But lurking beneath the same vaunted guide is a less-showy trinket of an honor for those of us who love to eat: the Bib Gourmand. It's not a prize for fancy white-tableclothed places — it's for affordable, authentic and unforgettable meals that speak of its local culture and place.
Bib Gourmand: Michelin's Budget-Friendly Gem
The Bib Gourmand followed in 1997, nearly a century after the publication of Michelin's first guide. Unlike its high-profile star ratings for fancy restaurants, the Bib Gourmand acknowledges places where diners can eat two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for less than $50 (£37).
Here are the holes in the wall food joints locals flock to and travelers tend to miss, serving up bang for the buck without stinting on flavour.
How they choose to spend $9 for soup dumplings probably affects what experiences they get at more elite places, such as the two others in Los Angeles with three stars: the $325 all-inclusive Providence and the $298 Urasawa, a sushi den.
For every Michelin-starred spot that gets raves from food lovers for its fancy, look-at-the-bird Etruscan-duck tableside presentation, there are roughly 1,000 rhapsodies over the spicy toothpick lamb at Chengdu Taste or the burritos at La Azteca Tortilleria, both Bib Gourmand winners.
These restaurants don't provide the fine-dining room decor, but they do convey flavor, authenticity, and cultural depth.
A Real Taste of Place
What makes Bib Gourmand so special is its proximity to local traditions and culture." In Istanbul, Karaköy Lokantası is there with the comforting Turkish classics, like hünkar beğendi (meat over smoked aubergine), fried mantı (meat dumplings in yoghurt).
It's not Michelin fancy the restaurant is deliberately not Michelin-star fancy — its mission is about maintaining the essence of real Turkish home-style cooking.
Hanoi, meanwhile, attracts tourists to locations such as Phở Bò Lâm, a Bib Gourmand eatery that serves a hearty beef pho. Plastic stools and bowls full of flavour.
Travelers like Ben Beale find Bibs, in many ways, the go-to — he's eating here for food and atmosphere he believes to be more honest and fun than some of the fine dining.
Visitor in Michelin's native France even head to Bib Gourmand restaurants such as La Merenda in Nice. There, James Zhang and his family relished stuffed courgette blossoms and pistou pasta among locals — a real flavour of the region.
Diversity Over Prestige
Bib Gourmand awards also spotlight culinary diversity that is often overlooked by the classic Michelin star, which has been accused of bias towards French, Italian, and Japanese fare.
In Los Angeles, a city bursting with Asian American communities, hardly any non-Japanese Asian restaurants have Michelin stars. But a majority are known as Bib Gourmands — serving authentic, community-loved food.
This divide is stark in cities like Montreal as well. Even if the city's Michelin-starred restaurants are generally made up of tasting menus that tend toward French inspiration, the Bib Gourmand list contains kitchens of Syrian, Armenian, and Portuguese influence that more deeply appreciate the richness of this place.
Why Travellers Should Care
Bib Gourmand listings can be a great asset for travelers. They create the opportunity for inexpensive, thoughtful food that has something to say — something about a place, its people, and the roots of its cooking.
There's no need for a big budget, or for that matter, a dress code — just curiosity and a modest appetite.
So the next time you travel, don't just look for the stars. Open the Michelin Guide app, search for nearby Bib Gourmand spots, and taste the places where locals make merry and mourn. You may find that your most memorable meal isn't necessarily the priciest.
