The Michelin Guide — the international dining review system from the French tire company — has been shaking things up lately. The organization recently awarded coveted stars to a casual taqueria in Mexico, an ice cream shop in Taiwan, and a counter-service Mexican seafood restaurant in Los Angeles. It’s a trend that seems to signal a change in how the organization rates restaurants: No longer are businesses on the Michelin Guide selected based on the relative fanciness of the experience but on the quality of the meal and it’s a reflection of the local dining culture regardless of whether it’s an upscale Japanese omakase or an affordable cart serving barbacoa. What’s next? A barbecue restaurant? That’s a very real possibility now that Michelin’s guide to Texas is finally happening.

Michelin announced its entrance into Texas in July after months of rumors. Its anonymous inspectors have already scouted restaurants in five spotlighted cities — Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth — and determined which are worthy of its desirable designations. It took this long for Michelin Texas to happen, a combination of convincing the powers-that-be that the state is a worthy dining region and hefty buy-ins from tourism boards. Now the question is whether Austin restaurants will get actual stars when the full guide is announced on Monday, November 11.

Without a doubt, Michelin is important to diners and the restaurant industry. For users, it’s a handy indicator of where people should eat, especially for international travelers seeking out destination-worthy dining experiences. For the latter, getting recognition from the organization is proof of dining excellence, not to mention a likely economic boost.

There are downsides of Michelin, too — Eater and other publications have covered them extensively — but to the culinary community in Texas, the guide signals a new era in dining and talent cultivation.

It seemed like a no-brainer that Texas should get Michelin. Its foodways are particularly distinct, rooted in Indigenous, Mexican, cowboy, Czech, German, and Americana cuisines. “It’s going to be great for the state,” says Sara Mardanbigi, the co-owner and director of operations of Austin Mexican restaurant Nixta Taqueria. “It’s going to bring in a lot of different types of folks into our backyard. It’s exciting to be opening up the doors rather than keeping them closed to others.”

Chef Simone Tong, the co-owner of modern Chinese restaurant Zoé Tong, understands the powerful international appeal of Michelin. Before moving to Austin, her now-closed New York restaurant Silver Apricot had received attention from the guide’s inspectors. “It’s good for people around the world to travel to Texas so they have a reference,” she says.

For others, the Michelin Guide’s arrival feels symbolic of a growing maturity of the Texas culinary scene and respect for its traditions. Zoé Tong co-owner Mathew Hyland believes the inspectors’ arrival in Austin offers people an alternative restaurant “critic” perspective in the city. “It’s nice having this other reviewing criticism to a degree.”

Chefs and couple Lorin and Mathew Peters were part of a group rallying for Michelin’s expansion to Texas. Lorin operates Cookie Rich bakery and Goldy’s food truck, while Mathew works for high-end cocktail bar Prélude and forthcoming tasting menu restaurant Maven. Both alums of three-Michelin-starred restaurant the French Laundry, the pair decided to move to Austin, Lorin’s home state, from Napa Valley in 2017. At the time their friends, chef Thomas Keller of the French Laundry among them, questioned why they didn’t go somewhere with a thriving fine dining scene like New York or Chicago. “‘Why are you taking [Mathew] to Texas?’” Lorin recalls Keller asking. “I was like, ‘Chef, I promise, just watch. Texas is going to get there one day.’” This past summer while Keller was visiting Texas, she revisited the conversation. “‘Alright, Chef, how are you feeling about Texas now?’” she asked. “‘God bless Texas,’ he said. “He gets it now.”

But it’s not just about external perceptions of the state’s restaurant industry. Others have praised the guide as a new achievement to strive for, keeping and drawing even more young talent to the state whereas in the past some left to pursue stars in a different market. Wesley Lucas, the director of communications for the city’s tourism agency, Visit Austin (which also helped pay Michelin to come to the city) remembers talking to a professor at Travis Early College High School about the recent guide announcement. “She was like, ‘This is such an amazing thing, because now, these young students who want to make a career don’t have to leave Texas, they don’t have to leave their homes.’”

Emily Williams Knight, the CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association, agrees. “Not only can we educate here, but we can tell these young people, who are the next rising talents, to stay in Texas, open your restaurant, and strive for that Michelin designation. It’s going to change the education and interest sides of young people, who are going to drive the future of the workforce and the quality of cuisine here in Texas.”

Along with keeping talented Texan chefs in the state, Michelin will attract out-of-state cooks to Texas too. “You want to move to a city that has that support structure for chefs at that level,” says Lorin Peters.

Michelin translates into money for cities; it’s why tourism boards pay the organization to come to their locales. Governments and business associations see it as a worthy investment in a city’s tourism appeal. The guide practically promotes itself (publications around the world including this one regularly compete to cover its annual lists).

Knight uses Michelin to help plan her trips and points to a frequently cited 2019 survey by consulting firm Ernst & Young that found two out of three tourists would decide to travel to a Michelin city rather than one without the guide, and that 71 percent of tourists would spend more in a city with a Michelin Guide.

Lucas shares that view. “We certainly see the benefit of growing our international visitations, because they’re going to stay longer, they’re going to spend more dollars.” It’s not just the Michelin-recognized restaurants that would benefit, either. People will spend money on hotels (for which Michelin also awards lesser-known “keys”), transportation, souvenirs, and other unrated restaurant meals.

Chefs like Mathew Peters also see opportunity for independent restaurants to boost their revenue. “Hopefully the influx of tourism helps fill in the gaps where people struggle,” he says, referring to Austin’s slow business seasons like this past summer. “We’re excited about small businesses being able to be profitable by the end of the year because of the attraction of what you’re doing.”

While there are potential positives to Michelin coming to Texas, there are worthy concerns that the guide could change Austin’s dining scene for the worse, moving the city away from what makes its dining scene so special. Even before the guide’s arrival the city was already experiencing a proliferation of tasting menus and costly dining experiences, slowly edging out the accessible, DIY, and at times irreverent community staples that enriched the Austin food scene.

Nixta’s Mardanbigi notes that Austin’s food community is characterized by its “camaraderie and collaboration.” However, when she spoke to restaurant owners in Miami, they shared how everything “became a lot more competitive” after Michelin published in 2022, and chefs began to share fewer resources with others. She hopes that doesn’t happen here. “I think it’ll probably take a lot longer if that were to happen, but I can see that potentially,” she says, adding that ultimately it’s up to the community to ensure they continue to celebrate and uplift each other.

Others worry whether Michelin’s processes take into account the full scope of the businesses and people involved to ensure that alleged bad actors aren’t rewarded.

Speaking with Eater in July, Joseph Gomez, chef and owner of Mexican food truck Con Todo, expressed apprehension about Michelin’s ability to view restaurants through a holistic lens, taking into account not just the food and service but the overall workplace. He worries that the pressures of earning and maintaining stars could create toxic kitchen environments (see: The Bear for an anxiety-inducing dramatization of the pressures of fine dining kitchens). “It’s going to create more abuse in kitchens [and] higher-ups taking advantage of their employees,” he says. Ideally, he’d like to see the organization be transparent about how they ensure they’re recognizing restaurants offering safe and healthy environments, but he doesn’t trust that it’ll happen.

In recent years, organizations such as the James Beard Foundation have taken on this task, installing new processes for vetting nominees for the James Beard Awards and pledging to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion following a fraught 2020 awards season; the Beard’s effort, while important, has been a bumpy ride at best.

“People are going to start pushing a little bit harder,” Mathew Peters says. “It’s keeping restaurants true to what they are and what they do.”

Ultimately, Gomez believes it’s up to service workers to take care of themselves and band together to hold chefs, owners, and investors accountable by creating their own spaces to share experiences without fear of retribution.

Gomez is also skeptical of the inspectors’ ability to fairly judge Latin American cuisine. “I’m still on the fence with it. I just feel weird about a European guy just judging Mexican food?”

The idea of a seemingly fancy-pants reviewing system coming into Texas — the land where people wear jeans to high-end restaurants or the lack of true fine dining establishments in Austin at least — seems incongruent. But that perception isn’t wholly accurate. Mardanbigi and

Texas restaurants received fact-checking questionnaires from Michelin over the summer, but it’s unclear exactly what those forms indicate. From there, a select number of restaurants received invitations to the Michelin gala in Houston in November, where stars are awarded. Consequently, by receiving an invite one might expect to receive some sort of designation whether that be a Bib Gourmand designation, stars, or otherwise.

Chefs hope that Michelin Texas reflects the state well. Tong notes that the Singapore guide includes food hawker stalls, an essential and unique dining experience in the Southeast Asian country. “They do know how to adapt,” she says. “I hope they know how to adapt to Texas.”

Many of the people Eater talked to predict that the state will receive the first barbecue restaurant star. Mardanbigi believes Franklin Barbecue will get one star. “Aaron [Franklin] is such a stalwart in the city,” she says.

She and her husband, Nixta co-owner and chef Edgar Rico, have visited several Michelin-starred restaurants in the past few years in California and Japan. To her, the through-line through those experiences was “really warm hospitality” — something that’s definitely achievable in Texas.

While Texas Republicans dominated in competitive state House and Senate races Tuesday night, all seven incumbent Democratic lawmakers from Austin emerged with clear victories and secured another term in the Legislature.

All six Texas House incumbents from Austin won reelection last night, with three of them running unopposed. Incumbent state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt was also unopposed for District 14.

Here are each of the legislators from Austin who will serve a term in the state Capitol next beginning January, as per the complete but unofficial election results:

Senate District 14: Sen. Sarah Eckhardt unopposed in reelection bid

State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, will serve in the Capitol for a second four-year term. The former Travis County judge ran unopposed in District 14 — made up of most of Austin, north to Pflugerville and much of Manor — and received over 320,000 votes, results show.

Eckhardt, an attorney who was first elected in 2020, has focused on voters’ rights, health care, water policy and criminal justice, among other issues, during her time in public office. She serves on the Senate committees for Local Government, Transportation, Nominations and Veteran Affairs.

House District 46: Rep. Sheryl Cole sails to reelection

Democratic state Rep. Sheryl Cole edged out Republican Nicki Kosich with more than 73% of the vote for House District 46, which stretches from part of East Austin to a portion of Pflugerville, and borders Elgin. 

Cole, the first Black woman elected to the Austin City Council, joined the state House in 2018. The attorney by training was also Austin’s first African American female mayor pro tempore.

House District 47: Rep. Vikki Goodwin bests GOP challenger

A third-term Democrat, state Rep. Vikki Goodwin took 60% of the vote against Republican challenger Scott Firsing to continue representing Bee Cave and some Lake Travis communities in District 47. 

The small-business owner and real estate broker passed a drowning prevention law in 2023, and she has also passed legislation creating the Texas Food Security and Resiliency Council.

House District 48: Rep. Donna Howard enjoys definitive victory

Democratic state Rep. Donna Howard won in a landslide against Libertarian opponent Daniel Jerome McCarthy, picking up over 80% of the vote Tuesday. House District 48 encompasses West Lake Hills and Rollingwood, as well as parts of Southwest Austin. 

First elected in 2006, Howard has championed abortion rights and health care services for women as the chair of the Texas Women’s Health Caucus. She is also a former critical care nurse.

Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa ran uncontested, receiving over 80,000 votes, results show. House District 49 runs between MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) and Interstate 35, from North Austin to Sunset Valley.

Hinojosa chairs the state House Democratic Campaign Committee. A former civil rights attorney who got her start in politics on the Austin school board, Hinojosa has focused on public school funding and voters’ rights in recent sessions, leading the effort in 2023 against a school voucher proposal.

House District 50: Rep. James Talarico wins fourth term

Democratic state Rep. James Talarico ran unopposed for House District 50, which covers Northeast Austin and Pflugerville, securing over 48,000 votes, results show. A former public school teacher elected in 2018, Talarico has helped pass legislation to reform Texas’ school finance system and to provide funding for student mental health and character education programs.

Born in Round Rock, Talarico is currently training to become a preacher. He has championed a progressive approach to Christianity, ciritizing religious Republicans in the Legislature for legislation he calls “un-Christian.”

Democratic state Rep. Lulu Flores, an attorney who ran unopposed, received over 52,000 votes to continue representing District 51, which spans parts of East and Southeast Austin, for a second term.

Flores’ father helped found the League of Latin American Citizens, and she credits him with instilling in her a commitment to civil rights. She served as chief of staff to the first Mexican American woman elected to the Texas House.

After a recent frustrating workday, the only way I could resuscitate my mood was with a stiff gin martini and some premium oysters. I headed to a popular seafood bar where I found an impressive selection of oysters from New England and a few from the Gulf Coast. Alas, there were none of what I craved most: West Coast oysters — rich, sweet, and almost creamy. I asked the bartender about the availability of Pacific bivalves. The bartender hesitated before answering. “We do, but we don’t list them. We’re not supposed to serve West Coast oysters in Austin.” You see, Northern California and Washington oysters are illicit off-menu options at this particular Texas restaurant.

So I did what any self-respecting oyster lover would do; I ordered a dozen buttery California Kumamotos, feeling like a speakeasy renegade during Prohibition. But my curiosity was fully piqued. Why can’t Austin restaurants legally sell West Coast oysters?

The short answer is that West Coast oysters are illegal in Texas, thanks to an obscure law passed by the Texas Legislature back in 1989. “[It’s] the only state that I’m aware of that prohibits sales of Pacific oysters to consumers,” confirms Bobbi Hudson, executive director of the Pacific Shellfish Institute in Olympia, Washington.

What’s the rationale? Essentially, it was a precaution. Pacific oysters are considered an invasive species. “They’ve been shown to establish naturally reproducing populations outside their natural range,” Hudson says. So when West Coast oysters are introduced to new locations — say, Texas — through discarded oysters — the bivalves are quickly able to mate and produce baby oysters, expanding their population to the point where they outnumber the native breeds in the area.

Pacific Coast oysters are especially-effective “ecosystem engineers,” as Hudson puts it. They change their environments through their capabilities as filter feeders, removing algae, nutrients, and other particles from surrounding waters. They also carry microbes and bacteria on their shells that are foreign to new waters and can have negative effects on existing ecosystems, thus pushing out local aquatic life. As a result, throughout the world, Pacific oysters already “dominate global shellfish aquaculture production,” she says.

When the Texas law was established in 1989, the oyster restrictions in the state applied only to the oyster breed known as Pacific oysters, which originated in the waters surrounding Japan. Then, in 2021, the state decided to further protect Gulf oysters by passing a tighter law that banned any species that isn’t native to the Gulf, aka “controlled exotic species.” Under these restrictions the broad category Crassostrea virginica — also called the Eastern oyster (because they are, yes, found in the East Coast of North America) — are permitted. The distinction between Gulf and Eastern oysters is where the bivalves grow.

So per the rules, all West Coast oysters — from Kumamoto to Olympia — are illegal to source and sell in Texas.

But rules are often bent or broken.

Hudson is aware that some establishments still serve West Coast oysters in the state. But she isn’t too worried: “I would argue that the risk isn’t high,” referring to potentially introducing invasive species into Texas.

West Coast oysters “pop up more frequently” than you’d expect, says Brendan Yancy, founder of Austin Oyster Co., though businesses generally have to get a bit creative to acquire their black market bivalves. With wholesalers unwilling to skirt the law, restaurants often turn to the farms directly, says Yancy, and of those farms, there are only a small handful willing to risk their license by defying the state of Texas.

Some businesses will downplay said liability, insisting that Texas law enforcement doesn’t prioritize enforcing oyster provenance. However, Daniel Berg, owner and executive chef of Austin restaurant Bill’s Oyster, knows that those aren’t empty threats. “We recently had a Texas game warden come into the restaurant to check our tags and make sure we weren’t serving West Coast oysters,” he says, noting that they don’t. “I was pretty shocked by that.”

Berg also doesn’t feel limited by Texas’s regulations especially with the option to import East Coast oysters. He prefers Northeast ones because they’re “smaller and more briny,” while he feels the Gulf oysters are “larger and not as clean-tasting.” (He admits Gulf oysters are better for grilling and frying.)

Bill’s Oyster works with local seafood distributor Minamoto Foods, which has strong connections with oyster farms in New England and eastern Canada. Since Texas is so far away from those prime oyster regions, it’s hard to connect personally with these farmers. “Trusting and relying on [a distributor] is important,” Berg says.

Yancy, on the other hand, has family connections in the Northeast, which means access to farms in Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. It’s inherently the ethos of his business: “The whole concept is really bringing East Coast oysters to people in Austin,” he says of Austin Oyster Co. (The company grew and harvested its own oysters from Portland, Maine for the first time this fall season.)

Yancy does believe the viability of Texas oysters. “I’m rooting for Texas farms,” he says. The state’s oyster industry is far newer than its other counterparts, which puts farms like Texas Oyster Ranch, Jeri’s Oysters, and DJ’s Oyster Co. at a disadvantage. “They’ve got a lot of uphill battles against them,” he says, which puts the state’s oyster industry behind competitors in other states. Yancy notes that the Gulf’s warmer temperatures create a higher yield than the colder Northeastern waters, but because the state’s oyster farming infrastructure isn’t yet equipped to handle the volume, Texas has some catching up to do before they can meet the oyster farming scale the West Coast, East Coast, and even other Gulf regions like Louisiana.

Can there be a way to legally have West Coast oysters in Austin without becoming a shellfish outlaw? There aren’t any above-board answers just yet, but Hudson says that science may already have a solution. “From a biological perspective, there are ways to create organisms that can’t reproduce,” she says. “With Pacific oysters, it’s already routinely done around the world to control gonad development” — a process that, according to the University of Washington, involves stopping the maturation of the oyster eggs. The resulting reproductively-inactive “triploid” oyster happens to have more tender and flavorful meat year-round in addition to being unable to realistically reproduce (Read: less of a threat to Gulf oyster populations). Until genetically modified bivalves become more widely available, West Coast oysters are only available on an if-you-know-you-know basis. So keep your eyes peeled and your conversations with oyster bartenders flowing — you might just score a secret stash.