishes in the world.
- Colorado has just the sixth guide in the United States.
Zoom in: Michelin's star rating system includes three tiers and is based on five criteria, including product quality and cooking techniques.
- One star is for a restaurant that's worth a stop, two stars is for one that's worth a detour, while three stars is reserved for places worthy of a "special journey."
State of play: The guide gave one star to five Colorado restaurants.
- Beckon (Denver). Serving contemporary cuisine, its seared quail breast with confit leg was noted as being "spot on" in the guide.
- Bosq (Aspen). The guide highlighted this contemporary restaurants menu format, which lets people customize their own tasting of four or more courses.
- Brutø (Denver). A Mexican and contemporary restaurant, the guide highlighted its ingredients, including its lamb, which is prepared as a street-style taco and ground lamb leg kushiyaki.
- Frasca Food and Wine (Boulder). An Italian restaurant, it was given kudos for its "minimal, straightforward" approach to dishes, including for its halfmoon fresh spinach pasta.
- The Wolf's Tailor (Denver). This contemporary restaurant was noted for its "unique, genre-defying" style combining elements from includes Nordic, italian and East Asian food.
Between the lines: 44 restaurants in Colorado were recognized by the guide, including Bib Gourmand (budget-friendly restaurant recommendations) and Recommended eateries.
- Blackbelly Market (Boulder), Bramble & Hare (Boulder), Brutø and The Wolf's Tailor were given Michelin Green Stars, which highlights places with sustainable practices.
Of note: The guide only considered restaurants in Aspen, Beaver Creek, Denver, Boulder, Snowmass Village and Vail.
The other side: Michelin was criticized for not including Aurora, a city with a diverse and award-winning cultural scene.
- "I hope this diverse demographic eventually gets the recognition it deserves," Caroline Glover, a chef at Annette in Aurora, told the Denver Post last month.
The intrigue: Four tourism boards, including Denver's, paid Michelin between $70,000 to $100,000 to be considered for the guide, according to the The New York Times. Aurora's tourism agency declined to participate.
- Additionally, the Colorado Tourism Office agreed to pay $135,000 annually for three years to promote the guide, per the Denver Post.
- It's common practice for tourism boards and hotel owners to pay for Michelin to accept money from sponsors for a chance to earn a star, according to the Times.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Blackbelly Marker is in Boulder (not Denver) and that Brutø is a Mexican (not Italian) restaurant.
