What Every Star In The Michelin Guide Means

Sometimes, a fact is weird and surprising even though there's really no reason for it to be weird or surprising. If you asked us who publishes the Michelin Guide for the world's best restaurants, we'd probably guess Michelin Tires, but we wouldn't expect to be right. We'd feel like a "Jeopardy!" contestant taking a shot in the dark on the Daily Double. And yet, there it is: The Michelin Guide was, in fact, created by Michelin Tires in an attempt to encourage motor travel. Accordingly, the three Michelin stars represent how far out of your way it's worth driving in order to get to a given restaurant.

In 1936, the Michelin Guide first attached criteria to go with each star rating. One star represents "a very good restaurant in its own category." Usually, a one star rating has a negative connotation, but when it comes to Michelin restaurants, receiving even a single star is a great honor. Two stars means "excellent cooking, worth a detour" while three stars means "exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey." Some famous restaurants with three Michelin stars include Thomas Keller's The French Laundry, Gordon Ramsay's Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, and Eric Ripert's Le Bernardin. So, if you were wondering if these world-class restaurants are worth visiting, Michelin gives them all a hearty thumbs-up.

But what if you'd like to enjoy Michelin-quality food without the eye-watering prices? Heck, with the price of gas being what it is these days, driving will cost you plenty of money even when you're not driving to a $200-a-head restaurant. Well, Michelin has you covered with their "Bib Gourmand" rating with which they single out restaurants that serve a great meal without the sticker shock.

There is no one-size-fits-all threshold for the Bib Gourmand ranking — a reasonable price in Manhattan would be ruinously expensive in Des Moines, after all. Culinarily speaking, the food served at Bib Gourmand restaurants is simpler and less fussy than the molecular gastronomy or nouvelle cuisine you might find at Michelin-starred establishments. New York's Katz' Delicatessen, with its hearty and ever-popular pastrami sandwiches, is a Bib Gourmand recipient and so is Rodney Scott's BBQ, the Charleston-based barbecue institution run by pitmaster and cookbook author Rodney Scott. Depending on your taste, you might find these sorts of restaurants more enjoyable than the prestigious three-starred restaurants Michelin usually fetes.