Austin, TX
Quinn Ewers Silences Doubters in Dominant Win vs. Florida Gators
AUSTIN — Quinn Ewers has been far from his best in recent weeks, and many Texas Longhorns fans have suddenly turned on him as a result. While some criticisms have been warranted, it seems as if these short-sighted fans have quickly forgotten what Ewers has done to help lead the program back to relevance over the last two seasons.
He put any doubts to rest — and hopefully temporarily silenced the social media know-it-alls — by delivering a dominant performance in Saturday’s 49-17 win over the Florida Gators in Austin.
Against a Florida defense that intercepted Georgia quarterback Carson Beck three times the week prior, Ewers finished 19 of 27 passing for 333 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Arch Manning took his place with 7:03 left in the third quarter with Texas up 42-3.
“It does a lot for the confidence, for sure,” Ewers said. “Going out there and executing the way that we did as a whole, who wouldn’t be confident after that performance from the whole offense?”
Ewers ended a streak of four straight appearances with an interception, which dated back to the win over UTSA on Sept. 14 when he suffered the oblique injury that sidelined him for two games.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian praised Ewers for coming into the game with a “real sense of confidence.”
“I thought Quinn played fantastic today, and I thought he played great two weeks ago against Vanderbilt. He had a little bit of bad luck with some tip balls, but he was on point again today. We had, unfortunately, a couple drops for him, but he was on point. He really navigated the offense, as much as it was just throwing the ball. I just felt like our rhythm, our tempo, the intent in which we were playing the game, the ball was going to the right, guys on time. They were catchable balls where they could run with it. So I just think he’s coming into this game with a real sense of confidence.”
Ewers was one passing touchdown away from breaking a school record before heading to the bench. Instead of allowing him to get it, Sarkisian chose differently to avoid upsetting the football gods.
“I just tend not to worry about that kind of stuff,” Sarkisian said. “I think records are meant to be broken when they’re meant to be broken. I don’t think you should try to break records. I think that’s when the football gods get you. And I try to stay on the good side of those guys.”
Texas will visit the Arkansas Razorbacks next week.
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Austin, TX
These 15 Texas restaurants were awarded Michelin Stars. See full list
Birdie’s Arjav Ezekiel, Chef Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel talk restaurant
Birdie’s co-owner Arjav Ezekiel and Chef Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel talk about the inspiration behind the counter-service style restaurant.
The Michelin Guide for restaurants made its highly anticipated Lone Star State debut Monday night with a ceremony and cocktail reception at 713 Music Hall in downtown Houston.
The globally influential dining and travel guide from the French tire company honored 117 Texas restaurants with a variety of distinctions.
Austin had the biggest night of the five major Texas cities represented, taking home 7 of the 15 coveted Michelin Stars awarded to Lone Star restaurants.
Here’s how Texas restaurants fared.
LIST: 7 Austin restaurants awarded Michelin Stars
Seven Austin restaurants were awarded one-star distinctions:
Dai Due and Emmer & Rye, two Austin restaurants that serve American cuisine, were also awarded Michelin Green Star. The distinction highlights restaurants that lead the industry in their sustainability practices.
LIST: 6 Houston restaurants awarded Michelin Stars
With the second-largest one-star contingency, six Houston restaurants claimed the distinctions:
Dallas, San Antonio restaurants each receive a Michelin Star
Tatsu Dallas (Japanese cuisine) and Mixtli (Mexican cuisine) in San Antonio also received one-star distinctions.
No restaurant in Texas received two or three stars. There are currently only 13 restaurants in the United States with three stars and 33 with two stars. About 200 restaurants in the U.S. claim one star. Michelin and its inspectors review star designation annually, with new stars being assigned, and restaurants fighting to hold onto existing stars while often striving for more.
What is The Michelin Guide?
The Michelin Guide is a renowned international restaurant rating system managed by the French tire manufacturer. It was first published in 1889 in the small French town of Clermont-Ferrand by brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin, founders of the now world-famous tire company. The guides, which were originally free, were created to encourage travel and thus boost care and tire sales.
What do Michelin Stars mean?
Michelin’s anonymous inspectors and employees have been reporting and ranking Texas restaurants since this summer. The company ranks each restaurant based on five universal criteria:
- quality of products
- harmony of flavors
- mastery of cooking techniques
- voice and personality of the chef as reflected in the cuisine
- consistency of food between each visit and throughout the menu
A restaurant may be awarded one, two or three Michelin Stars, used to indicate those deemed to be among the best in the world. Michelin’s site explains what the number of Stars represents:
- One Star, “worth a stop”: The restaurant uses top quality ingredients, where dishes with distinct flavors are prepared to a consistently high standard.
- Two Stars, “worth a detour”: The personality and talent of the chef are evident in their expertly crafted dishes; their food is refined and inspired.
- Three Stars, “worth a special journey”: As the highest award, three Stars are given for the superlative cooking of chefs at the peak of their profession; their cooking is elevated to an art form and some of their dishes are destined to become classics.
What is the Bib Gourmand award?
“The Bib Gourmand is our award for great value, and highlights simple yet skillful cooking at an affordable price,” according to the Michelin website.
See the full list of Bib Gourmand award-winning restaurants at guide.michelin.com.
Why did the Michelin tire company rate restaurants?
Emerging in 1900, the Michelin Guide initially served as a comprehensive guidebook for France, aiming to inspire drivers (particularly those using the company’s tires) to explore the country by road. It gradually expanded throughout Europe, but its publication was interrupted during World War I.
After the war, the guide resumed its operations and underwent a significant shift in focus in 1926, transitioning from a general travel guide to a specialized rating system for fine-dining establishments.
The Michelin Guide’s renowned one- to three-star rating system was fully established in 1931, providing a comprehensive evaluation framework for discerning diners.
Austin, TX
Michelin Guide plates up first Texas picks, with 7 stars in Austin
Missed out on one of the coveted invites for Monday night’s ceremony that will reveal which Texas restaurants are included in the state’s first ever Michelin Guide? Fear not.
The event will be streamed live on YouTube beginning at 7 pm. We’ve embedded it below.
As CultureMap haspreviously reported, restaurants from Texas’ five largest cities — Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Austin, as well as points in between — have been invited to the ceremony that’s being held at Houston’s 713 Music Hall. They’re eligible for one of four designations:
- Michelin stars: rated at one, two, or three for restaurants that offer exceptional experiences
- Bib Gourmand: described as “restaurants that offer great quality food at good prices”
- Recommended: for restaurants that serve good food but are not quite star worthy
- Green stars: for “restaurants that are leaders in sustainable gastronomy”
Considered to be the most prestigious restaurant review site in the world, Michelin uses five criteria to evaluate restaurants. They are: product quality; mastery of cooking techniques; harmony of flavors; the personality of the chef as reflected in the cuisine; and consistency over time and across the entire menu.
The guide’s famously anonymous inspectors had already been spending time in Texas when Michelin announced its presence in July. It seems like they’ve been busy.
Texas Monthlyreported that at least 16 barbecue restaurants statewide have been invited to the ceremony, including Austin’s Franklin Barbecue, LeRoy and Lewis BBQ, Interstellar BBQ, and Kemuri Tatsu-Ya, as well as the meteorically successful Lockhart joint Barbs B Q. In the article, barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn speculates that at least one barbecue restaurant could receive a star, which would be a first for America.
Austin’s relatively casual dining scene and inconsistent performance with other food awards (not too shabby, but showing alternating periods of obsession and being overlooked) makes it a bit hard to predict how it will fare in this inaugural year of recognition.
Some Austin restaurants like Pasta|Bar have sibling restaurants in other states that already have stars; others like El Naranjo and Nixta Taqueria already have chef wins from the James Beard Foundation under their belts. There are also some obvious contenders given their ongoing local prestige: Uchi, Hestia, Barley Swine, and Olamaie come to mind. So do newer restaurants that are doing something truly unique, riding huge waves of media praise, or both, like Canje, Birdie’s, and Fabrik.
Of course, CultureMap will be in attendance. We’ll have full coverage of the results later.
—
CultureMap Austin editor Brianna Caleri adapted this story with local commentary.
Austin, TX
Here Are the 2024 Michelin Winners in Austin
It’s finally here: Michelin — the tire company behind the international dining review system — announced the awardees of its first-ever Texas guide on November 11, spanning Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth. The ceremony was presented in Houston and live-streamed on YouTube.
Michelin Guide Texas includes 15 Bib Gourmands; 23 recommended designations. The full Austin list follows below; check out Houston’s and Dallas’s lists on their respective sites.
The first Michelin award of the evening went to Dallas cocktail bar Rye manager Julian Shaffer for the Exceptional Cocktails Award. For San Antonio, Mexican tasting menu restaurant Mixtli’s Hailey Pruitt and Lauren Beckman won the Service Award. Beckman shared that she was “panicking a little bit but completely honored” on stage. The first Austin award went to Edgar Rico of Mexican restaurant Nixta Taqueria for the Young Chef Award. Emmer & Rye’s San Antonio dessert menu restaurant Nicosi got a recommended designation. Only two Austin chefs won the Michelin Green stars — Jesse Griffiths of Dai Due and Emmer & Rye’s Kevin Fink.
Well before Michelin’s Texas announcement in July, its famously anonymous inspectors have been on the ground in the state reviewing restaurants in the five cities and determining which dining establishments are worthy of its stars. Their criteria is based on the quality, creativity, and consistency of the food, ingredients, and dishes. Notably, the website notes that they “do not look at the interior decor, table setting, or service quality.”
Michelin’s star designations breaks down as follows:
- Three Michelin stars indicate restaurants that serve “exceptional cuisine” that is “worth a special journey,” per its website.
- Two stars are given to restaurants that offer “excellent cooking” that is “worth a detour.”
- Single stars are awarded to restaurants that have “high quality cooking” that’s “worth a stop.”
Then there are Michelin’s Bib Gourmands, which are typically given to what the organization describes as places with “good cuisine at reasonable prices,” which is basically just comparatively more affordable and casual restaurants than starred ones. Then there are its Michelin Green Stars given to restaurants that implement highly sustainable and/or eco-friendly practices. And finally, there are its recommended list, which includes restaurants that are good, but not good enough for any of the labels above.
To bring Michelin to Texas, for three years, the state and respective cities’ tourism boards are paying a collective $2,700,000 (Visit Austin’s share of that is $90,000 per year, using the city’s hotel occupancy tax).
Young Chef Award
Edgar Rico of Mexican restaurant Nixta Taqueria (and Eater Award-winning restaurant)
One Star Austin Restaurants
Bib Gourmands in Austin
- Lockhart barbecue restaurant Barbs B Q (and one of Eater’s best new restaurants)
- Biscuit barbecue truck Briscuits
- Food truck Cuantos Tacos
- New Texan restaurant Dai Due
- African American barbecue truck Distant Relatives (and Eater Award-winning food truck)
- New Texan restaurant Emmer & Rye (and Eater Award-winning restaurant)
- Barbecue restaurant Franklin Barbecue
- Japanese Texan izakaya Kemuri Tatsu-ya (and Eater Award-winning restaurant)
- Egyptian Texan barbecue truck KG BBQ (and Eater Award-winning food truck)
- Barbacoa food truck La Santa Barbacha
- Barbecue food truck (turning into a physical restaurant later this winter) Micklethwait Craft Meats
- Mexican restaurant Nixta Taqueria (its second of the evening)
- New Texan restaurant Odd Duck (and Eater Award-winning restaurant)
- Mexican Japanese restaurant Ramen del Barrio (and Eater Award-winning restaurant)
- Mexican restaurant Veracruz Fonda & Bar (from the Veracruz team)
Michelin Recommended Austin Restaurants
Michelin Green in Austin
- New Texan restaurant Dai Due (its second of the evening)
- New Texan Emmer & Rye (its third of the evening)
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