The Only Brewery With A Michelin Star Is In This Midwest City

When you think about the kinds of restaurants that get Michelin stars, you don't usually think of breweries — heck, most breweries don't even function as restaurants. Michelin stars (a system created by the tire company of the same name) are usually reserved for those fancy, hifalutin restaurants with molecular gastronomy and the kind of wine they would've used to trick that guy into the basement in "The Cask of Amontillado." So, what kind of brewery gets a Michelin star? A really, really good one, that's what. A brewery like Moody Tongue, which was founded in Chicago in 2014 by a pair of cousins named Jared Rouben and Jeremy Cohn.

Instead of wine pairings or mixological cocktails, Moody Tongue provides an array of "culinary beers" for guests to enjoy, whether in the restaurant or in stores across the country. There are a few favorites which are for sale all year round, like the Aperitif Pilsner or the Orange Blossom Belgian Blonde, as well as some which are seasonal or offered in a limited capacity, such as the Smoked Applewood Gold or the Shaved Black Truffle Pilsner. Truffles may have broken free from fine dining, but that doesn't mean they can't still class up a joint — not that Moody Tongue needs much help on that front.

As delicious as those beers sound, it's the food that earned Moody Tongue two Michelin stars back in 2021. (They've since been downgraded to "just" one star, which is still something 99% of chefs would kill for, so hopefully they're not losing too much sleep over it.) If you visit the Bar Room location in Chicago, you can order off the a la carte menu to feast on appetizers like pork belly or fried soft shell crab as well as entrees like stone axe wagyu beef and Lac Brome duck breast. Visit the Dining Room, however, and you'll be treated to a tasting menu experience starting with pricy Golden Ossetra caviar before sampling sablefish, scallops, duck, steak, and panna cotta for dessert.

If you can't make it to the Windy City, fear not — there are a few different locations, albeit with different specialties. In West Palm Beach and New York City (home to many Michelin-starred restaurants), Moody Tongue operates a sushi bar, offering appetizers, hand-rolled sushi, and a 13-course tasting menu. Also in New York City, Moody Tongue operates a pizza restaurant which sells specialty pies topped with wagyu beef or crab and pecorino.